So can we discuss chocolate? How Sara and I love all things chocolate? All the brownies and the double-chocolate cookies and the hot chocolate? How we both have entire cookbooks devoted to chocolate? How we have secret stashes of the good stuff tucked into the back corners of our pantries for emergency chocolate-related situations? So when American Heritage Chocolate asked us to share a recipe from their new book, we jumped at the chance.
![AHC_GMCH Book[1][1][1]](https://ourbestbites.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/12/AHC_GMCH-Book111-e1449034257200.png)
Part history book (it’s actually published by National Geographic!), part cookbook, this was a fascinating peek into the past of one of my favorite things, plus it’s full of incredible recipes like the Chocolate-Raspberry Silk Tart, Chocolate Tres Leches Cake, Double Chocolate Chip Cookies, and this Fine Chocolate Gâteau with Crème Anglaise (which is basically a fancy way of saying “dense, fudgy, almost-gooey chocolate wedges with creamy vanilla custard sauce.”)
To make this gâteau, you’re going to need butter (lots of it…1 1/4 cups, which equals 2 1/2 sticks), 16 ounces of bittersweet chocolate or American Heritage Chocolate, 7 room temperature eggs, sugar, vanilla extract, flour, salt, and, if you’re feeling it, a little bit of cinnamon.
To make the cake, position a rack in the center of the oven and preheat to 350 degrees F. Butter and flour the inside of a 9″ springform pan,
then sprinkle with flour…
and swirl the pan so the flour coats the inside of then pan, then tap out the excess flour. Melt the butter in a large saucepan over low heat. Remove the saucepan from heat and add the chocolate. The American Heritage Chocolate is not as dense as regular baking chocolate, so don’t be alarmed. All will be well. We’re talking chocolate here. Allow to stand for about 3 minutes or until the chocolate has softened. Whisk until the chocolate is smooth and melted.
Let the mixture cool until tepid but is still liquid, about 10 minutes. In a large bowl or the bowl of a stand mixer, combine the eggs, sugar, and vanilla.
Beat on high speed
until the mixture is very pale and tripled in volume (about 3 minutes in a stand mixer or 5 minutes if using a hand mixer).
Reduce the speed to low. Add the chocolate mixture an dmix until combined. Remove the bowl from the stand mixer and lightly sprinkle the flour, salt, and cinnamon over the chocolate mixture.
Fold it in with a flexible spatula and spread the batter evenly in the pan.
Bake until the center is set but the cake jiggles cohesively (like gelatin or a cheesecake) when you shake it gently, about 28-37 minutes (start checking around 28 minutes). Let the gâteau cool completely in the pan on a wire cake rack. Run a knife around the inside of the pan and remove the sides. Wrap the gâteau with plastic wrap and refrigerate until completely chilled, at least 8 hours, preferably 24 hours. It can be refrigerated for up to 3 days.
To make the crème anglaise, heat the milk with the vanilla bean halves (if using) in a medium saucepan over low heat until small bubbles form around the edges of the pan, about 10 minutes.
Remove the vanilla bean halves. Using the tip of a small sharp knife, scrape the seeds from the vanilla bean halves into the milk and discard the pods. In a medium heat-proof bowl, whisk the egg yolks and sugar together until the mixture is pale and thickened. Gradually whisk in about 1/2 cup of the hot milk, then gradually whisk in the remaining milk. Return the mixture to the saucepan and cook the custard on medium-low heat, stirring constantly with a wooden spoon, until the custard thickens and coats the back of a spoon. Strain the custard through a wire mesh strainer. If using vanilla extract, add it now. Cover the bowl loosely with plastic wrap. Let the sauce cool, stirring occasionally, for about 1 hour.
Refrigerate until chilled (at least 2 hours). To serve, let the cake stand at room temperature for 1 hour. Using a thin, sharp knife dipped into hot water, slice the gâteau. For each serving, spoon a few tablespoons of the crème anglaise onto a dessert plate and top with sliced cake. If desired, dust the top with powdered sugar. I also wouldn’t say no to a dollop of sweetened whipped cream. Just sayin’.
Chocolate Gâteau with Crème Anglaise
Ingredients
GÂTEAU
- Flour and softened butter for the pan
- 1 pound bittersweet chocolate or American Heritage Chocolate
- 1 1/4 cups 2 1/2 sticks unsalted butter
- 7 large eggs at room temperature
- 1 1/4 cups sugar
- 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 1 cup all-purpose flour
- 1/2 teaspoon table salt
- 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon optional
CRÈME ANGLAISE
- 1 1/2 cups whole milk
- 1 vanilla bean split lengthwise, or 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- Yolks of 4 large eggs at room temperature
- 1/3 cup sugar
Instructions
- To make the cake, position a rack in the center of the oven and preheat to 350 degrees F. Butter and flour the inside of a 9" springform pan, tapping out the excess flour.
- Melt the butter in a large saucepan over low heat. Remove the saucepan from heat and add the chocolate. Allow to stand for about 3 minutes or until the chocolate has softened. Whisk until the chocolate is smooth and melted. Let the mixture cool until tepid but is still liquid, about 10 minutes.
