| 1 |
Preheat the oven to 425 degrees. |
| 2 |
Line a 9-inch round cake pan with parchment paper. Combine the chopped chocolate and butter in a large heatproof mixing bowl over simmering water, or the top of a double boiler, and stir frequently until melted. Remove from the heat. Place the eggs in a mixing bowl over warm tap water until lukewarm. Then beat with an electric mixer until light in color and tripled in volume, about 3 minutes at medium speed and then at high speed for 5 minutes longer. |
| 3 |
Add half the beaten eggs and the ground espresso beans to the chocolate mixture and fold in. Then add the remaining eggs and genftly fold in until just a few streaks reamin. Do not overmix. |
| 4 |
Pour into the cake pan and place in a roasting pan. Fill the roasting pan with boiling water to come halfway up the cake pan, transfer to the oven and bake for 5 minutes. Cover the cake pan with aluminum foil and bake-still in its water bath-an additional 10 minutes. Set aside to cool on rack 45 minutes, the refrigerate at least 6 hours or overnight. |
| 5 |
Reduce the oven temperature to 350 degrees. Spread the pecan halves on a baking sheet and toast in the oven until golden, 10 to 15 minutes. Set aside to cool. |
| 6 |
To remove the cake from the pan, place the pan over a low burner for a moment or two. Run a sharp kife around the inside edge to loosen the cake and invert onto a platter. Whisk the creme fraiche with the sugar and vanilla until peaks form. Pile the stiff cream on the chocolate cake. Then, using a spatula, spread it out to the edges to make a thick even layer or cream over the top, being careful not to drip the white cream onto the sides of the cake. Refrigerate 10 minutes to set. Then arrange the pecan halves on top of the cream to form a circle around the outside edge. Dip your fingertips or a fork into the melted chocolate and drizzle over the center in a free-form pattern. |
| 7 |
Refrigerate until serving time. The finished cake can be held overnight. |
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