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1
Preheat the oven to 350F.
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2
Line the bottom of the cake pan with baking parchment.
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3
Melt the chocolate either in a double boiler or a microwave, and then let the butter melt in the warm chocolate.
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4
Beat the 2 whole eggs and 4 egg yolks with l/3 cup of the sugar, then gently add the chocolate mixture, the Cointreau and the orange zest.
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5
In another bowl, whisk the 4 egg whites until foamy, then gradually add the remaining sugar and whisk until the whites hold their shape but are not too stiff.
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6
Lighten the chocolate mixture with a dollop of egg whites, and then fold in the rest of the whites.
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7
Pour into the prepared pan and bake for 3540 minutes or until the cake is risen and cracked and the center is no longer wobbly.
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8
Cool the cake in its pan on a wire rack; the middle will sink as it cools.
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9
When you are ready to eat, place the still pan-bound cake on a cake stand or plate for serving and carefully remove the cake from its pan.
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10
Dont worry about cracks or rough edges: its the crater look were going for here.
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11
Whip the cream until its soft and then add the vanilla and Cointreau and continue whisking until the cream is firm but not stiff.
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12
Fill the crater of the cake with the whipped cream, easing it out gently toward the edges of the cake, and dust the top lightly with cocoa powder pushed through a tea-strainer.
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13
You can make this into an Easter Nest Cake by folding 7 ounces of melted chocolate into the cream topping and dotting with sugar-coated eggs instead of the cocoa.
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14
Leave the Cointreau out of both the cake and cream.
