I fell in love with the show Chef’s Table the day it came out on Netflix in 2015. I binge-watched all the episodes and found myself deeply touched by every single one- I’m pretty sure each of them made me cry at some point. It was probably the first time that most of us got acquainted with Magnus Nilsson, chef of Fäviken, the restaurant in remote Sweden famous for its very seasonal and of-the-earth dishes. Nilsson himself is quite the character, and during his episode we spend a lot of time following him through the forest as he talks about foraging, his needing-a-wash hair blowing out from under his hat with ear flaps.
Fast forward a few years, and I own Nilsson’s cookbook- an anthology on Nordic cooking. Many of the recipes don’t look very striking on paper, but I respect the endeavor to write something that’s not showy and is true to the way people in that region of the world cook, and I have hope that in reality they’ll be more special than they look. I honestly don’t know yet because the only thing I’ve gotten around to making is this chocolate cake, which to my ignorant mind does not seem very Swedish, but is apparently the most searched-for recipe online in Sweden. And this recipe comes straight from Nilsson’s wife.
Expectations were set quite low for this one, I’ll admit. The description seemed lovely enough- a dense, extremely moist chocolate cake that’s fudgy like a brownie. But the recipe doesn’t call for melted chocolate, only cocoa powder, which made me deeply suspicious. Everyone knows the best, densest brownies use actual chocolate.
And yet- the Nilsson family prevailed, proving why they own one of the best restaurants in the world and I’m cooking at home and judging recipes. The cake is extremely dense- gooey, in fact, as the recipe title suggests. And I’ll concede that, texture aside, using a more richly flavored chocolate could make the cake a little bit over the top, so here the cocoa powder works perfectly well.
This post comes to you from a hilltop in central Nicaragua, in the foothills of Mombacho volcano. The views are spectacular, the wind is whipping, and I can’t get enough of the local food- rice and beans, yucca, chicharrones- sometimes all together. Tomorrow I plan to gamely try the regionally famous tripe soup- for the blog! I’ll report back.
Ingredients
- 10 tablespoons unsalted butter,melted and cooled, plus more for greasing
- 1/4 cup plain bread crumbs
- 1 cup sugar
- 7 tablespoons natural cocoa powder
- 2 tsp. vanilla extract
- 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
- 2 large eggs
- 1 cup cake flour, sifted
- Whipped cream, for serving
Instructions
- Heat the oven to 400°. Grease a 9-inch springform pan with butter and coat the bottom and sides with the bread crumbs, discarding any excess. In a medium bowl, whisk the 10 tablespoons melted butter with the sugar, cocoa powder, vanilla, and salt until well combined. Add the eggs one at a time and whisk until smooth. Fold the flour into the batter until just combined, and then scrape the batter into the prepared pan, smoothing the top.
- Bake until the cake forms a thin skin on top but the batter is still loose in the center, about 10 minutes. Transfer the pan to a rack, let cool completely, and then chill for 1 hour. Unmold the cake and serve.
Notes
From The Nordic Cookbook
