Chocolate Butter Cake

I received a new cookbook for Christmas from my husband Chad: Soups by Anne-Catherine Bley.  Anne-Catherine Bley is the chef-owner of a spot in Paris called le Bar a Soupes (www.lebarasoupes.com), where she prepares daily six different soups that are served up with gorgeous homemade bread, salad/dessert/cheese platter, and a glass of wine or coffee for mere pennies.  Bley opened her Paris restaurant after visiting similar places during her travels to London and around the US.  When Chad and I visited Paris last year, it was February and there was either rain or snow falling from the sky during our entire vacation.  We had read about le Bar a Soupes on www.chocolateandzucchini.com and were so relieved to walk out of the cold, wet, exhaust-scented Paris air and into the warm and welcoming little restaurant.   The meal was so wonderful, I remember exactly what I had: chestnut soup with bacon, chickpea salad, and a glass of red table wine. I added Bley's book to my amazon wishlist shortly after our return from Paris, and I am thrilled to be able to indulge in her delightful creations in my own kitchen now.

Oddly enough, the first recipe I wanted to make out of my new book was the chocolate butter cake.  It was so beautiful and rustic-looking in the picture, I couldn't resist!  Also,it looked exactly in the picture as it did when Chad ordered it in Paris: rich and dense with dark chocolate.  I made the gooey chocolaty cake a few nights ago for my family's very belated Christmas celebration, and it was absolutely delicious- and so easy!  I have tweaked the cooking time to add a couple of minutes, as the cake was just slightly underdone for my taste, and its presentation suffered for it (I had to reassure my guests repeatedly that the cake was not raw).  I also used just a little more chocolate in my recipe than Bley used in the original...too much chocolate?  I don't think so. 

This is a dessert I plan to serve a lot in the future.  It also makes a fine breakfast served chilled with a cup of hot black coffee, if I do say so myself!

Chocolate butter cake

3 eggs

1/2 c sugar

scant cup all purpose flour

7.5 oz dark chocolate (I used a combination of ghirardelli and valrhona that I had in my pantry)

2/3c water

Preheat your oven to 400 degrees.  Butter a loaf pan.  In a large bowl, beat together the eggs and sugar.  Add the flour and beat until thoroughly blended.  Set aside.

Break the chocolate into pieces and put them into a microwave-safe bowl.  Microwave for 1-2 minutes until just melted.  Add the water to the melted chocolate and stir to combine.  Cut the butter into pieces and add to the chocolate mixture.  Put the chocolate mixture back into the microwave for about a minute until the butter is melted, then remove and stir well.  Add the chocolate mixture to the egg mixture very slowly and mix well. 

Pour the batter into the prepared pan and bake for 17 minutes.  Let the cake stand for at least fifteen minutes before turning it out onto a serving dish.  The cake will be very soft in the middle, almost uncooked.  Serve with homemade vanilla bean ice cream.  Enjoy!

Comments

[Moriah]

Wow, what a great idea. I enjoyed your blog and will be trying my hand at roasting some veggies tonight..Take care Macrae

[molly]

how much butter?

[Macrae]

So sorry! 4oz. butter.