Ruth Reichl's "Last-Minute Chocolate Cake"

I love to read.  Mystery books are a favorite.  I prefer classic whodunits or "cozy" mysteries, as some call it.  In general, I shy away from anything too serious because real life is dramatic enough as it is.  I enjoy mystery books with a food theme and I figure I'm not alone because there are actually a ton of them! 

 

Lately though, I've been reading a slew of food-related memoirs and biographies.  As I was walking down the cookbook aisles at the library one day, I thought to myself: "why don't libraries put all the foodie books/chef memoirs and the like in one place near the cookbooks?"  Well, what do you know, but the library had already thought of that and I discovered a collection of those exact books.

Ruth Reichl's Last-Minute Chocolate Cake, made simply, with unsweetened chocolate and flavored with Grand Marnier

I'm almost done with that library's collection and among my favorites were the books written by Ruth Reichl, probably best known as former New York Times food critic and editor-in-chief of Gourmet.   Her writing is so natural, the stories so entertaining, that you zip through the pages, sopping up the food memories and stories she shares along the way.  When it comes to describing food and meals, her words capture the taste and sensation of each bite so that I find myself practically inhaling the experience...

As an added bonus, I got a chocolate cake recipe out of it too!  This is Ruth Reichl's "Last-Minute Chocolate Cake" - a title bound to capture my attention and a recipe I found within her book, Garlic and Sapphires.  Chocolate cake and what promises to be a fast and easy one, at that?  I was sold, and I made it a little over a week ago.

I am a big fan of everyday, no-frosting, cakes like this one.  Below a crackly top, this cake has a moist tenderness to it and good chocolate flavor thanks to unsweetened chocolate and coffee.   A couple tablespoons of orange liqueur in the form of Grand Marnier (which you could omit if need be but I really like it here) adds interest and gives it an almost addicting, come-back-for-more, quality.  As an after dinner dessert, I like it slightly warm, with vanilla ice cream on the side.  Whipped cream, a dollop of crème fraîche, and even a bit of Greek yogurt also make good accompaniments to this simple chocolate cake.

If you want to, you could certainly dress or change up this loaf cake.  I'm thinking you can use another type of liqueur or swap it for an extract, add some chocolate chips or citrus zest into the batter, or maybe sprinkle some almond slices over the top.  I think the combination here is pretty good just the way it is though.