A Simple Answer to a Cake Conundrum

I am a chocolate lover who enjoys that black gold in all forms save one: cake. For years, I would dutifully eat the slices of fluffy, wheaty pastries set in front of me at birthdays, weddings, and holiday celebrations simply for the sugar rush that would follow; rarely, however, did I enjoy what was on my plate, and at some point I abandoned the pastry all together.

Several years ago, after being asked to provide a chocolate cake for a friend’s party, I decided to revisit my prejudice and set out to make a baked chocolate dessert that would be cake-like enough for celebrations, but that was not bready and bland. My baking experimentations, of course, brought me to endless flourless chocolate cake recipes, most of which were overwhelmingly dry, chalky, cloyingly sweet, dense like cement, or a combination thereof.  What I wanted was something smooth, fudgy, rich, and with bitter overtones. After dozens of eggs and hours spent pouring over cookbooks and websites, I successfully combined several recipes and came up with a dessert that has become standard to my repertoire.

Technically, this pastry is a baked pudding, but since it is made in a cake pan, it is a good substitute for birthdays and is shockingly simple to make. Firm, but not too dense, you can add a little panache by cutting out individual portions with a cookie cutter. Best of all, there is room for creativity with this recipe: for a richer pastry, use a chocolate (preferably organic, fair trade) with a higher cocoa content, for a sweeter cake one with a lower cocoa content, or try using 2 oz more chocolate or up to 3 oz less to play with density and richness. Top with a little bourbon cream and some fruit and you have a perfect, fancy-looking dessert.

FLOURLESS CHOCOLATE CAKE

1/2 pound (2 sticks) unsalted butter, cut into small pieces
12 ounces bittersweet chocolate, coarsely chopped
6 eggs
1 cup sugar
1 tsp vanilla

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Butter a 9 by 2-inch round cake pan, and line the inside with a round of parchment paper.

Put the butter and chocolate into a small heavy saucepan and melt over low heat, whisking occasionally (you may also use a double boiler). Set aside and let cool for five to seven minutes.

Whisk together the eggs, sugar, and vanilla in another bowl. Thoroughly whisk in the cooled melted chocolate.

Pour the chocolate batter into the cake pan and cover tightly with foil. Place it in a larger baking pan, and pour in warm water to reach halfway up the sides of the cake pan. Let bake for 1 hour or up to 1 hour 15 minutes, or until the cake appears to have set and when you touch the center, your finger comes away clean.

Remove the cake from the water bath and cool completely before serving, plain or with whipped cream and fruit.

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