I still can’t shake the strangeness I’ve been feeling all week—nor do I think I should—and I can’t entirely separate myself from it at any point. But for the sake of breathing and being a positive, cheerful presence, I’m trying to parse through it in the back of my mind while I go about my days: taking a run, cleaning the kitchen floor, rolling out quiche crust, changing diapers, slicing avocado for sandwiches, talking to my sister, and so on. In lieu of trying to put into words here what you’re all already feeling (because really, do I need to join the chorus?), I’ll just say that this week’s email from On Being was quite good and helped to articulate some of my jumble of thoughts.
And then, if it’s okay with you, I’ll use this space today to talk about…okay, cake. Let’s talk about cake. Specifically chocolate cake. More specifically spiced flourless chocolate cake—and how to riff on the impossibly-perfect-for-all-occasions recipe I consider the crème de la crème of chocolate desserts (chocolate soufflé notwithstanding, but who’s whipping that up casually on a Saturday? Don’t raise your hand. I don’t want to know. It’ll feel like a betrayal — I thought we were all in this “muddling through” together, and if you’re over there tossing together chocolate soufflés without breaking a sweat, that’s just going to make me look inadequate!).
If talk of cake feels like sheer and absurd escapism to you, I’ll just say that life is always a matter of our daily individual routines set against the backdrop of broader happenings, and it’s always an ever-shifting balance of which one comes to the forefront at any given time.
Did that make any sense? At all? Let’s hope so.
(Also speaking of escapism, if you need some, pro tip: we’ve starting watching all of the Star Wars movies in chronological order of when they were made—a single movie takes about three nights, and we only watch on weekends, so this'll last us awhile. And let me just say that lowbrow reality TV has NOTHING on the far reaches of outer space and intergalactic warfare when it comes to diversion from real life.)
(Sidebar I AM DULY EMBARRASSED that I just used the word intergalactic with a straight face. Sorry. Someone in this immediate household who is NOT me was president of his high school Star Trek club and I’m worried it’s rubbing off on me.)
But in all seriousness, can we please discuss Harrison Ford’s extremely foxy side smirk in the one with the ice planet? Episode V? So dreamy. I would absolutely fly through an astroid field with him, even though his vest + tight flight pant wardrobe choices are regrettable, at best.
Back to the cake. It was my neighbor’s birthday this week. He’s in his late 20s or early 30s perhaps, and lives in the house just west of mine. I know next to nothing about him except that he has a little 8-year-old daughter whom he walks to the bus stop every morning with his wife, both of them anxiously watching as she climbs the steps and makes her way to the back. They always hold hands as the bus pulls away, waiting until it turns the corner before they make their way home. It really makes my heart swell.
He’s a chef at a restaurant in town, but I have no idea if he likes sweets or prefers strawberries to citrus or hates coconut. Maybe he doesn’t even like dessert. Maybe he’d rather have buttery cheese biscuits or a crusty loaf of sourdough bread.
If we were closer, I’d ask him exactly what he wanted for his birthday and I’d make that. But as I only happened to find out that it was his birthday by chance in a passing conversation, I couldn’t exactly saddle him with that question—when surprising someone with a birthday dessert, it’s best to make it an actual surprise.
Enter flourless chocolate cake. (Stage right! Cake! It’s your cue! Stop flirting with the croissants backstage! They’re French, they look that way at everyone, not just you!)
If you have to take a wild guess at a dessert nearly everyone will like, chocolate cake is a safe bet. It’s right up there with a vanilla cupcake or a chocolate chip cookie. Flourless chocolate cake, however, is a bit more sophisticated. It’s as fudgy and dense and rich as a brownie, and as comforting, but also rather sexy and luxe. (God, I love any excuse to use the word luxe. Really draw it out when you say it, all posh and British and sultry.)
And here’s the other great thing about flourless chocolate cake—unlike a regular cake, which would look a bit nude (pardon me) without frosting, this one would be ruined by frosting! The top is all shiny and crackly and inviting, and you wouldn’t want to hide that with any sort of topping.
You can also make it weeks ahead of time, as it freezes beautifully, and it’s sturdy enough to transport without fear of cracking or crumbling, which makes it a good drop-off-on-someone’s-porch sort of cake.
Usually I make it without any extra flavor, save for a pinch of espresso powder—this is entirely optional but it really amplifies the flavor of the chocolate.
This time I played around with it a little, adding cayenne and cinnamon for some spice and heat.
I highly recommend this variation, as well as any of the following if you want to change it up:
Chocolate Orange: add 3 tablespoons bourbon + the zest of 1 orange to the batter
Boozy: add 1/4 cup Kahlua to the batter
Sesame: add 1/4 cup tahini + 1/3 cup toasted sesame seeds to the batter
Malted: add 1/4 cup malted milk powder to the batter + sprinkle crushed malt balls overtop before baking
Mocha: add 3 tablespoons espresso powder to the batter
Chocolate Almond: add 3 ounces almond paste, chopped finely, to the batter + top with finely chopped toasted nuts
Okay, onto the recipe.
Note: The original recipe—from Molly Wizenberg—which I’ve adapted here, calls for 1 tablespoon all-purpose flour. You can leave it out as I do, or include it. I also sometimes include up to 1/4 cup of flour—adding flour will make the cake slightly…cakier and a bit less fudgy, so experiment to see how you like it best. Don’t add more than 1/4 cup though, or you’re getting into totally different territory and might as well just pick a regular chocolate cake recipe. Just saying.
Spiced Flourless Chocolate Cake
Adapted from Molly Wizenberg
7 ounces (200 grams) dark chocolate
7 ounces (200 grams) unsalted butter
1 1/3 cup (250 grams) granulated sugar
5 large eggs
pinch of salt
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1/4 teaspoon espresso powder (optional, for enhanced chocolate flavor)
Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. Line an 8” or 9” pan (a springform is ideal) with parchment and grease the parchment and sides of the pan well.
In a large heatproof bowl over a double boiler (or you can do this in the microwave), melt the chocolate with the butter until smooth.
Add the sugar, salt, cinnamon, cayenne, black pepper, and espresso powder (if using), and stir well, then set it aside to cool just slightly. Continue whisking after a few minutes; it’s okay if it’s gritty-looking, it’ll smooth out as you go.
Add the eggs, one at a time, beating well between each addition. Add the vanilla (if using) and continue mixing until the batter is smooth and shiny.
Pour it into your prepared pan and bake for about 25 minutes—note that depending on your pan size and oven, I find that the bake time can vary pretty dramatically with this cake. I recommend starting to check at 20 minutes but knowing that it could take considerably longer than 25 minutes. You’ll know it’s done with the cake looks mostly set on the top but just slightly jiggles still in the center.
Remove from the oven, run a knife around the edges to loosen it, and let it cool for at least 20 minutes.
Serve it warm or cold. It’s excellent the next day, and even better I think if you freeze it.