Molly's Winning Heats & Minds Cake

Oh. My. God. Yes. This cake truly does win heats & minds. Incredibly rich, silky smooth & intensely chocolaty, this is the last chocolate cake recipe you'll ever need; no joke. This isn't the first time I've rushed into the kitchen with Molly Wizenburg's A Homemade Life in hand & I'm sure it won't be the last. Her simple recipes spring from the pages & just beg to be made. This recipe, the final in the book & her wedding cake, incidentally, is no exception. Seeing as it was intended for love, it seemed fitting to bake this gem of a cake up in celebration of our first anniversary & boy was it. We could barely keep ourselves from polishing off the whole cake in one sitting! If winning heats & minds is on your agenda, or if you just have a serious hankering for chocolate, then this is it. The buck stops here. I'm not sure what else to tell you guys except this cake is delicious. Period. Go forth & bake!

The Winning Hearts & Minds Cake

7 oz. bittersweet chocolate, finely chopped (Scharffen Berger is my favorite.)

1 3/4 sticks (7 oz.) unsalted butter, cubed

1 c. sugar

5 large eggs

1 tbsp. all-purpose flour

crème fraîche or homemade whipped cream, for serving

Preheat the oven to 375F & butter an 8" round cake pan. Line the bottom with parchment paper & butter it as well.

Put the chocolate & butter in a microwave safe bowl & melt it in 30 second bursts, stirring often, until smooth. Once smooth, add the sugar, stir well to incorporate. Set the batter aside to cool for 5 minutes. Once cool, add the eggs one by one, stirring well after each egg. Add the flour & incorporate. The batter should be dark & silky.

Pout the batter into the pan & bake for 25 minutes, or until the top is crackley, the edges are puffed & the center looks set. Remove the cake from the oven & cool in the pan for 15 minutes. To remove, place a dinner plate over the cake pan & flip it over. The cake will be upside down at this point. Then put another plate on the "top" (which will ultimately be the bottom) of the cake & flip it once more.

Cool, slice & serve. Garnish with a drizzle of crème fraîche or homemade whipped cream.