Robert Lamkin of Chef Robért Catering has made this cake on nearly every movie set he’s worked on, including “Constantine,” “Transformers” and “Elizabethtown,” where Orlando Bloom and Kirsten Dunst couldn’t get enough. Lamkin adjusted the recipe for high altitude. Serves 9.
Ingredients
FUDGE TOPPING
2/3 cup whipping cream
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter
12-16 ounces high-quality semisweet chocolate
CAKE
1 cup boiling water
3/4 cup Sharffen Berger unsweetened cocoa powder (not Dutch-process)
1/2 cup whole milk
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 cups plus 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened
1 1/4 cups packed dark brown sugar
3/4 cup granulated sugar
4 large eggs
1 1/2 to 2 1/2 cups chocolate chips
1 cup chopped toffee bits
Directions
Fudge Topping: Heat whipping cream and vanilla in a small saucepan. Add butter and stir until melted. Mix in chocolate, stirring until blended. Set aside.
Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Butter one 9-by-12-inch baking dish.
Whisk boiling water and cocoa powder in a large bowl until smooth, then whisk in milk and vanilla. In another bowl, sift flour, baking soda and salt.
Beat butter and sugars in a large bowl with an electric mixer until pale and fluffy, add eggs 1 at a time, beating well after each addition. Add flour and cocoa mixtures alternately in batches, beginning and ending with flour mixture (batter may look curdled). Do not overbeat batter, as it will result in a dense, heavy cake.
Pour batter into pan, smoothing top. Fold in chocolate chips. Bake until a tester comes out clean and cake begins to pull away from sides of pan, 25-30 minutes.
Sprinkle chopped toffee bits on cake and cover with warm fudge topping.
