Chocolate Mousse Cake

8 ounces semisweet or bittersweet chocolate
8 tablespoons (1 stick) unsalted butter
8 eggs, separated
1/4 teaspoon cream of tartar
Unsweetened cocoa powder and whipped cream for decoration (optional)

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Butter a 9-inch round cake pan.
In a heavy-bottomed sauce pan, melt the chocolate and butter over low heat. Stir occasionally until smooth.
Remove the chocolate mixture from the heat and whisk in the egg yolks until blended. Immediately pour the mixture into a large bowl. (The melted chocolate and butter will be hot enough to poach the egg yolks, which will lightly thicken the mixture.)
In a large bowl, beat the egg whites with the cream of tartar until stiff peaks form.
With a whisk, fold 1/3 of the stiffly beaten egg whites into the chocolate mixture to lighten it. Using a rubber spatula, fold the remaining whites into the chocolate mixture until smooth.
Pour 3/4 of the chocolate mousse into the pan. (Refrigerate the remainder until ready to use.)
Bake on the middle rack 30-35 minutes. The cake will rise quite high at first; when it beings to fall back in the center, it is done.
Unmold onto a cake rack to cool right-side up. When cooled, the cake will have a concave center. Transfer the cake, with the aid of a long metal spatula, to a serving platter and fill the center with the remaining mousse mixture.
Refrigerate until the mousse sets, about 1 hour.

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