I only just recently happened upon these two chocolate cakes, and already they are indispensable.
Until now I had little need for chocolate cake. I rarely make it, because I rarely crave it; when, about once a year, I do long for a chocolate dessert, I bake these really good brownies. For years my children didn’t care much for chocolate cake. Until Louise.
In this decidedly un-chocolatey family, Louise loves chocolate — worse things happen. And so for this little one’s birthday I needed a chocolate cake recipe. I found two.
One is an intense though surprisingly light dessert; the faultless chocolate touch at the end of a lingering meal. The other is cakey and moist but not too crumbly; slices hold together well in clumsy little hands. It could be stacked into layers with cream or cherry jam. A flawless tea-time cake.
The flourless, almond olive-oil chocolate cake, which I discovered via the same friend who pointed me toward the revelatory date cookies (food-obsessed friends are the best kind), beat all expectations. It is light and predictably nutty, perfectly moist with a bare hint of olive. Also ridiculously easy to make. The recipe, by Nigella Lawson, also happens to be wheat and dairy free, which bears mentioning. The recipe is here, as I have not altered it one bit.
I found the second cake in a cookbook from which, until now, I had never actually cooked: Alice Waters’ The Art of Simple Food. It is the perfect party cake. Pointedly described as ‘moist and versatile,’ and which ‘can be made in any format from cupcakes to a multitiered wedding cake.’ I had intended an extra chocolatey frosting, but time ran out so it was just a dusting of icing sugar and plenty of smarties.
Chocolate cake for a party by Alice Waters The Art of Simple Food
115 g (4 ounces) unsweetened (or very dark) chocolate
2 cups flour
2 tsps baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
6 Tbsps (unsweetened) cocoa powder
115 g (8 Tbsps) butter plus more to butter the pan
2 1/2 cups brown sugar
2 tsps vanilla extract
3 eggs
120 ml (1/2 cup) buttermilk
300 ml (1 1/4 cup) boiling water
Preheat the oven to 170°C (350°F) and take the butter, eggs, and buttermilk out of the refrigerator to soften and bring to room temperature.
Line the bottom of the cake pan with parchment paper. Butter both the pan and the paper, and dust the paper with flour or cocoa powder, shaking out any excess.
Heat some water in a large frying pan/skillet. Roughly chop up the chocolate, place it in a heat proof bowl, and slowly melt it over the water bath (bain marie), stirring occasionally, until just melted and smooth. Remove from the heat.
In a medium bowl, sift together the flour, baking soda, salt, and cocoa powder. Set aside.
In a large bowl (or stand mixer), beat the butter until creamy. Add the sugar and vanilla extract and continue beating until light and fluffy. Whisk in the eggs one at a time and stir until fully incorporated.
Stir in the melted chocolate. Add half of the dry ingredients and combine. Stir in the buttermilk. Then add the other half of the dry ingredients.
Finally, gradually pour in the boiling water, until just combined.
Pour the batter into the prepared bake tin, slide carefully into the preheated oven as the batter will be fairly liquid, and bake for about 45 min, until a knife of skewer inserted in the middle comes out clean with just a crumb or two attached.
Allow the cake to cool completely before turning it out of the tin. (The cake keeps well. If not using immediately, leave in the tin and cover tightly with aluminum paper.)
Nettle and Quince 