“Moist” is inexplicably one of my favourite words along with “pebble”.
This recipe makes use of the simple fact that dark sugar, full of molasses, brings out the deep, mellow, satisfying flavour of chocolate. This is a damp, dense, heady, squidgy affair a bit like my morning dog walk (it has been pouring with rain here) but a whole lot more desirable.
It is hard to believe that a cake so rich, decadent and sumptuous only contains 100 g of dark chocolate (make sure it is great quality dark chocolate of at least 70% cocoa solids though).
I first made this cake 8 years ago for my daughters 1st Birthday party. I made 3 loaves of it and then arranged them in the shape of a “1” before smothering them in totally unnecessary and extravagant chocolate ganache. A friends daughter (about 8 years old at the time) walked up to the cake from the wrong side of the table, gazed at it (upside down) and shouted “yay, its a brilliant, giant “J” ” My daughter’s name begins with an “A” so we all had a chuckle. Most importantly though, the cake disappeared into the tummies of both adults and children with equal appreciation.
I don’t ice this cake (apart from that Birthday occasion), it just doesn’t need it. We often have it warm with vanilla ice- cream as it is reminiscent of brownies. It is very much like gingerbread in that it improves after a couple of days but in our house, it isn’t usually around for that long.
The recipe is adapted from Nigella Lawsons book “The Domestic Goddess”- my favourite Nigella book. My copy is well thumbed and marked by cake mix splatter. Nigella suggests spreading a slice with cold cream cheese. Weird? No its hedonistic, pure pleasure- try it!
Ingredients
100 g of good quality dark chocolate (at least 70% cocoa solids)
375 g dark muscovado sugar (ensure that lumps are broken up before you use it)
225 g soft unsalted butter
2 large eggs
1 tsp vanilla extract (not essence)
1 tsp bicarbonate of soda
200 g plain flour
250 mls just boiled water
Tin
A 23 x 13 x 7 cm loaf tin (this is quite a large loaf tin), lined with baking parchment. You will need to put a baking sheet on the oven shelf below in case there are any drips.
Oven
Pre-heat the oven to 190C (170-180C Fan)/ Gas mark 5
Method
1. Melt the chocolate in a bowl over a pan of simmering water. Do not let the water touch the base of the bowl. Leave the melted chocolate to cool a little while you proceed with the following steps:
2. Cream the butter with the sugar until it is well combined.
3. In a small bowl, use a fork to beat the eggs together with the vanilla.
4. Gradually add the eggs to the butter/ sugar mixture, beating well.
5. Fold in the melted, slightly cooled chocolate and mix well.
6. Add the bicarbonate of soda to the flour and add to the chocolate mixture one (large) spoon at a time. Alternate each spoon of flour with an addition of a spoonful of “just- boiled” water. Use a spatula to scrape the sides of the bowl down between additions.
7. Continue adding the flour and water until it is all thoroughly combined. You will have a fairly liquid batter but it should be smooth.
8. Pour the batter into the prepared loaf tin and bake in the centre of the oven for 30 minutes. Then turn the oven temperature down to 170C (150-160C Fan)/ Gas mark 3 and bake for a further 15 minutes. The cake will be risen and fairly firm on the top. A skewer inserted in the middle won’t come out clean because the centre will be a bit squidgy.
9. Leave the cake in its tin on a wire cooling rack to cool completely before turning it out.
ScrummyWalks 
Wow, I really admire your bakes, they are so beautiful!
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