Chocolate Pound Cake

Copyright, Doug Kapustin Photography, 2013

 Day 4

Since we’re on a roll here with pound cake, I thought I’d go ahead and share a pretty incredible chocolate recipe. From the same magazine as the previous entry comes a chocolate, velvety cake with incredible density and no air bubbles. I tried the recipe, making one flavor adjustment to suit my own taste preference; I added one teaspoon of instant coffee to the chocolate mixture in order to make the chocolate flavor even more intense. I was really happy with the recipe, and decided that it would be perfect for coffee ice cream sundaes. It is excellent served warm, drizzling each slice with caramel sauce, and adding a generous dollop of coffee ice cream. How decadent is that?!

Here’s the recipe, taken from The Best of America’s Test Kitchen, Best Recipes and Reviews 2013. 

Chocolate Pound Cake

1 cup all purpose flour

1 tsp. salt

1/3  cup boiling water

¾  cup cocoa powder (Dutch process, recommended)

2 oz. milk chocolate, chopped fine

1 tsp. instant coffee (optional)

2 sticks unsalted butter

1 cup granulated sugar

¼ cup packed brown sugar

2 tsp. vanilla extract

5 large eggs, at room temperature

Directions: 

Heat oven to 325 degrees. Grease and flour loaf pan (standard 9 x 5 is fine). Combine flour and salt in bowl. Pour boiling water over cocoa and chocolate in second bowl (also add instant coffee if desired) and stir until chocolate is melted with no dry streaks of cocoa remaining. Let mixture cool for 5 minutes. 

Using stand mixer with paddle attachment, beat butter, cocoa/chocolate mixture, sugars, and vanilla on medium-high speed until fluffy, 2-3 minutes.

Add eggs, one at a time, beating after each addition until combined. Reduce speed to low and add flour mixture in 3 additions, scraping down bowl as needed, mixing until just combined. Give batter final stir by hand.

Scrape batter into prepared pan and tap pan on counter to remove excess air. Bake on middle oven rack until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean, 1 hour to 1 hour 10 minutes. Let cool in pan on wire rack for 10 minutes. Remove from pan and allow to cool for 2 hours. Serve. 

(*Recipe courtesy of The Best of America’s Test Kitchen, Best Recipes and Reviews 2013, page 88; AmericasTestKitchen.com)