Hopefully you’re not too
sick of chocolate after Valentine’s Day. And if you are, well, at least
bookmark this for later because I’m excited to tell you about my birthday cake.
I like to make my own birthday cake because it’s fun, I ensure that I get the
cake I want, and I get to “clean” the batter bowl without sharing. While for
past birthdays, I have gone the extra mile with towering layer cakes, fancy
soufflés, and beautiful bundts, this year I wanted something simple. Perhaps it
is my advancing age spurring me to laziness, but I just didn’t want to spend
half my birthday on baking. However, I also wanted something decadently
chocolate-laden. This cake exceeded my
expectations on all accounts.
This is the easiest and
quickest cake recipe I have ever encountered that doesn’t compromise one bit on
flavor. It tastes like a perfect hybrid between cake and fudge with a slightly
crackly exterior that gives way to a moist and deeply chocolaty interior, and
then it all gets covered in ganache that cools to the texture of truffle
filling. It made a nice end to a very good birthday.
 |
| Stirring Ganache |
The original recipe comes
from the King Arthur Flour blog. I have made a few alterations, one of which is
to bake it in a 9-inch round baking pan (because I don’t own an 8-inch one). If
you choose to use an 8-inch pan, you will likely need to increase the baking
time to about 25 minutes, as in the original recipe.
Fun Fact: I calculated
some baking pan dimensions for you because I do this all the time for myself and forget to
write the information down. I frequently substitute pan sizes in recipes with
pan sizes that I actually own, but I like to be aware of the differences so I
can adjust baking time accordingly.
8-inch diameter round pan:
50.24 sq. in.
9-inch diameter round
pan: 63.59 sq. in.
8-inch square pan: 64 sq.
in.
9-inch square pan: 81 sq.
in.
9 x 13-inch pan: 117 sq.
in.
Flourless
Chocolate Cake
Adapted from
King Arthur Flour (blog.kingarthurflour.com)
Cake:
1 cup semisweet chocolate
chips
½ cup (8 Tablespoons, or
1 stick) butter*
¾ cup sugar
pinch of salt*
1 teaspoon vanilla
extract
3 large eggs
½ cup unsweetened, Dutch
process cocoa powder
*if you use unsalted
butter, increase the salt to ¼ teaspoon
Ganache:
1 cup semisweet chocolate
chips OR chopped semi- or bittersweet chocolate OR a combination**
½ cup heavy cream
Chocolate covered
caramels or other decorative candies, optional
**Both taste great, but
it’s easier to get a smooth, picture-perfect ganache with the bar chocolate
because it doesn’t have stabilizers
Preheat the oven to 375
degrees Fahrenheit. Grease the bottom and sides of a 9-inch cake pan lightly
with butter. Cut a circle of parchment paper to fit in the bottom of the pan,
and grease the top of the paper as well.
Place the chocolate chips
and butter together in a medium large, heat-safe bowl. Melt the chocolate chips
and butter together in the microwave, heating for 30-second intervals and
stirring in between, until both are melted and smooth. (This step can also be
done in a glass bowl set over a pan of simmering water.) Once the mixture is
melted, stir in the sugar, salt, and vanilla. Add the eggs, and stir to break
up and fully incorporate. Mix in the cocoa powder, just until combined.
Pour/scrape the batter
into the greased cake pan, and bake for about 18-20 minutes until the top has
formed a thin crust. (Sometimes I will check on it early, and the center of the
cake wobbles a somewhat as I’m pulling the rack out. You don’t want a liquid
center, but you don’t want the cake totally dried out either. The original
recipe says the center should be 200 degrees Fahrenheit, but I don’t have a
thermometer conducive to testing a shallow cake…) Remove the cake from the
oven, and let cool in the pan for 5 minutes. Then cut around the edge of the
cake to release it from the sides of the pan, and invert pan onto a cooling
rack. Remove parchment, and let the cake cool completely.
Once the cake is cool,
make the ganache by placing the chocolate and cream together in a heat-safe
bowl. Heat in microwave for 30 seconds or so, until the cream is hot enough to
melt the chocolate when you stir. If it needs additional heating time, return
it to microwave for short intervals (10-15 seconds), stirring in between, until
fully melted. (As with the first step of the cake batter, this can also be done
in a glass bowl set over a pan of simmering water.) Pour the ganache over the
top of the cake, and smooth it out with a knife or the back of a spoon, letting
it reach the edges of the cake to run down the sides. If using, place
decorative candies on top of the ganache. Let the ganache set for 2+hours, and
enjoy!
