French Soft Chocolate Cake by Pierre Hermé

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The chocolate

For the Dark Chocolate (¼ lbs or 113 g), I chose the Valrhona brand. Pierre Hermé recommends the "Guanaja" chocolate

1.  Use a doubleboiler to melt

Scanpan SaucepanCalphalon Nonstick Sauce PanLarge Mixing Bowls, Stainless SteelKitchenAid Silicone Spatula Set

2.  Melt on low heat, while stirring

3. Once melted, set aside

4. In a mixing bowl, mix with a spatula the Butter (1 Cup or 250 g) and the Sugar (⅔ Cup or 160 g). The butter should be soft, but not liquid and hot

5.  You may use either a stand mixer (like a Kitchen Aid appliance) or an electric beater

Polyglass SpatulaKitchenAid 7-Quart Stand MixerHand Mixer

6. Add the Eggs (4) one by one and mix

7. Before adding the Dark Chocolate, make sure it's not too hot : its temperature should be below 80 °F / 25 °C

8. Pour in the Dark Chocolate and mix

9. You may use either a wire whip, or a stand mixer, or an electric beater

10.  The batter thickens : to avoid lumps, you may use an electric beater

Digital Laser Infrared ThermometerDeBuyer Whisk

11. Sift the Flour (½ Cup or 70 g) and mix

Sifter for BakingLarge Stainless Steel Fine Mesh Strainer

12. The batter is quite thick, and that's OK for now

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The pan

13. For the pan, I recommend a metallic pan as it will slightly crust the cake and will make its texture better

Non-Stick Round Cake Pan, 7-Inch (18 cm)Non-Stick Round Cake Pan, 8-Inch (20 cm)

14. Butter and flour the mold

15.  I prefer using a Cooking spray

Cuisinart Nonstick Bakeware 9-1/2-InchSunflower Oil Cooking Spray

16. Pour in the batter and flatten it with a spoon or with an offset Icing Spatula

Matfer Bourgeat Pastry BagsWilton Offset Spatula

17.  Bake in preheated oven at 360 °F / 180 °C for about 30 minutes

Perforated Baking PanSilicone Baking Mat

18. After baking, unmold and cool down on a rack

19. You may sift Icing Sugar

Round Cooling RackNonstick Cooling Rack

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When serving

20. Served with a French Vanilla Custard, the cake will taste even better !

21. The recipe is HERE