Dense Chocolate Ugly Cake

¾ cup unsweetened, unflavored applesauce

½ cup (1 stick) unsalted butter at room temperature

¾ cup plus 1 tablespoon (188 grams) packed dark brown sugar

20 packets stevia (each packet equal to 2 teaspoons sugar)

2 large eggs, beaten

1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

4 ounces (100 grams) best bittersweet chocolate, melted (I used Divine 70-percent bittersweet)

1⅓ cups (200 grams) all-purpose, unbleached flour

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 cup plus 2 tablespoons boiling water

Add the applesauce to a wire mesh strainer and drain for at least 15 minutes.

Place a baking rack on the lower level and a second rack in the center position. Put a jelly roll pan or other large baking sheet on the lower rack to catch any drips. Heating oven to 375 degrees.

Grease the bottom and sides of a 9-by-5-inch loaf pan. Cut a piece of parchment paper the size of the bottom on the pan, place inside the pan and grease the parchment paper. Set aside.

Measure ½ cup of the drained applesauce and add it to the work bowl of a stand mixer with the butter, sugar and stevia and mix until creamy and well-combined. (Alternately, use a hand-held electric mixer). Beat in egg and vanilla.

At the lowest speed, mix in the melted chocolate, taking care to blend well but not to overbeat. You want the ingredients combined; you don't want a light airy mass.

In a medium mixing bowl whisk together the flour and baking soda. With the mixer at the lowest speed, gently add the flour mixture to the batter, alternately spoon by spoon with the boiling water until you have a smooth and fairly liquid batter. Pour batter into the lined loaf pan no higher than 1 inch from the rim of the loaf pan; any higher and it risks overflowing. Pour any excess into a smaller cake pan or muffin pan.) Bake 25 minutes.

Reduce the oven to 325 degrees and bake for another 12 minutes. A cake tester or toothpick inserted into the center won't come out completely clean.

Place the loaf pan on a wire rack and let it get completely cold before turning it out. Lawson says: "Don't worry if it sinks in the middle; indeed, it will do so because it's such a dense and damp cake."

Serves 10.

Nutrition values per serving: 316 calories (44 percent from fat), 15.5 g fat (9.4 g saturated fat), 40.9 g carbohydrates, 23 g sugars, 0.7 g fiber, 4.3 g protein, 67 mg cholesterol, 147 mg sodium.

Adapted from Nigella Lawson's Dense Chocolate Loaf Cake in "Food52 Genius Recipes: 100 Recipes That Will Change the Way You Cook" (Ten Speed Press, 2015)