Almost Fudge Gateau

Almost Fudge Gateau is a rich French cake that, as the name suggests, is almost fudge in texture. With a gorgeous ganache glaze, it is a chocolate lovers dream!

This post was originally published on March 25, 2009. It was updated in June 2020.

It seems like I’m posting a ton of desserts, but I’m just catching up on things I’ve made (and taken pictures of) in the last year. I actually don’t bake that much! 🙂  

In my quest for new cooking blogs, I stumbled upon a group of bloggers called Tuesdays with Dorie. Each Tuesday they make a recipe out of the cookbook Baking: From My Home to Yours by Dorie Greenspan. I think the idea of such a group is really neat – almost a way to force yourself to make recipes that you’d like to but otherwise might not. I can’t commit to a group like this at the present time, but I can pick out the recipes that are particularly appealing to me.

This brings me to another factoid: I love chocolate. As in, I’ve never had a chocolate dessert and said “this is too rich”-kind of love. As long as I have a glass of cold skim milk, I’m good to go. I think I’d always take chocolate dessert over fruity (my husband is the opposite), even though I like both.

That being said, when I saw the cake called “Almost Fudge Gateau,” I couldn’t resist. I made this for a few friends in January, and it was great. Gateau in French means cake, and like the name suggests, it really was ‘almost fudge.’

The glaze is one of my favorite parts. It’s so smooth and shiny. (UPDATE: I ended up using this glaze in my Bailey’s Irish Cream Mini Cheesecakes and my Cheesecake Factory Copycat Godiva Chocolate Cheesecake).

Gluten Free Option for Almost Fudge Gateau

Although I have not tried it myself, I have a lot of success substituting Bob’s Red Mill Gluten Free 1 to 1 Baking Flour for all purpose flour in a number of baked goods.

LOOKING FOR MORE CHOCOLATE?!

Check out these recipes:

Cherry Chocolate Cheesecake Bundt Cake
Bailey’s Irish Cream Mini Cheesecakes
Bailey’s Irish Cream Cheesecakes
Cheesecake Factory Copycat Godiva Chocolate Cheesecake
S’mores Cheesecake Bars
Graham Cracker S’mores Cookies
Easy Homemade Cream Puffs
Mocha Cream Cake
Samoa Bundt Cake
Samoa Bars
Salted Caramel Chocolate Fudge Cake
Rich Chocolate Bundt Cake
Chocolate Pear Tart
Chocolate Covered Cherry Cookies
Dark Chocolate Mascarpone Brownies with Blueberry Ganache
Roasted Cherry Brownie Sundaes with Cherry Port Sauce
Homemade Dairy Queen Ice Cream Cake
Thick and Chewy Double Chocolate Cookies
Double Chocolate Banana Bread
Thick and Chewy Chocolate Chip Cookies

Original photos:

Almost Fudge Gateau

Meghan

As the name suggests, this rich French cake is almost fudge in texture. With a gorgeous ganache glaze, it is a chocolate lovers dream!

Print Recipe Pin Recipe

Prep Time 20 minutes mins

Cook Time 1 hour hr 10 minutes mins

Cool Time 40 minutes mins

Total Time 2 hours hrs 10 minutes mins

Course Dessert

Cuisine French

Servings 8

Ingredients

  

For the cake:

• 5 large eggs
• 9 ounces bittersweet chocolate (coarsely chopped )
• 1 cup sugar
• 5 tablespoons unsalted butter (cut into chunks )
• 2 tablespoons coffee or water
• 1/3 cup all purpose flour
• pinch of salt

For the glaze:

• 4 ounces bittersweet chocolate (coarsely chopped)
• 1/2 cup heavy cream
• 2 teaspoons light corn syrup

Instructions

 

• Center a rack in the oven and preheat to 350 degrees F. Butter a 9-inch springform pan, line the bottom with parchment paper, butter the paper, dust the inside of the pan with flour and tap out the excess. Place pan on a baking sheet.
• Separate the eggs, putting the whites in a large mixing bowl and the yolks in a small bowl.
• To the top of a double boiler (or a small heatproof bowl placed above simmering water), add the chocolate, sugar, butter, and coffee. Stir occasionally until the chocolate and butter are melted; the sugar may still be grainy – that is fine.
• Transfer the mixture to the counter and let sit for 3 minutes to cool. Using a rubber spatula, stir in the yolks one by one, then fold in the flour.
• Working with the whisk attachment of a hand- or stand-mixer, beat the egg whites with a pinch of salt until they hold firm but glossy peaks. Using the spatula, stir about one quarter of the beaten egg whites into the batter, then gently fold in the rest.
• Scrape the batter into the prepared pan and jiggle the pan from side to side a couple of times to even the batter.
• Bake for 35-45 minutes, or until the cake has risen evenly (it might rise around the edges and you’ll think it’s done, but give it a few more minutes, and the center will puff too) and the top has firmed (it will probably be cracked) and doesn’t shimmy when tapped; a thin knife inserted into the center should come out just slightly streaked with chocolate. Transfer pan to a cooling rack and let cake rest for 5 to 10 minutes.
• Run a blunt knife gently around the edges of the cake and remove the sides of the pan. Carefully turn the cake over onto a cooling rack and remove the pan bottom and the parchment paper. Invert the cake onto another cooling rack and cool to room temperature right side up. As the cake cools it may sink.
• To make the glaze, turn the cooled cake onto another cooling rack so you will be glazing the flat bottom, and place the rack over a baking sheet lined with parchment or wax paper to catch any drips.
• Put the chocolate in the top of a double boiler and melt above simmering water (or use microwave to melt). The chocolate should be just melted and only warm, not hot. Meanwhile, bring the cream to a boil in a small saucepan. Pour the hot cream over the chocolate and stir very gently with a rubber spatula until the mixture is smooth and shiny. Stir in the corn syrup.
• Pour the glaze over the cake and smooth the top with a long metal icing spatula. Don't worry if the glaze drips unevenly down the sides of the cake, it will add to its charm. Decorate if desired. Allow the glaze to set at room temperature, or slip the cake into the refrigerator about 20 minutes.

Notes

Source: Adapted from Annie’s Eats, originally from Dorie Greenspan’s “Baking: From My Home to Yours”

You’re Gonna Bake It After All

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Keyword cake, chocolate, dessert