Chocolate Torte

Ingredients:15 oz. 70% dark chocolate, chopped – use the good stuff here, don’t go for the cheapo stuff. You want a good chocolate that melts well.10 tbs. room temperature unsalted butter, cubed + some for coating pan5 room temperature eggs, separated2 drops lemon juice (not a drop more!)2 tbs. granulated sugar + some for coating pan

Directions:1. Preheat to 325F.  Place jelly roll pan filled with water on bottom rack.  Grease a 9” springform pan with butter on the bottom and sides.  Cut a round of parchment paper to fit your pan and place in the bottom.  Dust the sides of the pan with sugar, it will stick to the butter.2. I find it’s easier to do this step next.  Beat your egg yolks a bit with a whisk until they start to foam a little.  In a separate large DRY bowl, add your egg whites and 2 drops of lemon juice.  Beat with a whisk or hand mixer until it becomes foamy, then gradually add in the 2 tbs. sugar as you continue to beat to stiff peaks.  Remember to stop beating when you *just* get to stiff peaks.3. In a double boiler (it can be a makeshift one, I just use a bowl on top of a pot right now) on med-low heat, melt chocolate and butter together.  Stir pretty constantly as soon as the chocolate shows signs of melting.  When completely melted, take off heat and whisk in egg yolks.4. Fold about 25% of egg whites into the chocolate to “loosen” it up a bit, and then gently fold all of the chocolate back into the big bowl of egg whites.  Fold until it just blends together, there will be some white streaks still.  If you fold until all the color is exactly the same it will be too much.5. Pour into springform pan, smooth out with a spatula, and tap to get rid of any big air bubbles, then bake in the oven on middle rack for 40 min.  Take out and cool on a cooling rack.  Eat or then refrigerate overnight.