The tart's very good cake

PS - I made it again, for a lunch with Tom's brother William and his wife Natasha, so here it is in all its sunken glory.

I don't have a picture because we ate the entire cake before I thought to take one, but here's an amazing, amazing Nigella recipe. It's from How to Be a Domestic Goddess. Basically, I think you should bake it as soon as possible, especially if you're in a place where winter's taking its toll.

Dense Chocolate Loaf Cake

225 g soft unsalted butter
375 g dark muscovado sugar (i.e. dark brown sugar)
2 lg eggs, beaten
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
100 g best quality dark chocolate, melted
200 g plain flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
250 ml boiling water
23 x 13 x 7 cm loaf tin

Preheat the oven to 190 C (375 F), put in a baking sheet in case of sticky drips later [basically, the loaf tin will be so full that it might, while baking, overflow], and grease and line the loaf tin. The lining is important as this is a very damp cake: use parchment or something similar.

Cream the butter and the sugar, either with a wooden spoon or with an electric hand-held mixer, then add the eggs and vanilla, beating in well. Next, fold in the melted and now slightly cooled chocolate, taking care to blend well but being careful not to overbeat. You want the ingredients combined: you don't want a light airy mass. Then gently add the flour, to which you've added the baking soda, alternately spoon by spoon, with the boiling water until you have a smooth and fairly liquid batter. Pour into the lined loaf tin, and bake for 30 mins. Turn the oven down to 170 C (340 F) and continue to cook for another 15 mins. The cake will still be a bit squidgy inside, so an inserted cake tester or skewer won't come out completely clean.

Place the loaf tin on a rack, and leave to get completely cold before turning it out. Don't worry if it sinks in the middle: indeed, it will do so because it's such a dense and damp cake.

Makes 8-10 slices.