Chocolate Idiot Cake

Beloveds,

This is my last post to you for the year. 

What a year it has been. 

I've learned so much. 

I like it when things tie up into tidy morals and easy stories. 

But this year didn't have one. 

There's too much for me to recount and remember. 

I want to tell you all of it and I want to tell you none of it. 

But mostly I want to say thank you for this year. 

I want to say thank you to the beautiful girls who share victories and defeats with me, and thanks to those same beautiful girls for letter writing and eating doughnuts and laughing and making me dream bigger. Thank you for the Happiness List. Thank you to the family, for being unconditional. Thank you to the friends, who laugh and listen and talk and eat and delight with me. Thanks to sender of that letter, I'm a better writer because of it. Thanks to the glorious boys who kissed and held me. Thanks to the music. Thanks to the restaurant. Thanks to the brilliant professors. Thanks to everyone who told me their histories of love. Thanks to the stars, driving late at night and the radio. Thanks to whoever reads this. 
Whoever you are. 

I have had this fear lately, that if I don't tell you, then you'll never know. And then where would we be? 

I want to say thank you. 

Thank you and I love you. 

I love you. 

I love you.

I love you. 

Don't forget. 

Chocolate Idiot Cake

One 9-inch (23 cm) cake

From DavidLebovitz.com, who adapted from Ready for Dessert 

This cake is ridiculous. It melts in your mouth. Literally. Note that it requires a water bath, which is no big deal, just make sure you wrap your spring form pan tightly with aluminum foil, some water leaked into mine, which ended up not being a big deal, but just so you know. Also, this cake is really so easy it's for idiots. That's why it's called Chocolate Idiot Cake. 

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.