Dark Chocolate Pound Cake with Black Cocoa Glaze

(…and a little extra)

I promised someone a properly chocolate cake for her birthday, and here it is:

Dark Chocolate Pound Cake

Ingredients:

1 cup unsalted butter, at room temperature
2 1/2 cups granulated sugar
1/3 cup plus 1 Tablespoon cooking oil
1Tablespoon vanilla extract
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
6 large eggs, at room temperature
1 teaspoon espresso powder (optional)
1 1/4 cup warm water or brewed coffee, warm
3 cups sifted All-Purpose flour
1 cup dutch process cocoa (I like black cocoa for this)

Directions:

Lightly grease a 10" tube or Bundt pan (and/or line the tube pan with greased nonstick parchment).

Preheat oven to 325º F.

Using stand mixer with paddle (or regular electric mixer) at medium-high speed, beat together butter, sugar, vanilla, baking powder, baking soda, and salt until pale and fluffy (about 3 or 4 minutes), scraping sides and bottowm of bowl as needed.

Add eggs one at a time, beating in completely after each addition, and scraping the sides of the bowl as needed.

In small bowl, dissolve espresso powder in warm water, and set aside.

In separate medium bowl, sift or whisk together flour & cocoa powder.

On low speed, beat 1/3 of dry mixture into egg mixture, then beat in half the water (or water/espresso). Beat in another 1/3 of flour mixture, the remaining water, then the last of the flour mixture. Beat at medium-low until fully combined, scraping sides and bottom of bowl  to make sure it's completely mixed.

Pour into prepared tube pan, bake at 325º F about 60 to 65 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean.

Remove from oven, allow to cool on rack for 15 minutes, then carefully turn out of pan and allow to cool completely on the rack.*

Serves an army.


*If you use gluten-free flour for this cake, allow to cool at least 30 minutes, as the cake will be a bit more likely to crumble while it's still warm.

Cocoa Powder Glaze

Ingredients:

2 cups sifted powdered sugar
1/4 cup sifted black cocoa powder
2 tablespoons butter, very soft but not melted
4 or 5 Tablespoons hot tap water
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Directions:

In a medium-large bowl, sift together powdered sugar and cocoa powder. Blend in butter. Add 3 Tablespoons warm water, stir until well mixed but still thick. Stir in vanilla, then begin adding small amounts of warm water until the glaze reaches the degree of fluidity and thickness you desire. Drizzle over cake.

Best if chilled (on cake, of course) at least an hour before serving.

Some people can be overwhelmed by a good dark chocolate cake with dark chocolate glaze, so a little bit of white chocolate drizzle glaze may help lighten the effect. Just be aware, if you're not careful in its application, it can look… umm… raunchy

not your average Mother's Day cake