Eat Chocolate Cake!

Tomorrow is National Chocolate Day. Why don't I have this permanently marked on my calender in red, in bold, in glitter?! This is a holiday I can really get behind, unlike Halloween whose existence confuses me every year. Why is it ever okay to hang skeletons in your front yard? I know, I know, I can hear Mark making his Debbie Downer sounds now: wah, wah.

But back to chocolate. I was a late comer to chocolate; with four brothers, a mother who preferred licorice and a dietitian father, it was just never around. And then I went to college and lived in the dorms with a bunch of crazy chocolate craving girls. Even still, I wouldn't say I'm a chocoholic. I love its dark luxury, the way it can warm and coat your insides like nothing else, but I don't have a stash, if that's what you mean, and occasionally I'll even opt for a butterscotch or fruity alternative.

Anyhoo, here's a really great chocolate recipe so that you can celebrate properly tomorrow. Joy the Baker says it's the best chocolate bundt cake ever. I don't object. It's pretty awesome.

So, be a friend and send me your favorite chocolate recipes, will you?

You're the best, Ann

The Best Chocolate Bundt Cake with Chocolate Glaze
makes one 10-inch bundt cake
from The Big Sur Bakery Cookbook

For the Cake:
1 1/4 cups plus 1 Tablespoon brewed coffee (I used individual, instant packets)
3/4 cup Dutch process cocoa powder
2 1/4 cups sugar
1 1/4 teaspoons kosher salt
2 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
2 whole eggs
1 egg yolk
1 1/4 cups plus 1 Tablespoon buttermilk
1 cup plus 2 Tablespoon canola oil
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
2 1/2 cups, plus 2 Tablespoons all-purpose flour, sifted
For the Glaze:
6 ounces unsweetened chocolate
3/4 cup unsalted butter
3 cups powdered sugar
1/2 cup sour cream, at room temperature
1/4 cup brewed coffee, cooled
Place an oven rack in the center of the oven and preheat to 350 degrees F.
Grease and flour a 10-inch Bundt pan and set aside.
To make the cake batter: Put brewed coffee and cocoa powder in a small saucepan and bring to a boil, whisking frequently. Remove from the heat and let come to room temperature.
In the bowl of a stand mixer fit with a whisk attachment, mix together sugar, salt, baking soda, eggs and egg yolk on low speed for about 1 minute. Add the buttermilk, oil and vanilla extract and mix on low again for another minute.
Add the flour and mix on medium speed for 2 minutes. Add the cooled cocoa mixture and mix on medium speed for 3 minutes. The batter will be very loose. Pour into the prepared cake pan and bake for 1 hour, or until a cake tester inserted in the cake comes out clean.
Let the cake cool completely in the pan and then invert onto a cooling rack.
To make the icing: Chop the chocolate into small pieces, put them in a heatproof bowl (or a double boiler), and set the bowl over a pot of barely simmering water. Be sure that the bottom of the bowl does not touch the boiling water. Remove the bowl from the heat when all of the chocolate bits have melted.
Melt the butter in a separate pan or in the microwave. Whisk the melted butter into the melted chocolate until thoroughly incorporated. Sift in half of the powdered sugar. Add the sour cream and whisk to combine. Sift in the remaining powdered sugar and whisk until smooth. The glaze should be thick and shiny. Lastly, add the coffee and whisk to create a glossy glaze.
Pour the glaze over the Bundt cake, covering it completely. Leave at room temperature until ready to serve.