CHOCOLATE CAKE

I’m going to apologize now because if some form of diet is one of your new year’s resolutions, I’m about to make you break it.

But this particular day gives you every excuse to indulge in the iconic, delicious decadence known as chocolate cake. Because on National Chocolate Cake Day, celebrated annually on Jan. 27, there’s just one thing to do: eat chocolate cake.

(Oh, but first you have to bake and frost it, so really there are three things to do!)

Since we are honoring the king of desserts, only the best recipe will do. It has to be moist, rich, dark, ultra-chocolatey and incredibly decadent. And this recipe is just that; it literally takes the cake.

With a super-moist crumb and luscious ganache glaze, this fudgy bundt cake is sinfully delicious.

Made with a few pantry staples, the dry ingredients are mixed with the wet, then a magical element is added: boiling coffee.

The coffee enhances the flavor of the chocolate and creates a silky batter, producing the most intense and velvety chocolate cake that’s love at first bite.

The batter will be very thin and runny but will bake up as normal. And be sure to only fill your bundt pan ⅔ full. Any excess batter can be used for cupcakes – just adjust the baking time accordingly.

This cake dresses up beautifully with fresh berries or chocolate shavings, which are easily made by running a potato peeler down the side of a chocolate bar. And when serving it, ice cream and/or a glass of milk are a must.

CHOCOLATE CAKE

INGREDIENTS:

For the cake:
2 cups white sugar
1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
2 eggs
1 cup milk
1/2 cup vegetable oil
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 cup boiling coffee

For the ganache:
1 1/3 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
1 cup heavy cream

Optional for serving: fresh berries, ice cream, chocolate shavings

DIRECTIONS:

Preheat oven to 325°. Grease and flour a 10-inch bundt pan.

In a large bowl, or the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, add the sugar, flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, baking powder, and salt, and mix to combine.

Add eggs, milk, vegetable oil, and vanilla to flour mixture and mix on medium speed for 3 minutes, until well combined, scraping down bowl as needed.

Reduce speed and carefully add boiling coffee to the cake batter until well combined, scraping sides of bowl to ensure complete mixing. Batter will be thin.

Pour batter into prepared bundt pan until it’s 2/3 full (excess batter can be used for cupcakes). Place filled bundt pan on a baking sheet (this will catch spills and ensure it sits evenly as it bakes), and bake for one hour, or until a toothpick comes out clean. Leaving cake in pan, set on a rack to cool for 20 minutes. Then carefully run a butter knife between cake and pan to loosen edges. Turn out onto serving platter and let cool completely. Meanwhile make the ganache.

For the ganache: Place chocolate chips in a medium heatproof bowl. Add heavy cream into small saucepan and heat on medium high, till edges just start to boil. Remove from heat and immediately pour cream over chocolate chips. Allow to stand for 3-5 minutes, then whisk briskly to combine, until smooth and shiny. Let cool about 15-20 minutes (or until it nicely coats the back of a spoon), before drizzling it over cake.

Serve with fresh berries, ice cream, or chocolate shavings. To make the chocolate shavings, shave the side of a chocolate baking bar with a potato peeler.

Adapted from allrecipes.com