The Cake. The very best Cake.

Cake from scratch is best.  

Cake that's dense and rich is amazing.  

Cake that has great ingredients and makes a chocolate fiend completely satisfied 

is the very best cake.   

Flourless Chocolate Cake (adapted from this recipe, which is from Gourmet Magazine).

I found this recipe on TasteSpotting.com and fell in love with it.  
I've made this cake at least 7 or 8 times, 
and I'll surely make it again.  
It's simple and quick and satisfies my chocolate tooth. 
Yes, chocolate tooths exist.
I use semi-sweet chocolate because that's what I always mistakenly buy.  
I think that the semi-sweet is just as good and 
gets to be a little bit bittersweet (in a good way) with the added cocoa.  
I also add some salt to bring out that amazing chocolate flavor. 
Finally, I didn't mix the wet ingredients first and then add the dry (tip: sugar is a wet ingredient). It made this latest cake my best success yet! 
So hop to it. You'll be done with this in less than an hour, and that includes baking!


Ingredients:
4 oz. semi-sweet chocolate (NOT chocolate chips), roughly chopped
1 stick of butter (1/2 cup.), cut into smaller pieces for easier melting
Pinch of salt
3/4 c. sugar
1/2 c. cocoa powder
3 eggs
See below for topping options I've thought of. 

Preheat oven to 375.  Cut a piece of wax paper for the bottom of an 8-inch round cake pan and butter it.  I used a non-stick spring-form pan this time (9-inch round); it worked great!  But if you don't have either a spring-form pan or wax paper, just use a regular round cake pan and butter and flower it. 


With a double boiler (boiling water in a pot with a glass bowl on top, that is), add the chopped chocolate and the butter.  Let melt and stir it semi-regularly.  Not constantly, but keep an eye on it for when it completely melts.  Once it's all melted, turn off the heat, remove the double boiler, and carefully and quickly take the glass bowl off the metal pot.  Add a pinch of salt and mix together.  Let it cool slightly. 

While the chocolate is melting with the butter, measure in the sugar and then the cocoa powder into another bowl (one that will be able to fit all the ingredients when combined).  Mix it all together so the two ingredients are thoroughly combined.


In the middle of this mixture, make a dent/crater and add the eggs.  Combine the ingredients by folding the dry mix into the eggs with a rubber spatula.

Tip: don't drop your phone into the batter while taking a pretty picture. Trust.

Once the eggs are mixed with the cocoa and sugar, slowly add the melted chocolate to the rest of the ingredients.  Mix it all together and put it into the cake pan.  Spread it around until it's nice and level.  This is a thick batter, so make sure it's covering the whole bottom of your pan.  



Bake for 22-25 minutes for a 8-inch pan, 18-20 minutes for a 9-inch spring-form pan, or until the top has a glossy crust and a toothpick can be poked into the center and comes out clean.  Let it cool for 5 minutes and then flip the cake onto a plate. 

You will, and I'm serious, want to eat this instantly.  
Let it cool for a while so it gets a little more dense.  

Also, can think through your options first:




With nothing on it at all, it's simple and amazingly delicious. 
With a little whipped cream, the richness of the cocoa is delightfully complemented by the sweetness and lightness of the whipped cream.
With a very light layer of cocoa powder, you will get a little bit of bitterness that's perfect for chocolate lovers.
With a dusting (no more!) of powdered sugar and a sprinkle of cinnamon, it's awesome. 
Be wary of frosting - it might be too sweet, but it might work.  I don't know.  

Avoid a too much powder. It will "puff" in your mouth - not good!

So go for it. 
Make this cake, and be happy. 
I'm serious. 
Be happy!