• 30 minutes prep, 30 minutes bake. Eat warm after 1 hour on the counter. Or chilled in the fridge for a few hours or up to 2 days.
• 7 ingredients (plus whipped cream, chocolate sauce and strawberries)
• 1 springform pan (9 or 10 inch, preferably light-colored)
• Instant read thermometer (optional)
• 8-12 servings

Instructions/Ingredients

Preheat oven to 350°.

Pan Coating

• 2 Tablespoons sugar
• 1 Tablespoon softened butter (salted or unsalted)

Spread the butter around the pan using a small piece of paper towel until the pan surface is coated. Add sugar to the pan. Tip the pan to distribute the sugar around the bottom and up the edges of the pan. Discard any remaining sugar or tap it into a small bowl to save for the top of the cake.

Cake

• 1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, salted or unsalted
• 10 oz chocolate 61%–72% cacao chips (1 and 2/3 cups) Kirkland semi-sweet chocolate chips work fine
• 2 Tablespoons vegetable oil

Heat butter, chocolate chips and oil in microwave on 50% power for 1 minute. Stir well after 30 seconds. Heat for 30 more seconds then stir again. The chocolate chips begin to loose their shape and melt as they are stirred. If the chocolate is not melted, heat for additional 15 seconds then stir again. Whisk 2 Tablespoons Hershey’s Natural Unsweetened Baking Cocoa into the chocolate mixture.

• 4 eggs, separated
• 2 whole eggs
• 1/4 cup sugar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 1/4 teaspoon salt (use 1/2 teaspoon of salt if using unsalted butter)

Separate 4 eggs by cracking one egg at a time into a small bowl. Use cupped fingers to scoop out the yolk and leave the white. Pour each white into an electric mixing bowl or deep mixing bowl. Add each yolk into a medium-size bowl. Add 2 whole eggs to the egg yolks along with the sugar, vanilla and salt and stir well. Pour into the chocolate mixture and whisk to combine.

Beat whites until foamy then sprinkle 1/2 cup sugar into the whites, a little at time, while whipping. Whip until stiff peaks form.

Add half the egg whites to the chocolate/egg mixture. Using a rubber spatula, carefully fold the batter until it is mostly combined. Add the rest of the whites, gently folding until there are just a few white streaks in the batter. Pour batter into the prepared pan and smooth out the top. Sprinkle the batter with 2 Tablespoons sugar (and the remaining sugar from pan coating if desired).

Bake on a parchment covered cookie sheet for 30 minutes–until the top of the cake cracks around the edges and the center barely jiggles. If desired, test with an instant-read thermometer, by gently inserting the thermometer until it hits the bottom of the pan then raising it, ever so slightly then move the thermometer so it reads the batter temperature in the center of the cake. Move the thermometer probe a little to get an accurate temp. When you get readings around 205° the cake is finished. Add 2 to 4 more minutes if necessary. Remove from oven and cool in the pan. Release spring form sides and cut cake into slices with a thin-bladed knife that has been run under hot water and dried off.

Chocolate Sauce

Chocolate sauce will thicken as it sits at room temperature. Store in the refrigerator. Can be made while the cake bakes.

• 1/2 cup chocolate chips
• 2/3 cup whipping cream

Heat whipping cream until boiling, 30 seconds to 1 minute. Pour the chocolate chips into the hot cream. Let sit without stirring for a few minutes. Stir until smooth.

Whipped Cream

Adding softened unflavored gelatin to the cream and sugar keeps the whipped cream from getting watery as it sits. As a result, whipped cream can be made while the cake bakes.

Bowl 1 (small microwavable)

• 1/2 Tablespoon unflavored gelatin (optional)
• 1-1/2 Tablespoons water (optional)

Measure the water into a small microwavable bowl. Sprinkle gelatin over the water and stir to dissolve. Let mixture sit on the counter for 30 seconds then microwave for 10 seconds. Stir to dissolve the gelatin.

Bowl 2 (electric mixing bowl or deep bowl or measuring cup)

• 1-1/2 cups cold whipping cream
• 3 Tablespoons sugar

Whip the cream, beginning on low speed and moving to high speed, until the beaters begin to leave a trail in the cream. Sprinkle in the sugar as the cream thickens. Stop the mixer and scrape the sides of the bowl. Begin whipping the cream again then add the gelatin slowly and whip until soft peaks form.