Recipe: The Bonzo Cake (delicious calorie monster)

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From Denny: Like a lot of Louisianians I lived in the Atlanta metro area for some time. Let me tell you: awesome restaurants in that city! Since we lived there some have closed and new ones invented in their place, probably by the same restaurant group famous in the area (Pano's and Paul's).

I still remember the awesome White Chocolate Banana Cream Pie from the former Buckhead Diner! Actress Elizabeth Taylor (now 75 years old) used to order up as many as ten of these pies whenever she was traveling through the area. Yes, they were that good. Also, have the recipe too that the local newspaper, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, printed up for everyone at the height of the restaurant's popularity.

This recipe from the same newspaper's food section sounds killer good! Enjoy! Also, they have a great food section so clicking on the title link will take you there to explore other delights.

Since one slice of this cake is literally over 1,000 calories you might want to get 100 friends to help you eat this delicious monster! :)

If you happen to be traveling to or through Atlanta and want to check out Murphy's, then read this review so you know what to expect in the way of food, atmosphere and price, go here.

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From the Atlanta Journal-Consititution:

From the menu of Murphy's
997 Virginia Ave., Atlanta, Georgia
404-872-0904

Q: I had a wonderful first experience at Murphy's on Virginia Avenue recently. The lunch portions are great! But the dessert was even better. I had the Bonzo, which consisted of a layer of brownie, then a layer of cheesecake, then a layer of chocolate mousse, all topped off with a whipped-style cream. It was fantastic! - Jan Phillips, Atlanta"

A: This dessert was created several years ago when the folks at Murphy's, a Virginia-Highland mainstay, noted that three desserts on the menu -- the fudge brownie a la mode, the cheesecake and the chocolate mousse -- did very well. "Wouldn't it be great if we could roll them all into one, " somebody said. Somebody else agreed and the Bonzo was born.

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Bonzo Cake

Hands on time: 45 minutes

Total time: 4 hours and 45 minutes

Serves: 10-12

Ingredients:

For the brownie:

Shortening for the pan

1 cup (2 sticks) margarine

1/2 cup semisweet chocolate morsels

1 1/3 cups cake flour

1/3 cup cocoa

2 cups granulated sugar

3 eggs

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

For the cheesecake:

25 ounces (three 8-ounce packages plus 2 tablespoons) cream cheese

1 1/3 cups granulated sugar

5 eggs

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

For the chocolate mousse:

14 ounces semisweet chocolate

1 1/2 cups (11 ounces) whipped cream

9 egg yolks (from pasteurized eggs (available at Harris Teeter), to avoid slight risk of salmonella)

1/2 cup granulated sugar

Instructions:

For the brownie: Grease a 10-inch springform pan. Preheat oven to 300 degrees.

In a small saucepan over medium-low heat, melt margarine. Add chocolate morsels, stirring often.
In a large mixing bowl, combine flour, cocoa, sugar, eggs and vanilla; mix well.

Pour chocolate mixture into flour mixture. Scrape bowl to get chocolate off sides and bottom of bowl. Mix well.
Pour batter into prepared pan. Bake 1 hour. Remove from oven and let cool to room temperature.

For the cheesecake: Bring cream cheese to room temperature. (When ready to add cheesecake layer to cooled brownie layer, preheat oven to 300 degrees.)

In a mixing bowl, combine the cream cheese and sugar. Add eggs and vanilla. Pour mixture over cooled brownie layer and bake, checking after 45 minutes. If it is still liquid, continue baking up to 15 minutes until set. Remove and set aside to cool.

For the chocolate mousse: Melt chocolate in a double boiler and keep warm.

Whip cream and set aside. Beat egg yolks until volume has doubled. Add sugar and hot melted chocolate at medium speed. Immediately fold in whipped cream.

Spread chocolate mousse over cooled cheesecake.

Chill at least 2 hours before serving.

Notes: A chocoholic's dream, this rich, decadent dessert takes a bit of time but is certainly worth the effort. Our tester, Sara Levy, said you could substitute unsweetened chocolate in the mousse layer if you like a less sweet chocolate. In addition, she said, you could make the dessert through the cheesecake layer and freeze it. On the day of serving, let it thaw, add the mousse layer and then chill before serving.

Nutrition:

Per serving: 1038 calories, 14 grams protein, 68 grams fat (percent calories from fat, 59), 102 grams carbohydrates, 402 milligrams cholesterol, 441 milligrams sodium, 1 gram fiber.