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Indecent chocolate cake

>> Monday, July 19, 2010

Chocolate cake 1

Now that I've got your attention...

That's the way some people advertised their parties while I was at college, with a notice where you could read SEX in a large font... followed by the details of the party in a much smaller font. Well, this post beginning has to do with the author of this recipe, the very well known British chef Nigella Lawson, the queen of food porn (just take a look...). Her recipes can send your blood sugar sky-rocketing and raise your cholesterol so much you'd need a chisel to clear your arteries. In fact I found the recipe already tweaked by Heidi of 101 cookbooks. She praised it so much it made me curious. So today it's a sweet and chocolatey day. I hardly try this kind of delicacy when I make it, but my children often appreciate these indecently caloric cakes, just because they don't put on weight (so far) and they can do it. Yes, they can.


I was intrigued by the sinking and deflating quality of the cake that Heidi talked about in her post. Oddly enough, my cake didn't sink although it didn't really raised a lot. It was extremely soft and moist (indecent, I tell you), I guess it has to do with the boiling water addition, which I had never seen before added to a cake. When you add the water it feels as if the chocolate in the batter melted again. My family loved this cake, I strongly recommend it, in spite of the health issues... And I dared to turn on the oven during a rather brief break from the scorching heat of this month.

Chocolate cake 2

Indecently rich chocolate cake

  • 145g spelt flour (all-purpose will do too)
  • 1 tsp baking powder
  • 1/2 tsp salt
  • 225g softened butter
  • 215g muscovado sugar
  • 2 large eggs
  • 115g bittersweet chocolate
  • 250ml boiling water (I really only added 2/3 of this amount)
  1. Preheat the oven to 190ºC.
  2. Sieve the flour, mix with the baking powder and the salt and set aside.
  3. Melt the chocolate in the microwave or a double boiler and leave to temper.
  4. Cream the butter in a stand mixer until light and fluffy then add the sugar little by little while still beating. Scrape the bowl every now and then for all the butter to homogenize. When all the sugar is added, add the eggs one by one, beat well to mix.
  5. Bring the water to the boil.
  6. Add the melted chocolate at a slower speed and mix thoroughly.
  7. Lastly, add the solid ingredients and the boiling water, first 1/3 of the flour mixture, then 1/3 water, mix and repeat 2 more times. I didn't add all the water because I found the batter too thin. Mix well.
  8. Line a loaf pan with parchment paper, oil it well using a brush (I use tigernut or sunflower oil). Don't skip the paper, otherwise you just won't be able to take the cake out of the pan. Bake for 30 minutes, then lower the temperature to 160ºC and bake for another 15 minutes. Try for doneness (although it's difficult to make out, as it's quite sticky), and leave to cool in the pan: don't unmold while still warm, as it would crumble down; it's very fragile and crumbly.
Chocolate cake 3

I love to use spelt in cakes and cookies. But regardless of the type of flour, what I always try is to use stone-ground flour, because it contains all the essential oils of the grain germ, something that's missing in conventional industrially milled flour. When the flour contains the germ nutrients it goes rancid more quickly... therefore if you get rid of the germ the shelf-life is extended... so that large producers and distributors can speculate. If you want to know more about this fascinating subject, read Michael Pollan's In defense of food.

Chocolate cake 4

21 comentarios:

Belinda @zomppa July 19, 2010 at 8:48 PM  

Worth turning the oven on for sure!

Carol Egbert July 19, 2010 at 9:17 PM  

I don't think that indecent and chocolate along in the same sentence. Chocolate is always more decent! I just bought spelt for the first time yesterday I'm looking forward to trying it.

J e l e n a July 19, 2010 at 10:02 PM  

a scoop of vanilla ice cream would go wonderfully with this cake...i would just add a touch of cinnamon...i add cinnamon to everything...

