Nemesis cake - came out very runny

I followed recipe to a tee and when I went to serve it it was a blob - cooked at 250 2 hours in Bain Marie it is the second time I’ve made it everyone just thought it was chocolate sauce 😆flavor is amazing but maybe cooking temp needs to be higher 300?? Nothing wrong with my ovens they are new - Any suggestions would be appreciated -

Sous Chef Bella
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4 Comments

Lori T. June 23, 2019
This particular recipe is one which is so unpredictable, and you are not alone in getting the cow pat result. I think part of the problem lies in the sugar syrup, which is adding water to something that lacks anything to absorb it. So that excess liquid has to evaporate in the baking, and that is being done while it bakes in a bain marie. So your oven is really humid while this is all going on. It also uses whole eggs, which also contain water. To help counter this, I've opted for a slight variation. I whip all the sugar with the eggs, until it forms a thick ribbon- which means you now all the sugar has been dissolved. That is the point of making the syrup, really. Then you don't have to risk a collapse later on, by pouring syrup in. I also make certain to bake a little longer than is called for, until it is nearly set in the center, similar to how you would gauge a cheesecake. The family finds it just as tasty, and honestly I haven't noticed any difference in texture. To be honest, I don't like the recipe as it is written because it has such a high failure rate. I've found other versions which are more dependable, and that I prefer to use for that reason.
 
Smaug June 23, 2019
That step where the syrup/melted chocolate was added to the eggs did seem a bit perilous; if it was too hot, and it could easily be, it could cook the eggs too soon. Also, the doneness test says to place your open hand on top of the cake, but it doesn't tell you what to look for when you do.
 
Lori T. June 24, 2019
Yes, I agree. This recipe doesn't seem to be formulated well enough to offer people a reasonable expectation of success. It may work well enough for the original baker, but it needs some fine tuning before it will be a dependable recipe worth the price of ingredients, time and effort that is required.
 
Smaug June 23, 2019
Have you checked your oven temperature? Even new ones can be way off, and this is a pretty unusual temperature range. I think that there are probably better ways that this could be baked, but this method did work for me and I never got around to any experiments. The ingredients and method are so simple that it's hard to see where you could go off, short of ancient eggs.
 
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