Now that my baby is nearly all grown up (sigh...), the go-to chocolate cake of his childhood is no longer appropriate. Still, because it is fabulous, easy, and even dessert dummies like me cannot mess it up, it has been given an update for 2020 and L.'s 17th year. Sprinkles have been banished, Chambord spiked whipped cream as a garnish has been introduced and a sleeker, more sophisticated version of this has been born.
I made double the recipe and punched half into one portion sized rounds (as illustrated above). These are destined for the freezer so that L. or I can take one out and easily defrost it any time we want something sweet. This was a good idea, and some of the other half of the cooked cakes will undergo the same treatment as my little darling came home from school, looked at the cake, and announced that what he really craved was a nutella stuffed crepe.
And yet the little darling is still with us. Never the poster child for "a mother's patience is limitless", maybe I am growing wiser with age. And anyway, somehow he choked some of it down over the weekend...
Makes 2 8" layers
1 3/4 cup flour
1 1/2 cups sugar
3/4 cup cocoa
2 tsps baking soda
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
1/2 cup roughly chopped bittersweet chocolate
1 cup buttermilk
1/2 cup vegetable oil
2 eggs
1 Tbsp Chambord or other alcohol flavoring that you will use in your whipped cream
1 cup strong coffee
Preheat oven to 350.
Grease and line 2 8x2 inch cake tins. I tend to leave out pan lining but not here! If you don't the cakes will stick to the bottom of your cake tins, no matter how well you have greased them.
Measure all dry ingredients together in a large bowl.
Mix all the wet ingredients together in a separate bowl, making sure that eggs are beaten and incorporated.
Mix the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and beat well.
Stir in the chopped chocolate.
Pour into prepared the cake tins and cook for 35-38 minutes. A toothpick stuck into the center that comes out clean still remains, in 2020, the best gauge that the cake is done.
Remove from the oven and allow to cool completely before removing the cakes from the pans.
Serve with whipped cream on the side, flavored with whatever alcohol you used in the cake.
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