Chocolate Demise

There's a reason it's called "Demise." First, there's the demise of your grocery budget. The cost of the materials for this cake could cover my lunches for about a week.
Second, there's the demise of your calorie budget. Again, lunches for a week. In about two slices.
Third, there's the demise of your willpower. Trust me: this cake is worth every guilty twinge. It's the kind of dessert that grabs you from bite #1, drowns you in its intensity, and leaves you with a quickened heart rate and saucer-like eyes, thinking, "Ah, what just happened here?"
Mostly because it's not really what I could call "cake," at least not with a clear conscience. The recipe requires a mere 2/3 cup of cake flour - and that's not even for the cake layers! The rest is chocolate, more chocolate, yet more chocolate, butter, and cream. Plus crunchy layers of caramelized pecans to mix up the texture and flavor. Really, you're looking at a very large, homemade truffle. Amazingly good, but not so much "cake."


Rating: 5 out of 5

Highs:
It's like eating a huge version of the best chocolate truffle you've ever had.
The crispy, buttery tuiles perfectly punctuate the intense layers of smooth ganache.
It's sheer joy to write "36 oz semisweet chocolate!" on your grocery shopping list (when was the last time you got to do that, huh?).

Lows:
Baking an "evenly caramel-colored" tuile is harder than it sounds (as evidenced by my several evenly asphalt-colored tuiles).
Unsticking the aforementioned tuiles from the "nonstick" baking sheets may result in a moment or two of cussing.
This is a multi-day project cake. Do not attempt it in the few spare hours before and after work. It requires focus, people.


Pecan Tuiles
1 c. pecan pieces
2/3 c. tightly packed light brown sugar
1/4 pound unsalted butter
1/2 c. light corn syrup
2/3 c. cake flour

Preheat the oven to 325. In the bowl of a food processor fitted with a metal blade, chop 1 c. pecan pieces into pieces 1/8 inch in size. Set aside until needed.
Heat the brown sugar, butter, and corn syrup in a 2 1/2 quart saucepan over medium heat. Bring to a boil, then remove from heat. Add the chopped pecans and the cake flour and use a rubber spatula to thoroughly combine.
Portion 4 T of pecan butter in the center of each of 2 nonstick baking sheets. The batter will spread to 8 inches during baking, so it is necessary to portion only 1 large tuile per baking sheet. Place the baking sheets on the top and bottom shelves of your oven and bake for 16 minutes (rotate the sheets halfway through the baking time), until evenly caramel-colored. Allow the baked tuiles to cool on the baking sheets for 7 to 10 minutes before handling, then transfer to a cooling rack to completely cool.
Portion and bake two more tuiles.

Truffle Cake
1/2 pound plus 2 T. unsalted butter (2 T. melted)
16 oz. semisweet chocolate, broken into 1/2-inch pieces
4 eggs
2 egg yolks

Lower the oven temp to 300. Lightly coat the insides of two 9x2-inch round cake pans with melted butter. Line each pan with parchment paper, then lightly coat the parchment with more melted butter. Set aside.
Heat 1 inch of water in the bottom half of a double boiler over medium heat. Place the semisweet chocolate and 1/2 pound of butter in the top half of the double boiler. Tightly cover the top with film wrap. Allow to heat for 15 minutes. Remove from the heat, and stir until smooth. Transfer the chocolate to a stainless steel bowl, using a rubber spatula to remove all the chocolate. Keep at room temp till needed.
Heat 1 inch of water in the bottom half of a double boiler over medium heat. Place the eggs and egg yolks in the top half of the double boiler. Whisk the eggs until they reach a temperate of 110, about 4-5 minutes. Transfer the heated eggs to the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a balloon whip. Whisk on high until the eggs become light and pale in color, about 6 to 7 minutes. Remove the bowl from the mixer. Fold 1/3 of the eggs into the melted chocolate. Add the remaining eggs and fold together gently but thoroughly. Divide between the prepared pans, spreading evenly, and bake in the preheated oven for 20 to 25 minutes, until the internal temperature of the layers reaches 170.
Remove the truffle layers from the oven and allow to cool to room temperature for 20 minutes. Invert one of the truffle layers onto a cardboard cake circle. Invert the layer onto the bottom of a closed springform pan. Refrigerate the truffle layers until needed.

Ganache Topping
3 c. heavy cream
6 T. unsalted butter
4 T. granulated sugar
20 oz. semisweet chocolate, broken into 1/2-oz. pieces
6 oz. unsweetened chocolate, broken into 1/2-oz. pieces

Heat the heavy cream, 6 T. unsalted butter, and sugar in a 2 1/2 quart saucepan over medium-high heat. When hot, stir to dissolve the sugar. Bring the mixture to a boil. Place 20 oz. semisweet chocolate and the unsweetened chocolate in a large stainless steel bowl. Pour the boiling cream over the chocolate and allow to stand for 5 minutes. Stir until smooth. Reserve and refrigerate 3/4 c. ganache; hold the rest at room temperature.

Assembling the Cake
Remove the truffle layers from the fridge. Pour 3/4 c. ganache over the truffle layer in the springform pan, spreading it evenly to the edges. Place one of the large tuiles on top of the ganache, gently pressing it into position. Pour 3/4 c. ganache over the tuile, spreading the ganache evenly to the edges. Top this layer of ganache with another tuile, gently pressing it into place. Repeat until all four tuiles are used. You should end with a layer of ganache. Slide the remaining truffle layer onto the ganache, gently pressing down on the truffle to set it into position. Cover the springform pan with film wrap and freeze for 1 hour.
Remove the cake from the freezer. Cut around the inside edges to release it from the pan, then use a cake spatula to create an even coating of ganache on the top and sides. Refrigerate for 30 minutes.
Transfer the reserved refrigerated ganache to a pastry bag fitted with a medium-sized star tip. Pipe stars onto the top of the cake as desired and decorate with any broken bits of tuile.

Serving the Cake
Cut with a serrated slicer, heating the blade fo the slicer under hot running water before making each slice. Allow the slices to come to room temperature for 45 to 60 minutes before serving.