A winter flavored with orange

I always make this dessert to celebrate the new year. It is a very special dessert because it is made of very few ingredients. Only eggs, sugar, chocolate and nuts. And of course the rind of an orange.

No butter, no flour, no baking powder. And it is still vaporous and absolutely delicious. But it is done with eight eggs. Yes eight eggs! My grandma's old recipe book is full of recipes with the number 8. Eight eggs are found almost everywhere. You can try to make the same recipe by reducing proportionally all the ingredients, and using a smaller pan. But I'm sure you would not get the same result. 

But I used medium-small eggs, not to make a mega omelette with an orange flavor.

The most surprising thing is that the original recipe also includes a cream with which to stuff and cover the cake. A cream with 5 eggs, two pounds of chocolate and two of butter. But this no, for me it was really too much. 

When I cook this dessert I serve it with whipped cream and orange jam. I also sprinkle it with very little icing sugar. The nice thing is that, since there are no fats in the cake, the sugar remains white for days, as just put.

8 eggs

200 g sugar

200 g grated walnuts

100 g grated chocolate

1 grated orange peel

1 pinch salt

to serve

whipped cream without sugar

orange jam

Separate the egg yolks from the egg whites.

Add a pinch of salt to the egg whites and get a firm snow. 

Add the sugar a little at a time.

Add one red at a time, always continuing with the whisk. Use a rather large container, because eight eggs make an incredible volume.

At this point lay the grated walnuts, grated chocolate and orange zest on the mixture. Start by gently incorporating the ingredients with a wooden spoon. When the mixture is homogeneous, fill a greased baking sheet.

Put in oven at 170 degrees for about 45 minutes.

Let the cake cool, sprinkle with powdered sugar and serve with whipped cream and orange jam.