World's Best Chocolate Cake

An article from the New York Times, piqued my interest… could this really be the world’s best chocolate cake ? It’s credentials are perfect, as it’s from Yotam Ottolenghi and Helen Goh’s cookbook Sweet. And how sweet it is, seriously easy to put together, not even a mixer is required.

Ingredients

Ingredients

• 250g unsalted butter at room temperature, cut into small cubes
• 200g dark chocolate ( 70% cocoa solids) chopped into small pieces
• 1 1/2 tsp instant coffee granules, dissolved in 350mls boiling water
• 250 g sugar
• 2 large eggs
• 2 tsp vanilla extract
• 240g SR flour
• 30g Dutch cocoa
• 1/4 tsp salt

Chocolate Ganache

• 200g dark chocolate (70% cocoa solids) chopped into small pieces
• 200ml heavy cream
• 3 tsp Golden Syrup
• 3 tsp unsalted butter at room temperature

Method

For the cake

1. Preheat oven to 170C ( I dropped it to 150C for fan) and grease a 23cm springform tin and line with baking paper.
2. Place the butter, chocolate and hot coffee in a large heat-proof bowl and mix well until everything is melted, combined and smooth.
3. Whisk in the sugar by hand until it is dissolved.
4. Add the eggs and vanilla extract and whisk again until thoroughly combined and smooth.
5. Sift the flour, cocoa powder and salt together and add to the melted chocolate mix.
6. The batter here is liquid, but don’t think you have missed something; this is how it should be.
7. Pour the batter into the prepared pan and bake for 1 hour, or until the cake is cooked and a skewer inserted into the centre comes out clean, or with just a few dried crumbs attached.
8. The top will  form a crust and crack a little ( mine was quite a lot), but don’t worry this is expected.
9. Leave the cake to cool for 20 minutes before removing from the pan, then set aside to cool completely.

For the Ganache

10. Place the chocolate pieces in the food processor, and process until fine.
11. Combine the cream and golden syrup in a heat-proof jug and Microwave on Medium, for a couple of minutes or until just before boiling point.
12. Get the processor running again, with the chocolate still inside, and pour the hot cream in a steady stream. Process for 10 seconds, then add the butter. Continue to process until the mixture is shiny and smooth.
13. Use a rubber spatula to scrape the ganache into a bowl and cover with cling wrap, pressing it down onto the ganache.
14. Set aside until it is the consistency you want to spread over the cake.