you're welcome. aka my birthday gift to you.

(image from here)

(happy birthday eve to me, since tomorrow is the day i turn older and wiser once again)

anyyway, i have a little present for you, dear readers! well, if it's my birthday gift to you, i suppose it's a regift thanks to the glories of the internet. 

about a year or so i was on the hunt for a rich, easy, classy, fast, delicious chocolate dessert that i could make with ingredients i had on hand. i found a recipe that not only met all of those requirements, but it was good enough to make again. (and again and again.) hello, four ingredients!

i found this on the fabulous recipe index of david lebovitz- and i've never gone wrong with any of his recipes. 

this cake isn't cakey at all- it's more like a mousse cake or ganache, which is how i like cake. it doesn't require frosting and it's perfect for a crowd because you cut such small pieces. 

i swear you will come back to this cake over and over. in fact, i made it this week for my sister's birthday dinner, and then for my own birthday get together! i'd recommend using good chocolate, but...confession: once i was in a pinch and had to use ghiradelli chocolate chips and no one seemed to notice- myself included! whip up some whipped cream or add a bit of vanilla ice cream on the side to balance it out. it keeps for a few days and sometimes i think it gets even better!

find the recipe here or below:

Chocolate Idiot Cake
One 9-inch (23 cm) cake

Adapted from Ready for Dessert (Ten Speed Press)

• 10 ounces (290 g) bittersweet or semisweet chocolate, coarsely chopped
• 7 ounces (200 g) butter, salted or unsalted, cut into pieces
• 5 large eggs, at room temperature
• 1 cup (200 g) sugar

Preheat the oven to 350F (175C).

1. Butter a 9-inch (23 cm) springform pan* and dust it with cocoa powder, tapping out any excess. If you suspect your springform pan isn’t 100% water-tight, wrap the outside with aluminum foil, making sure it goes all the way up to the outer rim.

2. Melt the chocolate and butter in a double boiler (or microwave), stirring occasionally, until smooth. Remove from heat.

3. In a large bowl, whisk together the eggs and sugar, then whisk in the melted chocolate mixture until smooth.

4. Pour the batter into the prepared springform pan and cover the top of the pan snugly with a sheet of foil. Put the springform pan into a larger baking pan, such as a roasting pan, and add enough hot water to the baking pan to come about halfway up to the outside of the cake pan.

Bake for 1 hour and 15 minutes.

You’ll know the cake is done when it feels just set, like quivering chocolate pudding. If you gently touch the center, your finger should come away clean.

5. Lift the cake pan from the water bath and remove the foil. Let cake cool completely on a cooling rack.

Serve thin wedges of this very rich cake at room temperature, with creme anglaise, ice cream, or whipped cream.

Storage: This Chocolate Idiot Cake can be wrapped and chilled in the refrigerator for 3-5 days.