B-52 (Chocolate) Cake

by steve gisselbrecht - http://www.apocalypse.org/pub/u/steve/sweet/B52.html
Author's note: Like its namesake cocktail, this cake is intensely alcoholic--approximately 9 proof, by my calculations--so do not serve it to children. You could, of course, use various tricks to make it less alcoholic, but then it would be an entirely different cake.

Ingredients
20 oz. bittersweet chocolate, chopped (used in separate measurements)
3 oz. semisweet chocolate, chopped (used in separate measurements)
1 1/2 cup heavy cream (used in separate measurements)
1/2 cup Bailey's Irish Cream liqueur
1/2 Grand Marnier liqueur
3/4 cup all-purpose flour, plus more for dusting the pan
1/2 cup cocoa
3/4 cup + 1 Tbsp. sugar (used in separate measurements)
1/2 tsp. baking powder
1/8 tsp. salt
6 eggs, separated, at room temperature
1/4 cup vegetable oil1 Tbsp. vanilla extract
1/2 cup Kahlúa liqueur

Instructions
In a medium bowl, combine 8 oz. of bittersweet chocolate and 1 oz. of semisweet.
In a small saucepan, bring 1/2 cup of heavy cream just to a boil and immediately pour over the chopped chocolates.
Wait about 30 seconds to melt the chocolate, then whisk until smooth. (Avoid overwhisking the mixture.)
Whisk in the Bailey's Irish Cream, cover tightly, and set aside to set to frosting consistency, about 12 hours.

In another medium bowl, repeat the above process with the remaining 12 oz. of bittersweet chocolate, the remaining 2 oz. of semisweet, the remaining 1 cup of heavy cream, and the 1/2 cup of Grand Marnier.

For the cake layers, line a 15 1/2 by 10 1/2 inch jelly roll pan with aluminum foil. (I strongly recommend an air-cushioned pan for this recipe, as it's very easy to burn such a flat cake.)
Butter the foil, then dust it with flour.
Preheat the oven to 350°F.

In a small bowl, sift together the flour, cocoa, baking powder, salt, and 1 Tbsp. of the sugar, and set aside.
In a large mixing bowl, beat the egg yolks until uniform.
Beat in 1/4 cup of sugar, then raise the speed to medium-high and beat until the mixture is pale yellow and falls from the beaters in a thick ribbon.
Beat in the vegetable oil and vanilla extract, and set aside.
In another large mixing bowl, using the wire whip attachment of your beater if you have one, beat the eggs whites until soft peaks start to form. (If you don't have a wire whip attachment, you can use regular beaters, but you must clean them thoroughly, removing any trace of egg yolk mixture, or your whites won't beat up properly.)
Slowly sprinkle in another 1/4 cup of sugar, 1 Tbsp. at a time, and continue to beat until stiff, shiny peaks form.

Spread 1/3 of the beaten egg whites over the yolk mixture, sprinkle with 1/3 of the flour mixture, and fold together with a whisk. Make sure to scrape the bottom and sides of the bowl to get all the flour.
When the flour is almost incorporated, add another third of each, and then repeat with the remainder of the flour mixture and egg whites.
Fold only until the batter is fairly uniform; overfolding will deflate the batter.
Spread the batter evenly over the bottom of the prepared jelly roll pan.
Bake for 15 to 20 minutes, until the cake begins to pull away from the edges of the pan and the center springs back when gently pressed.
Cool on a wire rack for about 5 minutes, then remove the foil lining from the pan and cool completely.

In a small saucepan, combine the remaining 1/4 cup sugar with about 3 Tbsp. of water.
Stir, over low heat, until the sugar is dissolved and the syrup comes to a boil.
Remove from heat, cover, and cool until tepid.
Stir in the 1/2 cup of Kahlúa and set aside.
Trim the edges of the cake to make a neat rectangle.
Measure it and cut it into thirds, which you will stack to make a loaf-shaped cake, as shown.
Brush each third with about 1/3 of the Kahlúa syrup and wait for it to soak in.
Place one piece on your serving platter and spread 1/2 of the Bailey's ganache on it. Top with another piece of cake, and spread with the remaining Bailey's ganache. Top with the last piece of cake.
Cover the top with a thin layer of Grand Marnier ganache, then frost the sides of the cake, then spread any remaining Grand Marnier ganache on top. (Or reserve some to pipe in little swirls and rosettes if you're into that sort of thing.)