Chocolate Idiot Cake

Looking for a rich chocolate concoction to throw into the traditional Thanksgiving mix? Are you gluten-free?

Try this cake. You'd be an idiot not to.

Actually, the name refers to the fact that even an idiot could not screw it up. I have to agree, because one time I forgot to cover it with foil before baking (pretty major oversight) and it still turned out delicious. Closer to a brownie than the truffle-like ganachey goodness it normally is, but still really good.

When I make this cake I like to take a small round cookie cutter (from my set of graduated round cutters) and cut idiot cake buttons. Because it is so fudgy and rich you don't need an entire slice.

Really.

I sometimes sift powdered sugar onto the buttons, just to make them look pretty. For a party one time I piped a blob of whipped cream onto them and topped it with a raspberry. Yum.

You can read all about the idiot cake from the man behind it, David Leibovitz, here.

He recommends using fancy-pants chocolate in this cake but I follow America's Test Kitchen suggestion to use Hershey's Special Dark as your go-to baking chocolate (ubiquitous and surprisingly good quality) and have never been sorry.

Here is the recipe:

Chocolate Idiot Cake
One 9-inch (23 cm) cake
10 ounces (290 g) bittersweet or semisweet chocolate, coarsely chopped
7 ounces (200 g) butter, salted or unsalted, cut into pieces
5 large eggs, at room temperature
1 cup (200 g) sugar

Preheat the oven to 350F (175C).

1. Butter a 9-inch (23 cm) springform pan and dust it with cocoa powder, tapping out any excess. If you suspect your springform pan isn't 100% water-tight, wrap the outside with aluminum foil, making sure it goes all the way up to the outer rim.

2. Melt the chocolate and butter in a double boiler (or microwave), stirring occasionally, until smooth. Remove from heat.

3. In a large bowl, whisk together the eggs and sugar, then whisk in the melted chocolate mixture until smooth.

4. Pour the batter into the prepared springform pan and cover the top of the pan snugly with a sheet of foil. Put the springform pan into a larger baking pan, such as a roasting pan, and add enough hot water to the baking pan to come about halfway up to the outside of the cake pan.

Bake for 1 hour and 15 minutes. You'll know the cake is done when it feels just set, like quivering chocolate pudding. If you gently touch the center, your finger should come away clean. (Cliffnote: mine always has a dot of chocolate residue when I test.)

5. Lift the cake pan from the water bath and remove the foil. Let cake cool completely on a cooling rack.

Serve thin wedges of this very rich cake at room temperature, with creme anglaise, ice cream, or whipped cream.

Storage: This Chocolate Idiot Cake can be wrapped and chilled in the refrigerator for 3-5 days.

I know you'd like a photo. But I gave it all away... and besides, it doesn't really photgraph well. It is a dark chocolate moon, complete with little moist pockmarks when done. Just make it.

You can thank me later.