Flourless Chocolate Cake

Ingredients:
1 lb semi-sweet chocolate
2 tbsps strong coffee
2 tbsbs rum or brandy
6 eggs
6 tbsps sugar
1 cup whipping cream
Powdered sugar
Fresh whole strawberries
cooking schools : Melt the chocolate in the top of a double boiler. Stir in the coffee & brandy & leave to cool slightly. Break up the eggs and then, using an electric mixer, gradually beat in the sugar until the mixture is thick and mousse-like. When the beaters are lifted the mixture should mound slightly. Whip the cream until soft peaks form. Beat the chocolate until smooth and shine,and gradually add the egg mixture to it.

Fold in the cream & pour the cake mixture into a well greased 9 inch deep cake pan with a disk of wax paper in the bottom. Bake in a pre-heated 350ºF oven in a bain marie. To make a bain marie, use a roasting pan and fill with warm water to come halfway up the side of the cake pan. Bake about 1 hour and then turn off the oven, leaving the cake inside to stand for 15 minutes. Loosen the sides of the cake carefully from the pan and allow the cake to cool completely before turning it out.

Invert the cake onto a serving plate and carefully peel off the paper. Place strips of wax paper on top of the cake, leaving even spaces in between the strips. Sprinkle the top with powdered sugar and carefully lift off the paper strips to form a striped or chequerboard decoration. Decorate with whole strawberries.