Best Flourless Chocolate Cake

         There are no photos of this because it disappears too quickly.
         I found this recipe originally somewhere on the Internet. Later, I came across a similar recipe in The New James Beard Cookbook (which seems, surprisingly, to be now out of print) and ended up combining the two.
         The recipe is very easy. The cake actually improves if you cover it tightly and leave it in the fridge for a day or two so you can make it well ahead of a dinner party and have one less thing to worry about at the last minute.

Flourless Chocolate Cake

4 oz bittersweet or semisweet chocolate (chips or roughly chopped)
1 stick (1/2 cup) butter plus extra for baking dish
3/4 cup sugar
3 eggs
1/2 cup cocoa
grated zest of one orange (optional)
1/2 cup ground walnuts (optional)

Chocolate Glaze (optional)

2 oz (2 squares) unsweetened chocolate
Half a stick (1/4 cup) butter
1 Tbl honey
sugar to taste

Garnish (optional)

Slivered almonds and/or shredded orange rind

Directions
         Heat the oven to 375 degrees.
         Butter an 8" round baking dish. Line the bottom with cooking parchment or wax paper. Butter paper as well.
         Melt chocolate and butter together in double boiler. Remove from heat and whisk in sugar and eggs. Add orange zest and walnuts if using. Sift cocoa in and stir until combined.
         Bake for 25 minutes. If using the walnuts, check cake after 20 minutes. Take it out if the edges start to look a bit dry. You can test for done-ness by sticking a toothpick into the center of the cake. Since the cake is supposed to be gooey, the toothpick won't come out clean as it would with a floury cake, but it shouldn't be very liquidy either.
         Let cool in the pan. If desired, turn out onto a plate when quite cooled. Cover and refrigerate until ready to eat.

Glaze:
         Melt butter, chocolate and honey together in double boiler. This will be pretty bitter, so add sugar (or more honey) a bit at a time until it suits you. Cool down, beating occasionally, until it is still still liquid but no more than lukewarm. Pour onto cooled cake, letting it drip down the sides. Let it cool completely.
         Sprinkle the cake, glazed or unglazed, with slivered almonds and/or shredded orange zest.
         Serve cake with high-quality vanilla ice cream or thawed frozen raspberries.
         Or both.
         Or neither.
         Enjoy!