Adapted from Nigella Lawson
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 2 large eggs
- 100 grams sugar
- 200 grams gf flour mix (i use jeanne's gf flour mix)
- 50 grams cocoa powder
- 275 grams sugar (caster preferred, granulated is ok)
- 175 grams butter at room temperature
- 175 grams chocolate melted in a double boiler and cooled for 10 minutes
- 80 grams heavy cream
- 125 grams boiling water
- 1 teaspoon cocoa powder
- 125 grams water
- Carbohydrate 267.01322683495 g
- Cholesterol 808.0625 mg
- Fat 168.882526666674 g
- Fiber 4.07314843090375 g
- Protein 23.3002215000077 g
- Saturated Fat 103.310294066668 g
- Serving Size 1 1 Serving (658g)
- Sodium 1207.56046666782 mg
- Sugar 262.940078404047 g
- Trans Fat 12.9428704666713 g
- Calories 2645 calories
Step-by-step
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. (170°C in original recipe). Grease and line two loaf tins (21 x 11cm and 7.5cm deep) 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.
- Blend the flour, baking soda, cocoa powder, sugar, and a pinch of salt in a large bowl. Then add the softened butter and cut in with a knife or pastry blender until chunks of butter as small and well incorporated. Add the cream, eggs, vanilla extract, and melted (cooled) chocolate. Mix with a wooden spoon until well blended. Add the boiling water in three additions, stirring well to blend between each.
- Divide the batter between the two prepared tins and bake for 50-60 minutes, or until firm to the touch.
- As soon as the cake is baked, remove from its tin using the baking paper, and place on a cooling rack, leaving the baking paper in place.
- Put the syrup ingredients of cocoa, water and sugar into a small saucepan, and boil for approximately five minutes, until thickened.
- When the syrup is ready, pierce the cake a few times using a skewer or a long match, and pour the syrup as evenly as possible over the cake. Let the cake become completely cold, remove the paper, and place it on your serving plate.
- Top with shaved chocolate before serving, if desired.
Pouring boiling water directly into a cold batter will scramble the eggs and seize the melted chocolate. Prevent this structural failure by incorporating the liquids in strict stages, melting the chocolate first so it cools for exactly ten minutes before hitting the bowl. Room-temperature butter at 68 degrees Fahrenheit integrates into the dry flour and cocoa mixture without creating greasy pockets, ensuring a uniform crumb structure when using gluten-free starches.
Divide the batter evenly between two 21 x 11cm loaf tins and bake at 350 degrees Fahrenheit until a skewer inserted into the center emerges clean, typically requiring fifty to sixty minutes. Piercing the warm cake immediately after baking allows the boiled sugar-and-cocoa syrup to penetrate the interior matrix rather than pooling on the surface. Leaving the parchment paper handles intact during this soaking phase provides structural support while the crumb absorbs the liquid.
Wrapped tightly in plastic wrap, this dense loaf actually improves on the second day as the starches fully hydrate and the chocolate flavor deepens.
