Chocolate Oblivion Truffle Bars – Pure Decadence in Every Bite! 🍫

• 16 oz semi-sweet chocolate (I use Baker's with great success,) chopped
• DO NOT USE CHOCOLATE CHIPS
• 2 sticks unsalted butter, room temperature
• 6 eggs, room temperature
• pinch of salt

Instructions

1. Chocolate Ganache Base

   1

   Preheat the oven to 425°F (220°C). Butter an 8x8-inch (20x20cm) square aluminium or steel baking dish and line it with parchment paper. Let some of the parchment paper overhang for easier removal. Ensure that you line the parchment very well, covering all sides of the dish. I've attached a picture—for easy removal, properly lining the pan for this recipe is key.

2. 2

   Bring a pot of water to a boil. After it boils, remove it from the heat. In a heat-proof bowl, combine the chocolate, salt, and butter and set it over the hot water. Allow the mixture to sit undisturbed, then stir gently until a melted and smooth ganache has formed. If for any reason the mixture did not melt (for example, if the chocolate wasn't chopped finely enough), return the pot to the heat while stirring the chocolate mixture until melted. Remove it from the heat and allow it to cool.

3. 3

   In the meantime, use the same pot of simmering water and set a bowl from your stand mixer with eggs in it over the simmering water. Stir the eggs constantly until they become just warm to the touch; stirring constantly is essential to avoid scrambling them. The goal here is not to cook the eggs to any specific temperature—the goal is to warm them up, as doing so results in them expanding more when we beat them in the next step.

4. 4

   As soon as the eggs are warm, bring the bowl to the mixer and whip them on high for about 5 minutes until they're lighter in colour and the eggs have tripled in volume and are cool to the touch. Fold half of the eggs into the chocolate mixture to lighten it. Then fold in the rest gently with a rubber spatula until no streaks remain. Scrape the mixture into the prepared pan.

5. Baking

   5

   Set the prepared pan inside another larger pan and pour enough hot tap water to surround it with 1 inch (2.5cm) of water. Take great care not to splash any water into the cake, as it will ruin it. Place it into the preheated oven.

6. 6

   Bake for 5 minutes. After 5 minutes, loosely cover it with lightly greased aluminium foil and bake for another 10 minutes. Resist the temptation to overbake. The mixture will wobble quite a bit and seem not quite done. The edges, however, will look firm, and if you very gently touch the middle, it will be extremely soft but not raw. This cake will set and firm up as it cools. I have to admit I personally baked it for 17 minutes and it came out good, but seeing how much it set in the fridge, 15 minutes as stated by Rose Levy Beranbaum should be sufficient. (Having said that, if your oven runs cooler, you may need that extra minute or two, so as with all recipes, look for the described texture and use your discretion.)

7. Cooling & Chilling

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   When finished baking, remove the cake from the oven and remove it from the water bath. Allow it to sit at room temperature and cool for about 45 minutes. When no trace of warmth remains, cover it tightly with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 3 hours, or preferably overnight.

8. Slicing & Serving

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   When the cake is chilled and firm, grab the parchment paper and gently lift the cake out of the baking dish. Hold a sharp knife over hot tap water, wipe it dry with a paper towel, and slice the cake into bars. Hold the knife under hot water and dry it with a paper towel after each slice for clean cuts.