1 lb Bittersweet chocolate; * -see note 2 Unsalted butter 6 lg Eggs 2 tb Finely ground espresso -coffee beans 2 c Toasted pecan halves 2 c Heavy whipping cream 1/2 c Powdered sugar 1 ts Vanilla extract * chopped, melted plus 3 ounces melted, for garnish Preheat oven to 425. Line a 9 inch round cake pan with parchment paper. Mix together chocolate and butter in top of double boiler over simmering water and stir often until melted. Remove from heat. Place eggs in mixing bowl over warm tap water until lukewarm. Beat eggs with electric mixer until light color and tripled in volume - about 3 minutes at medium speed and then on high 5 minutes. Add half the beaten eggs and ground espresso beans to chocolate mixture. Fold in. Then, add remaining eggs and gently fold in just until streaks remain. Do not overmix. Pour into cake pan and place in large pan with boiling water coming up sides of cake pan about halfway. Bake 5 minutes. Cover cake pan with foil and bake another 10 minutes. Set aside to cool on rack 45 minutes. Chill 6 hours or overnight. To remove cake from pan, place cake pan in 350 degree oven for a minute or two. Remove and run a sharp knife around inside edge to loosen. Invert onto a platter. Beat whipping cream with powdered sugar and vanilla until peaks form. Pile on top of chocolate cake and spread out to edges. Chill 10 minutes to set. Arrange toasted pecan halves on top of cream to form a circle. Drizzle melted chocolate over center in zig-zag, free-form pattern. Chill until serving time. THE DESSERT SHOW SHOW #DS3252 -----
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