The easiest chocolate cake ever — make it for Valentine’s Day with just 7 ingredients

This fudgy chocolate cake is the ultimate love cake, as in you’re going to love it because it’s so delicious and because it’s the easiest chocolate cake ever.

One glance at the recipe for this Swedish chocolate cake, called kladdkaka, and you’ll notice that you probably have all the ingredients you need to make it right now. From bowl to table it is done in about 30 minutes, and the skills you need to make it are minimal. Every time I make it I think: This is easier than making pancakes.

If upon making it, you look at it and think “underwhelming,” I wouldn’t blame you. It isn’t fluffy or tall (there is no leavening), nor is it frosted or otherwise decorated (you can garnish it with powdered sugar if you like). But it is melty chocolate heaven.

Two more great things about this recipe: The flour can be easily swapped one-for-one with nut flour, making it gluten-free and more nutritionally dense. Almond flour makes the cake taste like a fancy, grown-up candy bar and adds an extra layer of flavor, and other nut flours such as hazelnut or pistachio are delicious as well.

In this recipe I’ve included cardamom as an option, but two other ideas would be to swap the cardamom for cinnamon or add 2 teaspoons of orange zest instead.

One essential tip: You must not overbake it. Getting the bake just right is what makes it gooey; bake it just until you see a light impression when you gently press the cake in the center and the center isn’t liquidy.

A fudgy, chocolatey cake made from just a handful of ingredients and in about 30 minutes.

(Jacob Cummings / For The Times)