Best chocolate cake ever.
Yeah, seriously. The only problem is that it's for a large group, like 8-12: less if you want leftovers, more if you don't. This made a 9 x 13 pan of really moist chocolate cake a good 2 inches high that didn't need frosting although berries and whipped cream would have worked well. So, what the hell -- make it and take most of it to work, or invite friends over, or save it for a birthday party. Massively delicioius and I'm filing it here so I can find it again later.
Double chocolate cake
3 ounces fine-quality semisweet chocolate
1 1/2 cups hot brewed coffee
1 tsp. cinnamon
3 cups sugar
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2 cups unsweetened cocoa powder (not Dutch-process)
2 tsps. baking soda
3/4 tsp. baking powder
1 1/4 tsps. salt
3 large eggs
3/4 cup vegetable oil
1 1/2 cups well-shaken buttermilk
2 tsps. vanilla
Preheat oven to 300 Farenheit and grease and flour pan(s).
Finely chop chocolate; place in bowl. Add hot coffee. Let mixture stand, stirring occasionally, until chocolate is melted and mixture is smooth. Add cinnamon and whisk again.
Into a large bowl, sift together sugar, flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, baking powder, and salt. (I had to use a fork to finish mixing/sifting it.)
In another large bowl, beat eggs with electric mixer until thickened slightly and lemon-colored (about 3 minutes with a standing mixer or 5 minutes with a hand-held mixer). Slowly add oil, buttermilk, vanilla, and melted chocolate mixture to eggs, beating until combined well. Add sugar mixture and beat on medium speed until just combined well.
Pour batter into pan and bake in middle of oven until a tester inserted in the middle comes out clean, 1 hour 5 minutes to 1 hour 15 minutes. Cool completely in pan on rack. Run a thin knife around the edge of the pan 5 minutes after they've started cooling and the top won't sink as much. Serve with whipped cream and berries, or a favorite frosting of your choice.
NB: This makes a lot of batter. If you want to do layers, the recipe called for two 10" by 2" round layers. I opted for the 9 x 13 pan instead. If you go with the layers, bake for 1 hour to 1 hour 10 minutes.
Insanely rich, insanely good, really chocolatey. Enjoy!
Of course, now I need to find something to do with the rest of the buttermilk...
Double chocolate cake
3 ounces fine-quality semisweet chocolate
1 1/2 cups hot brewed coffee
1 tsp. cinnamon
3 cups sugar
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2 cups unsweetened cocoa powder (not Dutch-process)
2 tsps. baking soda
3/4 tsp. baking powder
1 1/4 tsps. salt
3 large eggs
3/4 cup vegetable oil
1 1/2 cups well-shaken buttermilk
2 tsps. vanilla
Preheat oven to 300 Farenheit and grease and flour pan(s).
Finely chop chocolate; place in bowl. Add hot coffee. Let mixture stand, stirring occasionally, until chocolate is melted and mixture is smooth. Add cinnamon and whisk again.
Into a large bowl, sift together sugar, flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, baking powder, and salt. (I had to use a fork to finish mixing/sifting it.)
In another large bowl, beat eggs with electric mixer until thickened slightly and lemon-colored (about 3 minutes with a standing mixer or 5 minutes with a hand-held mixer). Slowly add oil, buttermilk, vanilla, and melted chocolate mixture to eggs, beating until combined well. Add sugar mixture and beat on medium speed until just combined well.
Pour batter into pan and bake in middle of oven until a tester inserted in the middle comes out clean, 1 hour 5 minutes to 1 hour 15 minutes. Cool completely in pan on rack. Run a thin knife around the edge of the pan 5 minutes after they've started cooling and the top won't sink as much. Serve with whipped cream and berries, or a favorite frosting of your choice.
NB: This makes a lot of batter. If you want to do layers, the recipe called for two 10" by 2" round layers. I opted for the 9 x 13 pan instead. If you go with the layers, bake for 1 hour to 1 hour 10 minutes.
Insanely rich, insanely good, really chocolatey. Enjoy!
Of course, now I need to find something to do with the rest of the buttermilk...