Frantic Home Cook – Home cooking, Recipes, Healthy, Frugal

One of my absolute favorite cookbook authors and bloggers is David Lebovitz who blogs and wittily Twitters (”Wittily Twitters” sounds like the perfect Dickens character, doesn’t it?) about his musings from his Paris apartment. His recipes are insanely good so his recipe for Chocolate Idiot Cake literally had my name on it seeing as how I am often an idiot.

He describes this cake as “the most delicious, silkiest, most supremely-chocolate ganache you’ve ever had.” He wasn’t kidding.  This stuff is Grade A dangerous!  He’s also right that it was pretty darn easy.  So if you don’t know the difference between a water bath and a bubble bath, here’s your recipe for impressing your Valentine.

David Lebovitz’s Chocolate Idiot Cake

10 ounces good bittersweet or semisweet chocolate, coarsely chopped
15 tablespoons (7 oz) butter, salted or unsalted, cut into pieces
5 large eggs, at room temperature
1 cup sugar

Preheat the oven to 350F (175 C).

1. Butter a 9-inch (23 cm) springform pan and dust it with cocoa powder, tapping out any excess. If you suspect your springform pan isn’t 100% water-tight, wrap the outside with aluminum foil, making sure it goes all the way up to the outer rim.

2. Melt the chocolate and butter in a double boiler (or microwave), stirring occasionally, until smooth. Remove from heat.

3. In a large bowl, whisk together the eggs and sugar, then whisk in the melted chocolate mixture until smooth.

4. Pour the batter into the prepared springform pan and cover the top of the pan snugly with a sheet of foil. Put the springform pan into a larger baking pan, such as a roasting pan, and add enough hot water to the baking pan to come about halfway up to the outside of the cake pan. (Francie: That’s all a water bath is…told you it was easy!)

Bake for 1 hour and 15 minutes.

You’ll know the cake is done when it feels just set, like quivering chocolate pudding. If you gently touch the center, your finger should come away clean.

5. Lift the cake pan from the water bath and remove the foil. Let cake cool completely on a cooling rack.

Serve thin wedges of this very rich cake at room temperature, with creme anglaise, ice cream, or whipped cream.

Storage: This Chocolate Idiot Cake can be wrapped and chilled in the refrigerator for 3-5 days.

So…I made the recipe so I can vouch that this stuff really is idiot proof.  How you manage the rest of your Valentine’s date is is up to you.