Devil's Food Cake

You can find countless recipes for chocolate cake, some made with milk, others with sour cream. I think this one, from an old issue of Everyday Food, is my current favorite. It isn't too tangy or overpowering, unlike some more complicated recipes including sour cream and melted bittersweet or unsweetened chocolate. I recommend sifting the cocoa powder to avoid any odd lumps in your batter.

Devil's Food Cake

1 1/2 cups flour
1 1/4 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup cocoa powder
1 1/4 cups sugar
2 large eggs
1 cup buttermilk
2/3 cup butter, melted and slightly cooled
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Butter a 9 by 13 baking pan, lining bottom with wax or parchment paper; butter paper.

Whisk together the dry ingredients in a large mixing bowl. Add remaining ingredients, mixing with an electric mixer on low until moist. Raise speed to medium and beat until smooth, 2 to 3 minutes. Pour into prepared pan. Bake until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean with a few moist crumbs, approximately 25 to 30 minutes.

Cool at least 10 minutes, and then invert onto a wire rack. Remove paper and invert once again, allowing cake to cool completely.

Dust with confectioner's sugar or frost with either Coca-Cola Frosting (see below) or the following Chocolate Glaze. It's adapted from The Cake Mix Doctor. However, I've reduced the sugar by 1/3 cup so it's not quite so sweet.

Chocolate Glaze

2/3 cup sugar
1/3 cup butter
1/3 cup whole milk
1 cup semisweet chocolate chips

Place the sugar, butter and milk in a small saucepan over medium-low heat, stirring constantly until mixture comes to a boil. Continue boiling for 1 minute. Remove pan from heat and stir in chocolate chips. Once chips have melted, pour glaze over cake. Allow to set for about 20 minutes before serving.