Magic of Spice July 19, 2010 at 10:41 PM  

Looks like a wonderful cake:)

Anonymous July 20, 2010 at 11:45 AM  

This looks great! I've always been intrigued by spelt flour, and the soonest I get hold of it, I'll give this a try :)

Isabelle July 20, 2010 at 3:42 PM  

I've seen hot water added to gingerbread batters before, but never in any other type of cake... I'm no chemistry expert, but it seems to make for a moister, denser cake.
Anyway, love how the top of your cake turned out so beautifully crisp and crackly. Anything that chocolatey can't possibly be bad. :)

Jillyann July 20, 2010 at 4:55 PM  

Spelt flour can be tricky but it looks like this one came out terrific. It looks so delicious.

lisaiscooking July 20, 2010 at 5:19 PM  

The crackly top makes this cake look irresistible! Sounds chocolatey and delicious.

Veggie Belly July 20, 2010 at 7:11 PM  

This cake looks amazing! some fudge sauce and icecream will make it extra yum! love the photo :)

Anh July 21, 2010 at 1:41 AM  

This is the kind of chocolate cake that I love!!!

Asha @ FSK July 21, 2010 at 6:00 PM  

LOL.. That title did grab attention,indeed! :)))

saw Nigella's video.. love that she didn't use butter to make the frosting but 2.5 cups of sugar seemed a tad much! did you try the frosting?

Mari Nuñez July 21, 2010 at 8:19 PM  

Looks wonderful, delicious and chocolatey.

un saludo :0)

Jessica July 22, 2010 at 12:39 AM  

Looks decadent...very delicious indeed!

My family loves fresh baked goods and this one looks pretty easy to put together. Thanks for sharing it with us!

jessyburke88@gmail.com

Jean July 22, 2010 at 6:27 AM  

How can you go wrong with this? It's gorgeous! Definitely worth using the oven for.

tasteofbeirut July 22, 2010 at 6:55 PM  

I had heard of adding boiling water before but never tried it; I was surprised by the ingredients of your cake: I have seen way richer cakes; the use of about 100 g of chocolate and the butter is not too much; only 2 eggs, I can deal with it. Definitely trying it!

Patty July 22, 2010 at 8:26 PM  

Holy smokes! This chocolate cake IS indecent! I know a lot of people despise Ms. Lawson, but I can't get enough of her...particularly because of her commentary! She is hilarious and most definitely intriguing. But wow, your cake is amazing. I did see her make this a while back, but you've inspired me to try it!

Cristina - Teenie Cakes July 25, 2010 at 8:16 PM  

Miriam - decadent looking cake. I can almost smell the chocolate from that gorgeous photo.

Thanks for the suggestion about Michael Pollan's book...I'm going to order it right now! :)

Miriam July 28, 2010 at 2:10 PM  

Belinda: yes!
Carol: you're right... very very decent XD
Jelena: I love cinammon too...
MoS: thanks!
Ovenhaven: sure you'll like it.
Isabelle: it was decadent, my children loved it.
JillyAn: it was delicious!
Lisa: thanks!
VB: to make it even lighter? XD
Anh: try it!
Asha: I don't like frostings. Anyway I'm not sure the cake in the video is exactly the same...
Mari: thanks!
Jessica: hope you try it!
Jean: it takes some sweating though...
ToB: you're right and in spite of that the cake feels very rich.
Patty: I'm not sure she's a great cook, but she's the perfect communicator...
Josh: thanks.
Cristina: I'm sure you'll like it, it's very interesting.

Jonny August 10, 2010 at 4:10 PM  

i love the way you expertly combined a recipe for an artery-hardening chocolate cake with sage advice about the greater nutritional value of stone-ground grains. Oxymoron? I don't think so. Virtue comes in all forms, and it's especially important to note the hidden virtue in decadent desserts. bravo!

Unknown August 24, 2010 at 9:32 AM  

Hi there!
would like to try this recipe! may i know what is the size of the loaf pan you using?
thank you very much! =)

Sara September 4, 2010 at 8:57 AM  

This does look insanely good! I want! :)

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