Happy 3rd Birthday, Lo-Fi Gourmet! Flourless Chocolate Cake

It’s hard to believe that the blog is having another birthday. Lo-Fi Gourmet turned three on February 15! I made this cake to celebrate the occasion, and Andrew and I had some friends over to help eat it up. We also served paprika chicken with preserved lemon, stewed zucchini with fresh herbs, and roasted multicolored carrots with yogurt, pistachios, and mint. We keep saying that we need to have people over more often, so it was fun to actually do it!

I have a long weekend for President’s Day so I got to sleep in this morning and I’m spending the extra day being pretty lazy: doing crosswords, drinking tea, procrastinating fixing up a new song I’m writing, and planning a few meals for the week. I’ve decided that once a week instead of bringing my lunch to work, I’m going to try something new in the neighborhood where I work, so I’ve also been plotting out of few lunchtime adventure ideas. So far I have Xian Famous Foods, H&H Bagels, and Pastrami Queen on my list.

We’re going to see The Favourite tonight at the new Nitehawk Cinema in our neighborhood. I’m so excited, since the film is by one of my favorite directors and the theater is one that brings you beers, truffled tater tots, and other Brooklyn fare. This theater has been in the works for years and finally opened a few months ago. I’m so happy to finally be checking it out! I hope all of you are having a wonderful, relaxing holiday weekend and that you have a fantastic short week after this!

Flourless Chocolate Cake

adapted from King Arthur Flour

For the cake

• 1 cup semisweet chocolate chips
• 8 oz unsalted butter, plus more for the pan
• 5 Tbsp sugar
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 3 eggs
• 1/2 cup cocoa powder
• 1 tsp kosher salt

For the ganache

• 1 cup semisweet chocolate chips
• 1/2 cup heavy cream
• pinch of salt

1. Make the cake: Grease an 8-inch round cake pan. Cut out a round of parchment to fit the bottom of the pan and place inside the pan. In a heat-proof bowl, combine the butter and chocolate chips and microwave until the chocolate chips are melted. Stir until smooth, stir in the sugar and vanilla, and let cool slightly. Preheat the oven to 375° F.
2. Once the chocolate mixture has cooled a bit, stir in the eggs one by one. Mix in the cocoa powder and salt and stir until just combined. Pour the batter into the cake pan and bake until no longer jiggly in the center but not completely firm, about 20 to 25 minutes. Allow to cool for 5 minutes, then turn out onto a serving plate and remove the parchment.
3. Make the ganache: In a heatproof bowl, combine the chocolate chips, heavy cream, and salt. Microwave until the chocolate chips melt, stir until smooth. Pour the ganache over the cake and spread to cover the top, allowing some to run over the edges. Let cool for several hours before serving.