Chocolate Snowball

Prep Time: 20 mins | Cook Time: 50 mins | Course: Dessert | Serves: 16 

Delectable dense and flourless dark chocolate cake with a splash of coffee covered with sour cream whipped cream stars. A fun whimsical way to celebrate snowballs and lighten up winter in a delicious way. Inspired by Letty Halloran Flatt of Deer Valley Bakery in her cookbook Chocolate Snowball.

12 oz bittersweet chocolate chips

1 cup strong coffee, hot

1 cup sugar

1 ½ cups butter, softened

6 eggs

Whipped Topping:

1 ½ cups heavy cream 

2 Tbsp sugar

1 tsp vanilla 

⅓ cup sour cream

1 pansy, johnny-jump-up, viola, or orchid, etc

Preheat oven to 350*. Line a 6-cup (or larger) stainless steel bowl with a rounded bottom with tinfoil folding the overhang around the bowls edge and set to one side. 

Put the chocolate in a saucepan and pour the coffee over it. The coffee should melt the chocolate most of the way. Add in the sugar and stir with a wire whisk, turning the heat on low to finish melting any chocolate. Remove from heat when smooth and add in the butter a tablespoon at a time to melt in while whisking. Crack in 1 egg at a time whisking well between additions. If you feel like you have any scrambled bits of egg, run the mixture through a sieve. Feel free to skip this step if your batter is silky smooth looking. Pour batter into the prepared bowl and bake for 50-55 minutes, no longer. The cake will still be jiggly when you pull it out, a bit like gelatin. Allow to cool, refrigerating the cake in the bowl overnight or up to 8 hours. 

When ready to serve, invert the cake onto a cake plate or serving board removing first the bowl, then the foil.

Whip the heavy cream and sugar to medium peaks. Add in the vanilla and sour cream, and whip to medium-stiff peaks. Fill a piping bag with a large star tip and pipe all over the cake in concentric circles starting at the lower edge, until the snowball is completely covered. Garnish with a beautiful edible flower.