Hey Y'all!

My cake fell … and it was fantastic! Actually, it was supposed to fall. It's a recipe for a flourless chocolate cake that I used straight from the pages of Paula Deen's Chocolate Celebration Magazine.



I bought this publication several months ago mainly because of the cover… Chocolate and Paula… you can't go wrong there. But, to be honest I haven't made anything from it until this Saturday. I've looked at it a bunch of times and made notes of all the recipes I want to try, but nothing until now.

So, this weekend, I finally decided to go for her Deep Dark Chocolate Truffle Cake Recipe because I've never made a flourless cake before and I was intrigued.
I mean, it must be pretty good if someone would make it instead of the one on this cover.



You'll need a 9-inch springform pan. It has a latch on the side that helps you release the cake. Because there's no turning this one upside down to get it out.

Place some parchment paper on the bottom so it hangs over. Close the latch to hold the paper in place and secure the sides. You'll also want to spray the paper with some non-stick cooking spray just to be safe.

After your pan is ready, preheat your oven to 325 degrees.

Separate 6 large eggs. Yolks in one bowl and egg whites in another. Set aside.



You'll also need 8 oz. semi-sweet chocolate and 4 oz. dark chocolate. Break it up in a large bowl and add 2 sticks of butter (thank you Paula!). Melt in the microwave at 30 second intervals, stirring in between until completely melted and smooth.

Whisk in 1 1/4 cups sugar until combined.

Then add the six egg yolks to the chocolate and sugar mixture, one at a time, whisking after each addition.



Now, in a medium bowl, beat the six egg whites on high with an electric mixer. Beat it for several minutes until stiff peaks form.



Then, gently fold your egg white mixture into the melted chocolate mixture until combined. Pour it in your pan and bake for 1 hour at 325 degrees.



It will rise pretty high in the oven, but when you take it out to cool, it will fall. And fall hard. Yay!

Let it cool one hour on the counter and then for at least four hours in the refrigerator before you release it from the springform pan.



And, when you finally do… it will be worth the wait. I didn't really know what the texture of the inside would be like, but oh my… it was glorious.

Rich and dense and fudgey! Definitely one for true chocolate lover's. And, If you don't like things too rich, then stay away. Stay far, far away!



I also sprinkled a little powdered sugar on top to finish it off.



Okay, a lot!



Here's what it's supposed to look like. Mine had a few more cracks, but I was completely and utterly happy with it.


But, wait a minute… let me tell you the real reason I made this cake from Paula's magazine.

There was a slim chance I was going to be able to meet Paula on Sunday (thanks to my friend Ted and help from someone on her team) and I wanted to have one of her dessert recipes under my belt if I did. You know, in case we had a moment to chit chat and talk about butter and stuff. Yeah, right!

She was speaking at the Metropolitan Cooking & Entertaining Show in Atlanta, and to be honest, I really didn't think I would get to meet her…



Or get a picture taken with her. Hey, Paula!

My mom and I were so thrilled. She is every bit as beautiful and funny and nice as she is on TV. (And I do mean funny. We also had the opportunity to hear her speak later on and she had the whole place laughing.)



We also met her son, Bobby. Yummy!!! I mean, he was really nice.

Later on, we even met her other yummy, I mean really nice son, Jamie. Unfortunately, I spazzed and didn't get a picture of him. But, he did help me out with something.

Something I think you'll like.



See this cookbook. I bought it last minute at the show. (Sorry, her brand new one was sold out.)

But, that's okay, because look what Jamie got his mom to do for me just minutes before she went on stage to speak.



Yep, that's her signature. And, it gets even better.

I'm giving it away! The book… signature and all. Who wants it?

Seriously, at first, I thought I would keep it, and then, I thought… I would keep it! Then, I decided it would be much more fun to give it away. Besides, it could be a great Mother's Day present for someone. And, don't feel bad, I'm hoping (fingers crossed) that I can get another copy for myself later.

Better hurry and enter… The winner will be chosen Monday night.

(TIME'S UP. WINNER ANNOUNCED BELOW)
Enter for a chance to win an autographed copy of
Paula Deen's Kitchen Classics Cookbook

• Leave a comment on this post and tell me why you want it, why you love Paula, why you love butter, or heck, just say "hey, y'all!"
• Leave your comment with a way for me to contact you if you win (either a blog link or email)
• Deadline to enter is Monday, April 20th at 6:00 p.m. (recorded by the comment time stamp)
• The winner will be chosen at random* and announced sometime Monday evening on this post.

* One winner will be chosen at random, using random.org's integer generator.

Good luck.


More links:
Paula Deen's Chocolate Celebration
Paula Deen's The Deen Family Cookbook - NEW!
Paula Deen's Kitchen Classics Cookbook
Springform Pans
And, Paula's also on Twitter. Go say hey y'all!


Yay, we have a winner!
Who's it going to be random integer generator?
Me. Me. Me. ……… No. No. No.

It's comment #598!


Congrats Angela… Today is your lucky day!