Chocolate Mousse Cake with Nibs

Ingredients

• 1 pound DAGOBA 59% dark chocolate, coarsely chopped*
• 1 pound unsalted butter, cut into pieces, at room temperature
• 3/4 cup superfine sugar
• 7 large eggs, separated
• 7 large egg yolks
• 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 cup DAGOBA cacao nibs

Directions

Position a rack in the middle of the oven and preheat the oven to 300°F. Butter a 9-inch springform pan.

Melt the chocolate with the butter in a heatproof bowl set over a saucepan of about 1 1/2 inches of nearly simmering water, whisking until smooth. Remove the bowl from the heat and let cool.

Whisk together the sugar and the 14 egg yolks in a large heatproof bowl. Place the bowl over the same saucepan of nearly simmering water and whisk for about 3 minutes, until the sugar is dissolved and the mixture is warm to the touch. Remove the bowl from the heat and beat the mixture with an electric mixer on medium-high speed for about 4 minutes, until it has cooled to room temperature and is very thick and pale. Whisk in the chocolate mixture in 3 batches, just until combined well. Whisk in the vanilla.

Beat the 7 egg whites and the salt in a large deep bowl with clean beaters on medium-high speed until the whites form soft peaks when the beaters are lifted. Gently whisk the egg whites into the chocolate mixture in 3 batches. Transfer 2 cups of the batter to a bowl, whisk in the nibs, cover, and set aside.

Pour the remaining batter into the prepared pan. Bake for 40 to 50 minutes, until a wooden pick inserted in the center comes out sticky but not wet; the top will be cracked. Let cool completely in the pan on a wire rack; the center will sink.

Remove the sides of the pan. Fill the fallen center of the cake with the remaining chocolate mixture and smooth the top. Refrigerate, loosely covered, until thoroughly chilled, at least 2 hours, or for up to 1 day.

About 1 hour before serving, remove the cake from the refrigerator. Serve cut into thin wedges.

Note: If you can't find the specific chocolate called for, you can substitute another chocolate with about the same intensity-the higher the percent of cacao solids (labeled as % cacao) in a bar, the more intense the chocolate flavor. Bars labeled simply as bittersweet, semisweet or dark can be used in any recipe calling for any recipe calling for chocolate of less than 70% cacao.