Sometimes I swear chocolate has magical powers. And I mean this in the most matter of fact ways. Yes, there have been studies which prove the chemical reactions that happen in people when they eat chocolate, but that is the last thing I am thinking (or feeling) about when I have a chocolate craving.
Chocolate, in it’s purest form, is something of a treat for me. I use chocolate as a compliment in many things I make. However, something solidly chocolate is not usually on my baking rounds. But ever since making this cake a few months back, it has become my turn-to, catch-all, never-fail chocolate recipe.
I first read about this cake in Molly Wizenberg’s book, A Homemade Life. The cake is called Winning Hearts and Minds Cake, and boy does it ever. Not only does it win hearts and minds, but bodies and souls as well. It is easy to make and perfect to freeze; it is dense, rich, and amazing. It has won me over in totality not just as a woman who appreciates good chocolate but as a baker and a person with a busy schedule.
Tomorrow I am going to be needing to win over some hearts and minds at my oral defense. I couldn’t think of a better ritual to prepare myself for such an event, thus making this cake. Sometimes it is imperative to woo oneself before one tries to woo others; what I mean is if I don’t feel great, my audience certainly won’t feel great after the presentation either. And this cake makes me feel fantastic. (I wish I could serve it at the defense…that would be amazing!) Alas, I can not, but must speak for 30-40 minutes about my work, my journey into eating design, the how, what, and why I am doing what I am doing, get questioned and finally graded on my efforts. Public speaking has always made me nervous! But this time around, I am feeling more ready than ever. This is such a great opportunity for me to share and celebrate in what I have done in the past few years, explain to people and bring them in, giving them entry and maybe even excite them about it 
.
Well I accomplished the first step by winning over my heart and mind (and made a chocolate cake to go with it). Tomorrow it’s time for step two: winning theirs (sans the chocolate cake). Wish me luck!!
The Winning Hearts and Minds Chocolate Cake, Molly Wizenburg
7 ounces (200 grams) best-quality dark chocolate
7 ounces (200 grams) unsalted European-style butter (the high-butterfat kind, such as Lurpak or Beurre d’Isigny), cut into ½-inch cubes
1 1/3 cup (250 grams) granulated sugar
5 large eggs
1 Tbs 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. Then add the eggs one by one, stirring well after each addition, and then add the flour. The batter should be smooth, dark, and utterly gorgeous.
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. (I usually set the timer for 20 minutes initially, and then I check the cake every two minutes thereafter until it’s done. At 20 minutes, it’s usually quite jiggly in the center. You’ll know it’s done when it jiggles only slightly, if at all.) Let the cake cool in its pan on a rack for 10 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 loose dollop of ever-so-slightly sweetened whipped cream.
