Ina's Chocolate Cake

By jeff and alli -
Ina's recipes are working for us over here.  This is a solid chocolate cake and easy to make.  Her recipes calls for a cup of hot coffee.  I don't have that on hand, ever, so I have adapted the recipe.  I either use hot water or hot cocoa and a dash of cinnamon to make up for the missing coffee.

 I often skimp on the sugar a bit, but not too much.  When I cut it back a lot, the cake is too bitter.  I have used regular milk instead of buttermilk and it has been fine.  I think it is better with buttermilk, but it isn't a deal breaker if you don't have it.

Ingredients

  • 1¾ cups all-purpose flour 
  • 2 cups sugar
  • ¾ cups cocoa powder
  • 2 teaspoons baking soda
  • 1 teaspoon baking powder
  • 1 teaspoon kosher salt
  • 1 cup buttermilk, shaken
  • ½ cup vegetable oil
  • 2 extra-large eggs, at room temperature ( I usually only have large eggs and it has been fine)
  • 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
  • 1 cup hot liquid (I usually do hot water with a tablespoon of cocoa powder mixed in)
  • couple dashes of cinnamon

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Butter two 8-inch round cake pans or 1 bundt cake pan and flour the pans. ( I mix some cocoa powder in with the flour so I don't have any white on the outside of my finished cake. Ina uses parchment paper with the round cake pans, buttering the pan, then putting on the parchment paper, and then buttering the paper and adding flour)
Sift the flour, sugar, cocoa, baking soda, baking powder, and salt into the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment and mix on low speed until combined. (I never use my mixer for this, I just do it by hand) In another bowl, combine the buttermilk, oil, eggs, and vanilla. With the mixer on low speed, slowly add the wet ingredients to the dry ones.  With mixer still on low, add the hot liquid and stir just to combine, scraping the bottom of the bowl with a rubber spatula. Pour the batter evenly into the prepared pans and bake for 35 to 40 minutes, until a cake tester comes out clean. Cool in the pans for 30 minutes, then turn them out onto a cooling rack and cool completely. (Not to worry;  the top will sink a little in the center.)





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