Chocolate Cake

This is not your traditional chocolate cake with heaps of frosting. This cake is one layer, super rich, yet still packs all your chocolate cravings into one slice. I have made this twice now and it is defiantly one of my favorites. I made it today for thanksgiving because between all the pumpkin pie and other desserts I knew there would be someone at the table that wanted something chocolatey. It was very easy to make this cake and even easier to find hungry people to finish the whole thing.

Makes one 9-inch cake

What you need:

9 tablespoons (125 grams) unsalted butter 7 ounces (200 grams) bittersweet (70/72 percent) chocolate, chopped* 3 tablespoons water 3/4 teaspoon baking powder 1/3 cup (40 grams) all-purpose flour 1/3 cup (about 30 grams) dark cocoa powder, sifted if lumpy (Dutched or natural will work here; I use Dutched) 4 large eggs, separated 1 cup (200 grams) granulated sugar 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract (optional) Two pinches sea salt

Heat oven to 350 degrees. Butter a 9-inch round cake pan. Line the bottom of the baking pan with a round of parchment paper.

Melt butter in a large saucepan, 3 quarts is a good size. Once melted, remove from heat and stir in chocolate until melted. Once melted, stir in 2 tablespoons water, then baking powder, flour and cocoa until just combined.

In a medium bowl, whisk egg yolks with sugar, 1 tablespoon water and vanilla, if using, until pale and no longer lumpy. Stir into chocolate mixture until just combined.

In a larger, very clean bowl, beat egg whites and salt until stiff. Gently fold into chocolate mixture until most of the white streaks disappear. Be careful not to deflated cake.

Bake for 25 to 30 minutes, until a toothpick inserted into the center of the cake comes out batter-free. Remove from oven and rest on rack for 5 minutes. Run knife along outside cake to make sure it isn’t sticking anywhere, then invert onto another rack, then back onto a cake plate. Eat warm or cold.

Cake keeps for several days at room temperature, lightly wrapped.

* I was out of bittersweet so I substituted 3 oz of unsweetened chocolate and 4 oz of semisweet and the combination was perfect

Recipe: Smitten Kitchen, Valerie's french chocolate cake