Death By Chocolate Cake

Ladyfingers, rum, chocolate and cream -- more like a mousse than a cake, but this is still a very rich dessert. Garnish with stemmed, candied cherries. This can be made up to one week in advance -- for a long display time, use stabilized whipped cream and add 1 tablespoon dissolved gelatin to the chocolate mixture.

• Preparation Time: 6 hr
• Cooking Time: 15 mins
• Total Time: 6 hr 15 mins
• Calories: 816 Calories

Ingredients

• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• ½ cup semisweet chocolate chips
• ¼ cup white sugar
• 2 (12 ounce) packages semisweet chocolate chips
• 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
• ½ cup dark rum
• 12 eggs, separated
• 1 ½ pounds butter
• 3 (3 ounce) packages ladyfinger cookies
• 2 ½ cups heavy cream

Recipe Instructions

Step 1

Brush the ladyfingers with rum and use them to line the bottom and sides of a 10 inch spring form pan.

Step 2

In a medium saucepan over low heat, melt butter. Remove from heat and add 24 oz. of chocolate chips; stir until melted. Cool slightly, then beat egg yolks into the mixture, one at a time, until smooth. In a separate bowl, beat the egg whites with an electric mixer until they form stiff, but not dry, peaks. Fold the whites into the chocolate mixture and pour into the lined pan. Chill in refrigerator for 6 hours.

Step 3

In a large bowl, whip the cream with an electric mixer until thick. Blend in sugar and vanilla, and whip until stiff peaks form. Invert the chilled cake onto a serving platter and remove the sides and bottom of the pan. Spread a layer of whipped cream over the entire cake, and pipe the remaining whipped cream in a decorative pattern of your choice. In the top of a double boiler, melt the 1/2 chocolate chips with the oil. Cool, then drizzle over finished cake. Refrigerate until serving.