Chocolate Gateau

Name: Chocolate Gateau
Prep time: 20 min
Cook time: 55 min
Total time: 1 h 15 min
Yield: 8 servings
Ingredients: 250 g dark chocolate (70% cocoa), broken into pieces; 175 g unsalted butter, softened; 2 tbsp whole milk; 5 large eggs; 175 g granulated sugar; 125 g all-purpose flour

From the kitchen of Carly

A dense, fudgy French chocolate cake with no flour-and-butter pretensions. Five eggs, a slab of dark chocolate, and an hour in the oven. Serve in thin slices because it punches well above its weight. Don't open the oven before the 45-minute mark. The cake's center sets in the last 10 minutes and a draft will sink it.

Prep: 20 min
Cook: 55 min
Total: 1 hr 15 min
Servings: 8
Difficulty: medium

Ingredients

8 servings

250 gdark chocolate (70% cocoa), broken into pieces
175 gunsalted butter, softened
2 tbspwhole milk
5large eggs
175 ggranulated sugar
125 gall-purpose flour

Instructions

Heat the oven to 350°F (180°C). Butter an 8-inch springform pan and line the base with parchment paper.
Melt the chocolate over a double boiler (or in the microwave at 50% power, stirring every 30 seconds). Let it cool slightly while you do the next step.
In a large bowl, beat the softened butter and sugar together with a hand mixer until the mixture turns pale and fluffy, about 3 minutes.
Add the eggs one at a time, beating well between each. If the batter looks broken, sprinkle in a tablespoon of the flour to bring it back together.
Pour in the cooled melted chocolate and the milk. Stir until smooth.
Sift in the flour and fold gently with a spatula. Stop the moment you can't see streaks of flour. Overmixing now means a tougher cake.
Pour the batter into the prepared pan and smooth the top.
Bake for 50 to 55 minutes, until the cake is set in the middle and a skewer comes out with just a few moist crumbs.
Cool in the pan for 10 minutes, then run a knife around the edge, release the springform, and turn out onto a rack to cool completely before slicing.

Substitutions

dark chocolate to semi-sweet chocolate (60%). Slightly sweeter result. Cut the sugar by 25g if you want to keep the balance.
all-purpose flour to almond flour for a flourless version. Use 100g almond flour. The cake gets even denser and naturally gluten-free.
milk to espresso. Two tablespoons of strong espresso deepens the chocolate flavor without making the cake taste like coffee.

Pairs well with: A scoop of vanilla bean ice cream, Lightly sweetened whipped cream and fresh raspberries, A small glass of port, espresso, or armagnac

Adapted from TheMealDB.