Pennsylvania Dutch Cake

This Pennsylvania Dutch chocolate cake starts with a method you don’t see much anymore: boiling butter and semi-sweet chocolate together with water to create a thick, glossy base. That boiled chocolate mixture gets folded into the dry ingredients before the eggs or buttermilk, giving the cake an incredibly moist, dense crumb that stays fudgy for days.

The buttermilk and baking soda react to give the batter lift while adding a subtle tang that keeps all that chocolate from tasting one-note sweet. Let the chocolate cool before mixing it in, or you’ll scramble the eggs on contact.

Tangy cream cheese frosting is the right call here. It balances the rich, dark cake with something bright and a little salty. Cream the butter and cream cheese until completely smooth before adding the sugar, or you’ll get lumps no amount of beating will fix.

Chef Tips

• Stir the chocolate mixture constantly while it boils. It scorches fast on the bottom and burnt chocolate is bitter beyond saving.
• Combine the buttermilk and baking soda in a separate cup first. It fizzes up immediately, and that reaction is what gives the cake its rise.
• Add vanilla last so the heat from the chocolate doesn’t cook off its flavor.
• For the frosting, add milk a teaspoon at a time. It goes from too thick to too thin faster than you’d expect.

Variations

• Use dark chocolate squares instead of semi-sweet for a more intense, bittersweet cake.
• Add a tablespoon of instant espresso to the boiling water to deepen the chocolate flavor without tasting like coffee.
• Top with chocolate ganache instead of cream cheese frosting for a double-chocolate finish.