Azo Family Chocolate Cake

Tomorrow I'll be back on an airplane heading for Berlin and a week of roast goose and red cabbage, real candles on Christmas trees, afternoon tea with Basler Leckerli galore, and all the mothering a girl could ask for. I can't wait.

Before I leave you, though, one thing. This cake? A marvel. Yes, I know most of you have trusted recipes for simple chocolate cakes. Who am I to convince you that this one is better? But in the off chance that you're still searching for that one great recipe, the one that will always impress people, taste great, and come together with a flick of the wrist, then this is the post (and the cake) for you.

It comes from a brief piece in the New York Times last winter about a mistake in the kitchen that led to this fudgy, yet cakey confection. That mistake actually lends itself quite well to the harried cooks of today. Bake this up when you've got a free hour or so, all the rest is in the chilling and unchilling, as it were. The French family from whom the recipe originated (of course) baked the cake in a loaf pan, which I plan to do next time (just think, a pale plate with a pool of raspberry sauce, perhaps, and a slice of this delectable chocolate loaf lying on top - gorgeous, no?).

It's not an entirely flourless cake, so it has a nice crumb, for those of us who love old-fashioned chocolate cakes. But the structure of the cake also allows for a dangerously creamy center that flirts with decadence. Topped with a vanilla-scented dollop of barely sweetened whipped cream, it's a show-stopper, it really is. Not too intense, and not too light: just right.

And now for one bit of sentimentality, dear readers. You've made this year a glorious one for me and I can't thank you enough. For reading every day, for cheering me on when I needed it most, for being so enthusiastic, and for showing me that the world inside my computer screen is a rich and wonderful one, indeed. I hope you all have peaceful holidays, wherever you may celebrate them. See you in the New Year!

Azo Family Chocolate Cake
Yields 10 servings

8½ ounces (2 sticks plus 1 tablespoon) unsalted butter, more for greasing pan
7 ounces bittersweet chocolate (50 percent or higher cocoa), chopped
5 large eggs, separated
1 cup sugar
½ cup all-purpose flour
Pinch of salt
Whipped cream for serving

1. Place rack in top third of oven and heat to 400 degrees. (For best results, use a separate oven thermometer.) Butter a 9-inch springform pan and set aside. In a double boiler or microwave oven, melt together 8½ ounces butter and the chocolate. Stir to blend.

2. In a medium bowl, stir together egg yolks and sugar. Stir in flour. Add chocolate mixture and stir until smooth. Using an electric mixer, whisk egg whites and salt until stiff but not dry. Fold whites into chocolate mixture just until blended. Pour into cake pan.

3. Bake for 25 minutes. Remove cake from oven and allow to cool for 1 hour. Wrap with foil and refrigerate until cake is firm and cold, at least 2 hours. Two hours before serving, remove cake from refrigerator and bring to room temperature. Slice (center of cake will be fudgy) and serve, if desired, with whipped cream.

Comments

[rube]

Thank you Wednesday Chef for the spicy chicken, for the biscotti (and for telling me that I could just mix the nuts and ginger into the batter) and for this fudgy cake. Safe travels and happy new year.

[Shauna]

I just found this awesome blog yesterday! I love it.

Fröhliche Weihnachten und ein glückliches Neues Jahr.

[lobstersquad]

I saved that recipe when I read it in the NYT, but now it has the seal of your approval, I´ll certainly make it very soon.
Happy Christmas and New Year.

[s'kat]

Have a great trip, and a wonderful holiday!

[Stefanie Noble]

I made that cake as a birthday cake for my husband this past year and it was great. I went ultra-decadent and made a cream cheese frosting and piped little rosettes around the edge and put raspberries in each one.

[Abby]

My husband always asks for chocolate cake - I'll have to try this one for him.

I hope you have a happy and safe holiday, and a blessed new year, too!

[Anne]

Your last paragraph made me a little teary! Thanks for a year of wonderful writing and recipes. Have a wonderful Holiday!

[Zarah Maria]

Happy holidays Luisa! Enjoy yourself and Berlin- Looking forward to lots of posts in the new year!

[shuna fish lydon]

I have little desire to go to Germany except for that which you mentioned. and there are those cookies I can't pronounce-- the aged ones baked on edible rice paper...

happy holidaze.

