Looking for a great chocolate cake recipe

This one has been getting me raves for a lot of years in

many settings. It is rich, dark and wonderful. And, a good thing for me, I have baked it in some pretty rough seas--it has fallen and came back!!!

Enjoy--
North Douglas Chocolate Cake
From Fiddlehead Restaurant in Juneau,AK
is also in The Fiddlehead Cookbook

Prep time: 30 minutes—after first time, it seems to go together much faster.
Baking cooling: 1 hour
Completion time: 30 minutes
Cake:
1 cup water
¼ pound butter
½ cup safflower or corn oil
3 ½ Tabls. Sifted Dutch process dark cocoas (other cocoas will produce a lighter, sweeter cake and icing, like milk chocolate)
2 cups unbleached white flour
2 cups granulated sugar
1 teas. baking soda
½ teas. salt
2 eggs
½ cup buttermilk
1 teas. vanilla extract
Icing:
¼ pound +4 Tabls. butter
4 cups confectioners sugar
½ cup Dutch process cocoa
3 Tabls. milk—I like to use strong coffee here instead
1 ½ teas. vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 375F.
Butter and flour two 8 or 9” cake pans

Combine water, butter, oil, and cocoa in small pan and bring to boil.
While mixture is coming to boil. Sift together next four ingredients in large bowl.
Whisk eggs, buttermilk, and vanilla in small bowl and set aside.
When butter mixture comes to boil, pour over flour mixture and stir until just combined.Add egg mixture and fold together gently.
Pour into prepared pans.
Bake 20-25 minutes, 8” will take slightly longer. Remove from oven when tester comes out clean. Let rest briefly, then turn out on racks to cool completely.

In medium bowl, beat butter until smooth, add confectioners sugar and cocoa. Stir until they are partially combined. Stir in milk and vanilla and beat until smooth and spreadable. Additional confectioners sugar may be necessary if it seems too soft.

Place one layer on plate top side up, ice, sides and top. Place second layer, top down, and ice sides and top. Use any remaining icing for decorating
Chill briefly to set icing.

For a bigger crew, I double it and bake in a rectangular pan.

from trinigourmet.com

chocolate rum raisin cake



This moist chocolate cake is overflowing with rum flavoring and raisins. It’s great coated with whipped cream or served hot with custard. That’s homemade pumpkin custard in the picture!
My recipe makes one 9 or 10 inch tube pan (14 servings).
Ingredients:
1 cup water
1/4 cup rum
2/3 cup chopped raisins
3/4 cup butter
1 egg
1 1/4 cups white sugar
1 2/3 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 handful chocolate chips
1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder (Dutch Process)
Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease one 9 or 10 inch tube pan.
2. Boil water add rum and raisins. Melt butter and beat egg. Add to the raisin mixture.
3. Sift flour, baking soda, cocoa, and sugar together. Stir into raisin mixture. Add chocolate chips and stir until just combined. If batter is too thick add a little more water. Pour batter into prepared pan.
4. Bake at 350 degrees F (175 degrees C) for 40 to 50 minutes. Let cake cool in the pan for 10 minutes then turn out onto a serving dish. Serve cake hot with custard or top cooled cake with whipped cream.




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Fudgy Chocolate Cake ‘Brownies’ (recipe)

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Oooh a brownie challenge, just the thing for me to inaugarate my new camera! I adore brownies , and I don’t make them often enough, so taking part in Brownie Babe of the Month was a no-brainer Although there are now dozens of variations on the brownie theme (even blondies), for emotional satisfaction I still find that nothing surpasses the simple all-chocolatey goodness of the original.
I looked around for a recipe that I could throw together for this challenge, and I found a winner in this simple recipe from Everyday With Rachael Ray. This recipe wins on every front. It calls for very simple basic ingredients (most of which should already be in your pantry), it takes no time to put together, cleanup is minimal and the taste is OUT OF THIS WORLD. Amazingly enough, these brownies only get better the longer they sit. Fresh out of the oven they are light, airy, and oh so chocolatey… but as they sit they slowly get moister and fudgier… oh the decadence. Give it a try, you won’t regret it!
Even though this recipe calls for 4 serving sizes, as brownies I cut the cake sheet into 12 portions and found these portions much more acceptable. If I was entertaining though I would defnitely serve the quarter portions, especially with an additional dollop of vanilla icecream and a drizzle of chocolate or caramel sauce. MMMMMM No one would ever guess that it took you practically no time to bring together



Fudgy Chocolate Cake
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Recipe By: Everyday With Rachael Ray
Serving Size: 4
Ingredients:
1/2 cup semisweet chocolate chips
1/4 cup milk
2 tablespoons heavy cream
4 tablespoons unsalted butter
1/3 cup sugar
1/3 cup plus 1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
Pinch of salt
1 large egg
1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
Directions:
1. Preheat the oven to 275°. Butter and flour an 8-inch square baking pan. In a medium saucepan, melt the chocolate chips with the milk and heavy cream over low heat. Add the butter and sugar and stir until smooth. Remove from the heat.
2. In a medium bowl, sift together the flour, baking soda and salt. Add to the chocolate mixture and stir until smooth. Whisk in the egg and vanilla. Pour the batter into the prepared pan and bake until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, about 30 minutes.






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Chocolate Sablés (recipe)





These sablés are dangerous! No, it’s not because of their bittersweet chocolatey goodness. And no it’s not because of the chocolate chips strewn throughout that provide bursts of sweet creaminess. And no, it’s not even their brownie-like denseness that makes me issue this indictment. No, what makes these chocolate sablés so worth of a public warning is their miniature bite-sized goodness evilness. It’s easy to snarf down 20 of these in one sitting and still have room for 20 more! And yes, I’m talking from experience



Chocolate Sablés
Recipe from: Homemade: Delicious Foods to Make and Give
Makes 30 cookies
INGREDIENTS:
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1/3 cup Dutch-process cocoa powder, sifted
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 cup unsalted butter, at room temperature
1/2 cup superfine sugar
1 large egg, at room temperature
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
3/4 cup mini semisweet chocolate chips
DIRECTIONS:
1. Combine the flour, cocoa powder, and baking soda in a mixing bowl and sift them together two times

2. Place the butter in the bowl of an electric mixer and beat until creamy.
3. Add the sugar and continue to beat until light and fluffy
4. With the motor running, add the egg and then the vanilla, beating until the mixture is almost satin smooth

5. Add the sifted dry ingredients to the creamed mixture, beating to incorporate.
6. Stir in the mini chips
7. Scrape the dough from the bowl and form it into 2 logs, each about 1 3/4 inches in diameter
8. Wrap the rolls in plastic film and tightly turn the ends closed
9. Hit each roll against a countertop to make it square.
10. Refrigerate for at least 6 hours
11. When ready to bake preheat the oven to 350F
12. Unwrap the logs and using a serrated knife, cut them crosswise into 1/4 inch thick slices
13. Place the cookies about 1 inch apart on the prepared cookie sheets

14. Bake for about 10 minutes, or until the cookies have risen slightly, are firm to the touch, and are lightly browned around the edges.
15. Remove from the oven and place on wire racks to cool before serving or storing.