The Long-Awaited Recipe

OK, I'm finally getting my act together here. Even though I WILL be teaching again this afternoon. Who loves you? :)

Voila:

This is from a mag called "The Best of fine Cooking Chocolate" which can apparently be had from Costco for $6.00 ish. It is PACKED with scrummy-looking stuff, so I recommend running right out and buying one.

FASTEST FUDGE CAKE

4.5 oz (1 c) all-puropse flour
1 oz (1/4 c + 2 T) unsweetened natural cocoa powder (not Dutch processed)
1/2 t baking soda
1/4 t table salt
1/4 lb (1/2 c) unsalted butter, melted and warm
1 1/4 c packed light brown sugar
2 large eggs
1 t pure vanilla extract
1/2 c hot water
1 c warm ganache (recipe to follow)

Position a rack in the lower 3rd of the oven and heat to 350 degrees (F). Grease the bottom of an 8x2 or 9x2 inch round pan or line it with parchment.

In a small bowl, whisk the flour, cocoa, baking soda and salt. Sift only if cocoa remains lumpy after the whisking. In a large bowl, combine the melted butter and brown sugar with a wooden spoon or rubber spatula. Add the eggs and vanilla; stir until well blended. Add the flour mixture all at once and stir just until all the flour is moistened. Pour the hot water over the batter; stir just until it's incorporated and the batter is smooth. Scrape the batter into the prepared pan. Bake until a toothpick inserted in the centre comes out clean - about 30 mins for a 9" pan (33 for mine); 35-40 mins for an 8" pan. Let cool in the pan on a rack for 10 mins. Run a thin knife around the edge and invert the cake. Invert it again onto the rack and let cool completely.

Once cool, set the rack over a baking sheet or foil. Pour the warm ganach over the cake and use an icing spatula to spread it over the top and down the sides. Let set for about an hour before serving. (HA!)

I actually just invert is straight onto the cake plate, let cool, pour on a bunch of ganache and jiggle it 'til it's covered.


GANACHE

1/2 lb bittersweet or semisweet chocolate, finely chopped
1 c heavy cream; more as needed
Granulated sugar (optional)

Put the chocolate in a medium heatproof, bowl. In a small saucepan, bring the cream to a boil. Pour the hot cream over the chocolate and whisk gently until the chocolate is completely melted and smooth. (If using a 70% bittersweet chocolate, the ganache might be a bit thick; add more cream, a tablespoon at a time, to thin it. You might also want to add a couple of teaspoons of sugar when you add the hot cream.)

I have another TOPS lab coming in the mail, so I'm stalking the postman. The kids are LOVING the pendulum labs. The math patterns one is also a hit. We have a Sir Walter Raleigh vid from the library I keep meaning to watch with them. It's about the "Orinoco Disaster." (I just ordered a bunch of Raleigh stuff from the library when we got to him in our book.) Do you think I should show them the BlackAdder Potato episode as part of the study of Raleigh? }:-) Muahaha!!