Dark Chocolate Cake

I thought this cake was just a touch dry for my taste, but everyone else eating it swore I was smoking crack and that it was deliciously moist, so I guess, what do I know? It didn't dry out at all over the week we took to eat it all, so that was nice. Also, it's not too dense or cloyingly sweet that you can't eat a whole piece in one sitting, which is great. All in all, it's an excellent chocolate cake. Make it for your lover today!



Two sticks unsalted butter, room temperature
Half a cup of Dutch-process cocoa*
Two cups all-purpose flour
Half a teaspoon baking powder
Half a teaspoon baking soda
Half a teaspoon salt
One and a half cups packed brown sugar
Two large eggs, room temperature
Two large egg yolks, room temperature
Six ounces bittersweet chocolate, melted
One teaspoon vanilla
One cup buttermilk

Coat two 8-inch round cake pans in non-stick spray and dust with flour (or get the non-stick spray WITH flour, which is amazing). In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, cocoa, baking powder, baking soda, and salt, and set aside.
In the bowl of an electric mixer, beat the butter and sugar until fluffy.
Add eggs and yolks one at a time, beating well after each addition.
Beat in melted chocolate and vanilla. Preheat oven to 350F.
With mixer on low, alternately add in flour mixture and buttermilk in three and two parts--flour, milk, flour, milk, flour.


Divide batter between pans and smooth tops with a spatula.
Bake 40-45 minutes, until a toothpick comes out clean. Cool in pans for 15 minutes, then invert cakes onto a wire rack to cool completely. Frost with your choice of frosting. Enjoy!

*I couldn't find Dutch-processed cocoa in my grocery store. The closest they had was a mixture of Dutched and regular cocoa, so I used that. I'm not convinced that any particular kind of cocoa makes a difference. Many reputable sources swear there's no difference, other reputable sources say you should never used anything but Dutched. I say, do whatever you want. But if it turns out icky, don't blame me!

Takes about half an hour, plus bake time.
Difficulty: 2