I had the most delicious and rich dessert I’ve had in a long time when I was on my recent cruise with Carnival cruiselines.  My husband Googled it to see if we could find a recipe online and he found that several cruisers had posted the recipe, which comes from Carnival’s cookbook.  I hope I don’t get in any trouble for revealing the recipe without buying the cookbook, but I figured since so many other cruisers have posted this, that it won’t hurt to post it here.  We had ours in little individual souffle dishes, but this recipe calls for a springform pan.  I am not sure how to adjust for the individual souffles if that is what you desire.  I am sure it’s delicious either way.

CARNIVAL’S FLOURLESS CHOCOLATE CAKE

Unsweetened cocoa powder
2 (8-oz.) packages semisweet chocolate squares, coarsely chopped
1/2 cup butter - do not use margarine
5 large eggs, separated
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
1/4 cup sugar

Grease a 9-inch springform pan, and dust with unsweetened cocoa powder.

Melt chopped chocolate and butter in a heavy saucepan over low heat, stirring until smooth.

Whisk together egg yolks and vanilla in a large bowl. Gradually stir in warm chocolate mixture, whisking until well blended.

Beat egg whites at high speed with electric mixer until soft peaks form. Gradually add sugar, beating until sugar dissolves and stiff peaks form. Fold one-third beaten egg white mixture into chocolate mixture; gently fold in remaining egg white mixture just until blended. Spoon batter into prepared pan, spreading evenly.

Bake at 375 degrees for 25 minutes. (Do not overbake!) Let stand in pan on a wire rack 10 minutes before removing sides of pan