Recipe
Gâteau au Chocolat Fondant de Nathalie
Time: About 50 minutes, plus time to cool completely
Yield: one 8-inch round cake
| 7 ounces (200 grams) best-quality dark chocolate 7 ounces (200 grams) unsalted butter, cut into ½-inch cubes 1⅓ cup (250 grams) granulated sugar |
5 large eggs 1 tablespoon unbleached all-purpose flour |
Preheat the oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit, and butter an 8-inch round cake pan. Line the base of the pan with parchment, and butter the parchment too.
Finely chop the chocolate (a serrated bread knife does an outstanding job of this) and melt it gently with the butter in a double boiler or in the microwave, stirring regularly to combine.
Add the sugar to the chocolate-butter mixture, stirring well, and set aside to cool for a few moments. The mixture will look gritty.
Add the eggs one by one, stirring well after each addition and then add the flour. Mix until the batter no longer looks smooth and dark.
Pour batter into the buttered cake pan and bake for approximately 25 minutes, or until the center of the cake looks set and the top is shiny and a bit crackly-looking.
Let the cake cool in its pan on a rack for 15 minutes; then carefully turn the cake out of the pan and revert it, so that the crackly side is facing upward. Allow to cool completely. The cake will deflate slightly as it cools.
Serve in wedges at room temperature with a dollop of slightly sweetened whipped cream.
Notes
At the baking stage, check at 20 minutes and every 2 minutes thereafter. At 20 minutes, it’s usually quite jiggly in the center. You’ll know it’s done when it jiggles only VERY slightly, if at all. It’s hard to overbake this cake.
This cake is even better on the second day, so consider making it the day before serving.
Adapted from http://orangette.net/2004/08/and-then-the-cake-came-forth/