Winning Hearts & Minds Cake

I think I’ve told you that I don’t like chocolate that much – in fact I’ve mentioned it several times.  There is however, always an exception to the rule.  And this cake is mine.  

I’ve mentioned my Annie Wizenburg and Orangette love in the past, most specifically when sharing her amazing Coconut Macaroons (not to be confused with macaron).  Hers was the first recipe book I bought off Amazon and the first foodie blog I ever discovered – and subsequently devoured.  I loved her book, and as much as I loved her blog, when I was pregnant with both my babes I found anything to do with food – including reading about it – impossible to stomach for the first 17 weeks.  And so, I have never really gotten back into my Orangette groove.  I visit occasionally, but as is the case with pretty much anything that affected me adversely during those awful weeks of morning sickness (including the incredible Duffy album Rockferry, and Usher’s OMG song), I haven’t been able to enjoy them the same since. 

I made this cake for the first time for my husbands’ 30th birthday celebration.  I made 3 of them and not one sliver was left by the end of the night.  Annie made 20 of them as her wedding cake and testified not a mouthful remained then either.  That’s gotta tell you something!

I’ve made it several times since, for special occasions, and for a recent Dessert & Balderdash evening we had at home as part of the sweet spread.  It never, ever, fails to impress.  It’s incredibly easy for something so unbelievably amazing and I think that is what I meant when I recently complained about the labour spent making my first Oxtail soup.  For the time and labour and love I put into its creation, I felt the return was pretty lame.  This on the other hand is super simple and yet overwhelmingly impressive in it’s final form. 

It won’t win any prizes for the best looking dessert on offer, but I guarantee you it will take out top honours for the taste and satisfaction test. 

I’m sorry I haven’t shared it with you sooner – maybe subconsciously I wanted to keep such a special gem to myself – but that would be silly, because food is made that much more delicious in sharing and enjoying it together. 

Here you go… try it and you’ll soon see why it’s called the:

 “Winning Hearts & Minds Cake”

200 grams best-quality dark chocolate (70% cocoa solids and higher)

200 grams butter – the original recipe calls for unsalted, but I never have unsalted in my fridge so use whatever you have – cut into 1 cm cubes

1 1/3 cups castor sugar

5 large eggs

1 Tbs plain flour

Preheat the oven to 190 degrees celcius (170 if using the fan), and butter an 8-inch round cake tin (20cm). Line the base of the pan with baking paper and butter the baking paper 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 tin 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 flip it onto a serving plate, so that the crackly side faces up.  The easiest way to do this is as follows:

Cover the tin with a piece of tin foil and a large flat plate on top of the foil facing down (not the intended serving plate).  Hold the cake tin and plate firmly together and carefully and quickly flip them over.  The tin should now be on top of the plate, with the foil in between.  Remove the tin, revealing the cake, which is now upside down.  Remove the baking paper.  Place the serving plate on top of the cake and flip them again so that the cake is right side up.  Remove the foil.

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.

Note: This cake can be kept at room temperature, sealed in gladwrap, for up to 3 days.  Or it can be refrigerated for up to 5 days.  (Be sure to bring it to room temperature before serving.)  To freeze it, wrap it tightly in gladwrap, and then foil, and it will keep for up to a month.  Make sure you that you defrost at room temperature for 24 hours, still fully wrapped before serving. 


{I’m about to freeze mine which is why there isn’t a prettier picture above for you}

Because it has such a small amount of flour in it, you could also substitute for GF flour making this a great option for those who are Coeliac. 

Adapted from: Orangette