Dense Chocolate Loaf Cake
Why I Love This Recipe
This cake is very dense, rich, decadent and sensual. This loaf will be jiggly and collapse in the middle...kind of "cleavage" looking. So, I (Sue) took it one more step to make it more decadent, chocolatey and caloric.....made a chocolate mint ganache (Trader Joe's chocolate-mint morsels) and covered the loaf by pouring it on which covered the sides too and then.....melted some white chocolate and drizzled some on the top. Let me tell you this cake is only for special occasions but, boy, one that you will never ever forget! Oh, yes, yes, yes!
This recipe is from "How To Be A Domestic Goddess" by Nigella Larson .
Ingredients You'll Need
1 cup soft unsalted butter
1 2/3 cups dark brown sugar
2 large eggs -- beaten
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
4 ounces best bittersweet chocolate -- melted
1 1/3 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 cup plus 2 tablespoons boiling water
1 9 x 5 inch loaf pan
Directions
Preheat the oven to 375º, put in a baking sheet in case of sticky drips later, and grease and line the loaf pan. The lining is important as this is a very damp cake; use parchment or one of those loaf-pan-shaped paper liners.
Cream the butter and sugar, either with a wooden spoon or with an electric hand-held mixer, then add the eggs and vanilla, beating in well. Next fold in the melted and now slightly cooled chocolate, taking care to blend well but being careful not to overbeat. You want the ingredients combined; you don't want a light airy mass. Then gently add the flour, to which you've added the baking soda, alternately spoon by spoon, with the boiling water until you have a smooth and fairly liquid batter. Pour into the lined loaf pan, and bake for 30 minutes. Turn the oven down to 325º and continue to cook for another 15 minutes. The cake will still be a bit squidgy inside, so an inserted cake tester or skewer won't come out completely clean.
Place the loaf pan on a rack, and leave to get completely cold before turning it out Like gingerbread this cake improves the next day or two. Don't worry if it sinks in the middle; indeed, it will do so because its such a dense and damp cake. Makes 8-10 slices.
