I have tried other chocolate cake recipes with so-so results; usually they turn out crumbly and dry. This cake is moist and springy and has a good chocolate flavor – not so strong that it overpowers your throat, but just enough so you know that it is indeed chocolate.
This recipe is courtesy of the King Arthur Flour website (www.kingarthurflour.com).
Ingredients:
2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt
3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa
1 3/4 cups granulated sugar (I used baker’s sugar – ultrafine)
1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, room temperature
1/3 cup vegetable oil
1 tsp. vanilla extract
1 cup milk
1/2 cup coffee or water
4 large eggs
Directions:
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Lightly grease and flour your choice of pan(s): one 9″ x 13″ pan, two 9″ rounds, three 8″ rounds, or the wells of two muffin tins. You can also line the muffin tins with papers, and spray the insides of the papers.
Place a strainer over a large mixing bowl. Measure in the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cocoa, and sugar. Sift/shake the dry ingredients through the strainer into the mixing bowl to eliminate any lumps.
Add the butter and mix at low speed for 1 minute. With the mixer running, add the oil and continue mixing until the mixture looks like sand.
Combine the vanilla with the milk and coffee or water, and add all at once. Mix for 1 minute at low speed, stop and scrape the sides and bottom of the bowl, then mix for 30 seconds more.
Add the eggs one at a time, beating well at medium-high speed between additions.
Scrape the sides and bottom of the mixing bowl, and mix for 1 minute more. The batter will be thin.
Transfer the batter to the prepared pan of your choice. Bake 34 minutes for 9″ x 13″ pan, 28 to 30 minutes for 9″ rounds, 24 to 26 minutes for 8″ rounds, and 21 to 23 minutes for cupcakes.
Cupcakes yield about 24.
Veronica Baggs