[Jess]

I hadn't seen this in the NYT, but the recipe is almost identical to a cake my mother has been making for 20 years! I made it twice this holiday season. Definitely a great cake.

[Anne]

Happy Holidays to you too, Luisa. Your blog is one of my daily reads, and I look forward to hearing about your cooking adventures.

[Tanna]

Your words look like they match the picture and I believe it is one wonderful cake worthy of baking.
I've much enjoyed my visits here and look forward to 2007 with you! Enjoy the family.

[Leo]

Just sent my first post cuz I just discovered your site. Now this Chocolate 'cake' recipe! You're killing me. I am going to have to quit my job just to try out some of these incredible recipes. With 5 sons, I fear this cake will be gone before I get a chance to try it out. I have a chocoholic father, and this will help my mother satisfy his 'jones'. Thank you.

[Romina]

This recipe sounds great. Is it possible to have the measures in metric? I live in Germany

[Luisa]

rube - I'm so glad you enjoyed all those recipes as much as I did. Here's to many more!

Shauna - welcome, then! And thank you. Frohes Neues!

Ximena - soooo worth saving, for sure. Happy 2007!

S'kat - thank you so much. Hope you had a great holiday.

Stefanie - wow, that is one lucky husband. I do love the idea of raspberries with this cake.

Abby - thank you and the same to you!

Anne - oh! How sweet. Thank you for being such a loyal reader!

Zarah Maria - thank you. And here's to more posts from you, too! :)

Shuna - Zimtsterne? They are GLORIOUS. And I'll bet that if I got you to Berlin, you'd love every minute ;)

Jess - how funny! Good to know it stands the test of time.

Anne and Tanna - thank you, thank you, thank you!

Leo - five sons AND a chocoholic father? Wow, cakes must not last long in your household ;) I'm so glad you've found the blog!

Romina - try typing in the amounts in Google's search engine, for example, "8.5 ounces in grams" and Google will do the calculations for you. Nifty, huh?

[chrissy]

hi there. this cake looks like heaven and i'm very interested in making it but i want to half it, or make it smaller somehow. i have a 7 inch spring-form pan that i'm dying to use. could i just half the recipe and the bake time?

thanks!

[Mireille]

I baked a similar cake taken from Molly's blog. I loved it. Rich, chocolate-y...I even tried it with celtic sea salt, but I prefer it without. A good mistake!

[Annie]

I baked this yesterday and it's definately going to be a stand-by recipe. It's like a brownie only lighter...perfect! I've never underbaked a cake before and was a bit scared so I left it in the oven for an extra 5 mins. It was still lovely and fudgey in the middle but next time I'll be brave and take it out at 25 mins.

[Bonnie and Leigh]

Luisa,

When my boyfriend asked what I wanted for my birthday I replied that I would love for him to bake a cake for me from scratch. So, he checked my Google Reader and found my subscription to your lovely site. He perused your site and chose this recipe for his cake endeavor.

I was not allowed to help--so I sat with a giant grin as he learned to separate eggs via a YouTube video tutorial.

The cake turned out beautifully and it was sinfully delicious. Thank you for highlighting a perfect recipe (I adore the story behind it), and for providing such excellent directions.

xo
leigh

[Michaela]

Dear Luisa,

I've got a question about the Azo Family Cake - that you wrote about in 2006.

Should it only take 25 minutes to bake this cake? I made it recently, and after 25 minutes the cake was still completely batter in the center.(My oven may be off) I ended up baking it until a skewer inserted in the center looked like I had just tested brownies (wet skewer/ wet crumbs on it). Do you have any advice you could provide? Is there anyway to tell when this cake should be removed from the oven - if I can't go by the time? Thanks

[Heather Issing]

Hi Luisa-
For my Mother's 58th birthday, she requested a German chocolate cake for dessert. Your blog was my first stop, and though this cake looks delicious, I want to deliver exactly what she loves - as she did for me every birthday as a child :)

I was curious if you've come across a good recipe in your travels through Germany?

Good luck with the project! I am a huge fan.

[Healthy Foods Blog]

This cake is impressively creamy! I'm actually out of words right now because I'm 100% amazed.