Old School Chocolate Cake

Chocolate cake.  Simple and delicious.  I’ve been looking for a recipe like the one my Pop Pop used to make for me and my brother when we were little.  It may have come from a box, maybe it was from scratch.  Either way, this is a great old school chocolate cake.  Cook's Illustrated never fails to inspire.  I think it goes best with freshly whipped cream and sliced strawberries.

Cheers to nostalgia and chocolate.   

 

12 tbs unsalted butter, softened

1 ¾ cups (8 ¾ ounces) unbleached flour plus extra for dusting pans

4 ounces unsweetened chocolate

¼ cup dutch processed cocoa

½ cup hot water

1 ¾ cups (12 ¼ ounces) granulated sugar

1 ½ tsp baking soda

1 tsp salt

1 cup buttermilk

2 tsp vanilla extract

4 large eggs

2 large egg yolks

Oven at 350°, rack in middle position

Grease 2, 9-inch round cake pans with butter and coat with flour

1. Whisk cocoa powder and hot water and set aside.  In a heat safe bowl or measuring cup, melt unsweetened chocolate.  Set aside until cool.
2. Add ½ cup sugar to melted chocolate and mix in cocoa powder/water mixture.
3. Whisk together flour, salt and baking soda and set aside.
4. Combine buttermilk and vanilla and set aside 
5. In a mixing bowl fitted with wire whisk, mix eggs until combined.  Add the remaining 1 ¼ cups sugar and mix on high for 3 minutes until light yellow in color and almost tripled in volume.
6. Change from whisk to paddle attachment.
7. Add cooled chocolate mixture and mix until incorporated.  Be sure to scrape down the bowl intermittently.
8. Add butter, one tablespoon at a time.  Be sure that each tablespoon of butter in incorporated before adding the next. 
9. On low speed, add 1/3 of the flour mixture. When flour is incorporated, added ½ of the buttermilk/vanilla mixture.  Continue adding another third of the flour, mixing until incorporated and then add buttermilk.  Finish by adding the remaining third of flour and scrape down the bowl to combine all ingredients.
10.  Divide batter between the two pans and bake for 25-30 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out with a few moist crumbs attached.  If it is still slightly liquid-y in the center after 25 minutes, continue to bake but check every 2 minutes to avoid over baking. 
11. Cool cakes in their pans for about 10 minutes then invert on a cooling rack for an additional 40 minutes before frosting.

Enjoy!
MJM