- In a large bowl or the bowl of a stand mixer, combine the eggs, sugar, and vanilla. Beat on high speed until the mixture is very pale and tripled in volume (about 3 minutes in a stand mixer or 5 minutes if using a hand mixer). Reduce the speed to low. Add the chocolate mixture an dmix until combined. Remove the bowl from the stand mixer and lightly sprinkle the flour, salt, and cinnamon over the chocolate mixture. Fold it in with a flexible spatula and spread the batter evenly in the pan.
- Bake until the center is set but the cake jiggles cohesively (like gelatin or a cheesecake) when you shake it gently, about 28-37 minutes (start checking around 28 minutes). Let the gâteau cool completely in the pan on a wire cake rack.
- Run a knife around the inside of the pan and remove the sides. Wrap the gâteau with plastic wrap and refrigerate until completely chilled, at least 8 hours, preferably 24 hours. It can be refrigerated for up to 3 days.
- To make the crème anglaise, heat the milk with the vanilla bean halves (if using) in a medium saucepan over low heat until small bubbles form around the edges of the pan, about 10 minutes. Remove the vanilla bean halves. Using the tip of a small sharp knife, scrape the seeds from the vanilla bean halves into the milk and discard the pods.
- In a medium heat-proof bowl, whisk the egg yolks and sugar together until the mixture is pale and thickened. Gradually whisk in about 1/2 cup of the hot milk, then gradually whisk in the remaining milk. Return the mixture to the saucepan and cook the custard on medium-low heat, stirring constantly with a wooden spoon, until the custard thickens and coats the back of a spoon. Strain the custard through a wire mesh strainer. If using vanilla extract, add it now. Cover the bowl loosely with plastic wrap. Let the sauce cool, stirring occasionally, for about 1 hour. Refrigerate until chilled (at least 2 hours).
- To serve, let the cake stand at room temperature for 1 hour. Using a thin, sharp knife dipped into hot water, slice the gâteau. For each serving, spoon a few tablespoons of the crème anglaise onto a dessert plate and top with sliced cake.
Nutrition
This post was sponsored by American Heritage Chocolate, but all opinions are completely our own.
Questions & Reviews
My favorite chocolate dessert are brownies. I could eat a whole pan by myself.
Too hard to pick. Probably some chewy brownies.
I would love this book
This looks amazing! My favorite chocolate dessert is a brownie made from my super secret recipe that requires you to beat the eggs for 10 minutes! The result is a fudgy, decadent brownie with a meringue-like crust. I pretty much love all things chocolate though.
I love all things chocolate! Chocolate mousse and chocolate lava cakes are among my favorites.
Brownies are usually my go to chocolate dessert: ooey, gooey, fudgy and chocolatey! Yum!
I LOVE chocolate and have my own hidden stash for chocolate related emergencies. My current favorite chocolate dessert is a chocolate pumpkin cake with nutella cream cheese icing. Yum!!
My favorite chocolate dessert is french silk pie! Put the whole thing in front of me, I will eat it all – no shame!
chocolate cake
That cake looks divine. If I win, I will make it right away with my new chocolate!
This looks so yummy!!!! I love everything chocolate so I am going to try this for sure!!!
Death by chocolate! A trifle with layers and layers of chocolate.
This looks amazing and that book would be perfect for my chocolate loving mother-in-law for Christmas! I love molten chocolate lava cakes with fresh raspberries.
The cake looks delicious! So delicious, I may have to bake it tomorrow…I NEED chocolate!
I love all chocolate! I just made some amazing chocolate cupcakes this week but I would love more recipes!
Holy Chocolate.
Chocolate soufflé! So this has got to be right up there. As soon as I get my hands on this ingredients…
I LOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOVE chocolate molten lava cake… I might have to switch it to this one, lol
My favorite dessert to make is fudge using semi-sweet and bittersweet chocolate and sweetened condensed milk. Super easy and delicious. I also love my friend’s chocolate cream pie!
There’s a chocolate avocado cake I’ve been making for birthdays the last few years — it is amazing!
Anything chocolate is good in my book. The richer the better. French silk pie is one of many favorites.
Just ONE favourite chocolate dessert?? That’s a tall order!! It would have to be my friend’s Chocolate Souffle – it’s so light but full of amazing flavour. That might be my ‘last meal’ request!
My favorite chocolate dessert is a tie between chocolate chiffon pie and molten chocolate cake, but really, you can’t go wrong with anything chocolate!
Chocolate raspberry cheesecake. A favorite! But with the book I could try the chocolate raspberry silk tart….
Oh my! Yes please! To all!
It is way too hard to limit it down to just one–I love lots of different chocolate desserts. But I guess I will say dark chocolate fudge with walnuts.
My favorite chocolate dessert would most likely be pretty much any kind of truffle;) Thank you!
My favorite chocolate dessert is probably my great grandmother’s Chocolate Chess Pie recipe! So this looks really close and something I soo want to try asap!
Looks so yummy! A hint of cinnamon sounds devine! My favorite dessert is dark chocolate truffles.
Anything with chocolate and peanut butter.