When My Oven Was Broken, My Inbox Delivered: Stovetop Chocolate Cake

Back in May, as I was waiting for a replacement latch for our oven so that I could start baking again, I received an email from Milk Street that seemed like it was intended specifically for me. The subject line was: "The Best Chocolate Cake, No Oven Needed." Chocolate cake without an oven?! I did not know such a thing existed! You cook the Stovetop Chocolate Cake with steam, and I had to give it a try.

To make the batter, you whisk eggs with light brown sugar; incorporate water, espresso powder, sour cream, melted butter, and vanilla; and mix in flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, and salt. The batter was very thin and I poured it into a parchment-lined 9-inch round pan. The recipe says that you should steam the cake in a Dutch oven, with the pan resting on top of a coil of aluminum foil that raises the pan above the water level. I thought this seemed like a waste of foil. So I took out our largest Dutch oven and put a silicone steamer basket (I own an earlier version of this one) in the bottom of it before pouring in some water. 

I lowered the pan into the Dutch oven on top of the steamer basket and then discovered that the little silicone legs on the bottom of the basket are compressible. That wouldn't have been a problem, except that they didn't compress equally and ended up at different heights. So my pan was sitting at an angle and the batter was definitely higher on one side of the pan compared to the other. I futzed around with the set up briefly and couldn't figure out a way to fix it, so I just went ahead to steam my lopsided cake.

It was difficult to tell when the cake was done. The recipe says to steam it until it's "just firm to the touch," but the top of the cake was damp and sticky, so I couldn't tell if the cake was firm underneath just by touch. I inserted an instant read thermometer just to make sure the center was cooked (I can't remember what the temperature was, but it must have been at least 190 degrees). The top of the cake remained damp even after it was completely cooled. After I cut the cake I dusted the top with powdered sugar, and in the span of a few minutes when I plated a slice and tried to find a spot with good light to take the above photo, most of the sugar was reabsorbed. Which is which you can see a lot of powdered sugar on the plate, because I had to reapply more sugar right before taking the photo -- and it was also soon reabsorbed.

The cake was delicious. It had a tight crumb but was springy and tender, with a classic, rich, devil's food cake flavor. And even though my cake was lopsided and much taller on one side, it was evenly cooked through. While I have no complaints about the cake itself, I do think that it needs some sort of frosting. My choice would be a fluffy chocolate American buttercream. Honestly, I am amazed that you can make a steamed chocolate cake that is this delicious; the end product was indistinguishable from a cake baked in an oven. 

 

Recipe: "Stovetop Chocolate Cake" from Milk Street.