Chocolate Cake
Last week on 13th of february, my brothers and I made some cake since it was my mother’s birthday as well as a precursor to Valentine’s day. I hate how American recipes use cocoa powder and not real chocolate, so this recipe is a french one. Also, it’s easier for me to actually bake based on the metric system rather than the US customary system, so that’s what the recipe is based on. However, I’m going to add in conversions to help.
Ingredients:
170 g/about 6 ounces of dark chocolate (I used a mix of dark chocolate and 70% chocolate)
120 g/8 tablsp of butter
3 eggs
200 g/1 cup of sugar
a small cup of water (I’ll explain later)
First things first, preheat your oven to about 440 degrees F.
I put broke the pieces of chocolate into a large bowl and mixed in about 2 tablespoons of water. I then covered it with a paper towel and put it into the microwave at HIGH for about 1:30-2 minutes. I then mixed the chocolate until it was smooth.
While that was going on, I measured out the butter and put it in a bowl, which was then soaked in a bowl of hot water. Honestly, you can just use a microwave to melt the butter, but do make sure you’re attentive and put it in a medium-ish bowl, since I had a bad experience cleaning the whole microwave when a bowl overflowed with butter while melting it. My brother, who loves butter, as the one who melted it. xD
Crack the eggs into a large bowl and mix in the sugar. Then, add the butter and finally, after letting the chocolate cool a bit, fold in the melted chocolate. Mix well. If you want to, you can dissolve a small teaspoon of instant coffee and put it in to put some depth in the flavour.
Get the flour, and as you mix (either with an electric mixer or by hand), gradually sift in the flour. Don’t overdo the mixing, since it will cause the batter to stiffen. Sadly, I made that mistake, so I poured in some water to thin it out.
When you’re finished, the batter should be nice and smooth with no lumps of flour in it (that’s why you need to make sure you sift the flour!). I personally like to whip it a bit more in order to put in some more air bubbles to make it fluffier.
Get a small piece of butter and use it to butter the cake pan. You only need a small piece. Make sure not to pressed too hard against the pan or the butter will stick to it.
Finally, put the pans into the oven! Approximate cooking time is 18 minutes, or until a skewer stuck into the cake comes out clean. I personally took around 20-22 minutes, and the cake ended up being slightly blacked with a crunchy texture. Keep in mind the if you added in some air bubbles, the cake will rise a little in the oven (or a lot, if you put the batter in a small container).
Sadly, I forgot to take a picture of the finished cake since it was eaten soon after. If you buttered the pan well enough, the cake should be easily put onto a plate. The cake is best served warm. If you make it the night before, just put a slice in the microwave for 15 seconds, and the cake should be ready to go!
Hope you try out this recipe. This cake is really great and my mom wouldn’t stop going downstairs to get a tiny slice of it. 
Cooking | 
February 21, 2010 12:48 pm