Baking Equinox With Fudgy Walnut Chocolate Cake

The highlight of this week has been the Maple Crème Brûlée. I watched P finish off the last of the ramekins yesterday night after he was struck by hunger again because of an early supper. Gluttony never looked so pleasant, especially when you are witness to your calorie-conscious husband licking off a dessert you so cautiously treaded to make.

I’ll admit, I do feel invigorated from that success. But I think I will take some time to have a Crème Brûlée encore. I have learnt from Lalit Modi’s present plight never to abuse success! There is nothing more damaging for a novice like me than a baker’s hara kiri.
I’d say, somewhere there is a lofty feel-good factor for me to see eggs and sugar and syrup and flour turn into luscious desserts. It was on a whim today that I started off with this Cake, the recipe for which I found scribbled behind a phone bill. Yes, in my own handwriting. 

Ingredients for the Fudgy Walnut Chocolate Cake are:

1/4 cup oil
3/4 cup sugar
1 cup cocoa powder
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 tablespoon vanilla essence
1/4 cup chopped walnuts
A pinch of salt
3/4 cup flour
2 eggs

Pour oil (you can even use olive oil) into a mixing bowl and add sugar, stirring frequently until sugar is fully dissolved. Add cocoa powder, baking powder, vanilla, and the pinch of salt. Mix well with a spatula.
Beat in the two eggs, then mix in flour by hand.
Fold in the chopped walnuts to the batter and spoon into a greased  loaf pan. I used a one pound pan.
Preheat oven to 350°F. Bake until a wooden pick inserted into center comes out clean. It took my cake about 50 minutes.

Cool in pan for five minutes, then invert and unmold onto a rack. Serve warm with tea or coffee. 
Gooey, chewy and very, very divine, I finished a slice while the kettle took its time to boil water for my tea!