Chocolate Cake

In recognition of this cluster of birthdays, I present my favorite chocolate cake recipe that I have made for many years, originally seen by me on the back of the Hershey's Cocoa container. However, I have discovered some enhancements for that original recipe. Every time I try a different recipe for chocolate cake, I wish I had made that recipe instead (with one exception: this chocolate mug cake with peanut butter: "The One" Chocolate Mug Cake at Budget Bytes).

The first tip I learned in graduate school. One of the other students made the most delicious chocolate cake, so I asked her for the recipe. As she told me, I realized it's the same recipe, so I asked her for her technique instead. She sifted her flour while I, through a combination of following my original recipe that said unsifted flour and laziness (woo hoo! no sifting!), did not. Thank you, Gail! Made with sifted flour, the color of the cake was lighter, the texture softer, the crumb finer, and the overall taste better.

The second tip I learned from reading this posting of that recipe: do not add as much boiling water as listed. Wow, that helped! At this point, I didn't think the recipe could get any better. I'm glad I continued to make minor changes anyway.

I read a blog post (that I can't find now) where the author had used many different brands of cocoa powder to make brownies (I believe). The overall conclusion was that dutch-processed cocoa was preferred by this informal tasting panel. This led me to search for dutch-processed cocoa, and to discover that it's hard to find! I finally found Fair Trade Organic Baking Cocoa from Equal Exchange at Weaver Street. It was on sale, so how could I resist? The chocolate cake was even better! The chocolate taste was simultaneously more gentle and more present: delicious!

At this point, I believe this is the pinnacle of homemade chocolate cake, with those three tips. However, I admit that I am curious to know how much method makes a difference (often, like sifting flour, method makes a tremendous difference). When I was growing up, my mother assured me that The Creaming Method was The Right Way To Make A Cake, but that Two-Stage Method has its supporters too.

Although I couldn't find the post that sent me on the trail of dutched cocoa, I did find some other fun references.

• Brownie experiment | CAB Cooks compares brownie recipes using cocoa powder instead of melted chocolate
• Mel's Kitchen Tip: Cocoa Powder 101 is a vote for dutched cocoa powder in brownies
• What's the Difference Between Dutch Process and Natural Cocoa Powder? | Serious Eats explains some of the differences

Tangentially related to cocoa powder is the discussion of Baking Powder and Baking Soda at Joyofbaking.com noting the origin of Devil's food cake.

To which I say, have some more chocolate cake. It's for science!