Or at least the best I can remember ever tasting. A few weeks ago Nir, a good friend of Avi’s from work, invited us over to watch the finals of the “Big Brother” show, the Israeli version. I obviously felt a need to bring cake, so what if Nir’s house is 10 minutes away from ours 
But since we’ve only talked about meeting a few hours before the show, I didn’t have much time on my hands. Exactly on time I remembered seeing this cake on Fanny’s wonderful blog, and drooling on it several times.
I made the cake in a large loaf pan, and I also kept enough batter for 2 muffin sized cakes, so I’d be able to taste the cake before bringing it for people to eat in the evening. The instant my lips touched the warm and soft cake, I fell in in love! A chocolate cake that looks quite innocent and ordinary on the outside, completely takes you by suprise when you get to taste it. So rich and fudgy on the inside, with an intense chocolate flavor and a very pleasant sweetness. I’ve probably told you by now that Avi says that I use the description “the best ______ I’ve ever tasted” much too often, but when I told him that this was the best chocolate cake I’ve ever had, he looked at me for a second and simply said “yes”.
In the original recipe there is also a chocolate syrup that you’re supposed to pour on top of the cake after taking it out of the oven. I’ve made it but ended up not using it, since in my opinion it makes the cake overwhelmingly sweet.
Since then I’ve already made the cake again, and brought it to a Hannukah social gathering that our friends Daniel and Dana organized last week, and there too it was a huge hit.
Some notes and tips about the cake:
* In the original recipe Fanny says that you can make the cake by mixing all the ingredients with a wooden spoon. The first time I made it I tried to use a wooden spoon but couldn’t get all the many ingredients incorporated, and the butter, that is soft but not melted, didn’t make it any easier. So in this recipe I really recommend using a mixer, unless your hands feel strong enough for a vigorous mixing.
* Something we’ve learnt in the pastry course - Cakes baked in loaf pans tend to crack on top. The place of the crack can be controlled, so it will be nice and symmetrical. The way to do it is by passing a knife or a thin spatula in the middle of the cake (lengthwise), which will determine that the crack will be in the middle.
* If you, like me, often forget to take the butter out of the refrigerator in advance for cakes that require soft butter, you can cut the cold butter into cubes and place them in the microwave for 10 seconds. If it isn’t soft yet, place it for another 10 seconds, and so forth until the butter is soft, but note that it’s only supposed to be soft to touch, but not melted.
If you’re in the mood for cute little shapes, you can slice the cake
and use a cookie cutter to create beautiful mini cakes from each slice
Ultra Chocolate Cake / Slightly adapted from a recipe by Nigella Lawson
For a 30X11 cm and 7 cm deep loaf tinIngredients:
200 gr plain flour
1/2 tsp baking powder
50 gr cocoa powder
275 gr caster sugar
175 gr butter, soft
2 eggs
1 tblsp natural vanilla extract
175 gr chocolate, melted
80 gr double cream
125 gr boiling waterDirections:
1. Preheat the oven to 170°C. Grease and line the loaf tin with baking paper, making sure you cut it well above the rim so you’ll have handles to later get the cake out from its tin.
2. Place all the ingredients except the boiling water in the bowl of a mixer. Mix using a paddle attachment until the batter is smooth.
3. Slowly incoporate the boiling water and mix until smooth.
4. Place the batter in the tin and smooth its top. If you want, see tips on how to control where the cake is going to crack while baking.
5. Bake for 50-60 minutes, or until the cake is firm to the touch.
6. Cool the cake.
7. Before serving you can sprinkle Dutch cocoa powder on top of it, or powdered sugar or grated chocolate (dark, milk or white).
8. Keep in an airtight container at room temperature.
