I've decided to be really generous and give you my secret recipe for
the ultimate chocolate cake and quite possibly the greatest chocolate
cake of all time.
A
bit of a sweeping statement I know, especially with so many CC recipes
making the same claim. But one bite of this deliciously rich, moist and
utterly luscious cake will confirm you're onto a winner and have you
helplessly devouring the whole thing, powerless to resist its deep,
dark, chocolately charms.
My chocoholic friends say it's totally orgasmic...
And
I have to agree. In fact, I'm thrilled to tell you, this glorious cake
scores on all levels. Apart from having the most wonderfully intense
chocolatey taste, it has a proper cake texture. By that I mean it's
moist yet 'cakey' with a bit of crumb.
It isn't a damp squidgy
cake that can't decide whether it's a cake or a brownie. Neither does it
collapse in the middle - a la Nigella's Chocolate Cloud Cake although
according to her it's meant to, which seems a bit weird if you ask me! I
was always taught if a cake sinks there's something wrong with the mix.
Meeow!
To bring you the best ever chocolate cake, I've
spent months testing recipes, including ones by Delia Smith, Rosemary
Shrager, Nigella, Sophie Grigson and one from the River Café. And not
one of them comes close to the cake I'm giving you here. Double Meeow! But it's true.
Either the texture was wrong or they weren't anywhere near chocolately enough. The wonderfully named Chocolate Nemisis from River Cafe came
close in flavour, but the texture let it down. I've since been told
it's notoriously difficult to get right. If I'd known that in the first
place I wouldn't have attempted it!
But I digress.
The point is the chocolate cake you're looking at here is pretty simple to make. It's rich yet light because it doesn't contain any flour.
Yet unlike other flourless cakes, there's no faffing around whipping up
egg whites or careful folding in. You make it along the lines of a
standard sponge. There's nothing 'A' Level about it. It also slides
effortlessly out the tin without collapsing in the process.
But
what really grabs me most is the taste and texture. It is sensational
with a capital S. I almost feel I should keep this recipe secret, it's
so good. But being the kind hearted soul that I am, feel I must share it
with you, so you can experience it for yourself and hopefully drop me a
line afterwards to tell me just how wonderful I am for giving it to
you!
I feel a cake as good as this deserves a decent topping. In this case nothing less than a ganache will
do. If you want to cover the sides of the cake as well, just make
double the amount. The quantity I'm giving you here though, is enough
for a decent sandwich filling and topping.
One final point, you
can either make a large cake, or split the mixture equally between two
sandwich tins as I have done here. I can vouch that both work equally
well. If you're making one large cake, cook it for 40-45 minutes
otherwise cook for 30-35 minutes if using two sandwich tins.
