Ultimate Chocolate Cake. Really.

Everyone has recipes that are personal to them. It's either a specific flavor combination of a carrot cake that hits all your buttons just right, or an imperfect cookie texture that's exactly like grandma used to make. The more I read cookbooks, the more I realize that everyone's trying to reinterpret recipes to fit their personal taste. As much as Jamie Oliver tries to tell me that he's made the 'Ultimate' cheeseburger, roast chicken, Bakewell tart, etc., I'm not buying it - it's just one that he's really into.

So it is rare that I consider a recipe the quintessential for that food. Having said all that, here is the Archetype of Chocolate Cake.

This is the chocolate cake you've been thinking of since you read the title. This is the cake from Roald Dahl's Matilda. It's the granddaddy of every chocolate cake, ever.  

Of course, such a cake is no secret. It's apparently the most-reviewed recipe on epicurious.com and it's just a matter of time before the commenters join together, apply for tax exempt status and form a religion wherein melted chocolate plays a crucial role. I'd join them.

The dough is gorgeously glossy and looks like a thick chocolate pudding. It bakes up into a dense, intensely dark and not too sweet cake. It's moist, but not fragile and one of the best things about it is that it freezes well, so you can attempt tricky multi-layered cakes with it, you know, those tiered affairs that take a few days to assemble. 

There's no reason to make this cake now, dangerous hings happen when this baby is made without the appropriate number of guests to feed. Don't even bookmark this page. Someday, in the not too far future, when you need a chocolate cake recipe, you will find it. It's that big of a deal.

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