Chocolate Cake Ala Florence

This old-fashioned chocolate cake uses a streamlined dump method: sift the dry ingredients into a bowl, drop in the soft butter, and beat at low speed for two minutes. Add the melted chocolate, buttermilk, eggs, and vanilla, beat two more minutes, and you’re done. No creaming, no folding, no fuss.

Melting shaved unsweetened chocolate in hot water before adding it to the batter gives the cake a deeper, more intense chocolate flavor than cocoa powder alone. The buttermilk reacts with the baking soda for a tender, moist crumb, and cake flour keeps the texture fine and soft rather than dense.

Chef Tips

• Shave or chop the unsweetened chocolate fine so it melts quickly and completely in the hot water. Lumps of unmelted chocolate create gritty pockets in the cake.
• Let the melted chocolate mixture cool before adding it to the batter. Hot chocolate can partially cook the eggs and melt the butter too fast.
• Beat at low speed only. High speed overworks the gluten in cake flour, making the crumb tough instead of tender.
• The cake is done at 30 to 35 minutes. Test with a toothpick. It should come out with a few moist crumbs, not wet batter.

Variations

• Frost with a simple chocolate buttercream or a dark chocolate ganache for a fully loaded chocolate experience.
• Add a teaspoon of instant espresso powder to the hot water with the chocolate to deepen the flavor.
• Bake in a round pan and layer with whipped cream and fresh strawberries for a lighter finish.