Bittersweet Mocha Coffee Cake (tube cake, Mollie Katzen recipe)

BITTERSWEET MOCHA COFFEE CAKE

"I created this cake for a fund-raiser brunch at my daughter's school. Everyone wanted seconds and thirds, then, of course, they all had to have a chunk to take home, and there simply wasn't enough to go around. Over the next week or so, I baked a few more cakes to share. By then my husband and kids got wind of the situation and expressed feelings of neglect, so I had to bake yet another cake for the home front. No one seems to be able to get enough of this deep, dark, yummy thing!"

1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened
1 1/4 cups sugar
4 large eggs
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour*
1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
3/4 cup strong brewed coffee**
1/4 cup milk**
1 cup semisweet chocolate chips

Unwrap the butter ahead of time and place it directly in the bowl to soften.

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Lightly spray the bottom and center of a standard-sized tube pan or Bundt pan with nonstick spray.

In a large bowl, beat the butter for several minutes with an electric mixture at high speed. Add the sugar and beat for several minutes longer. Add the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each, and then beat in the vanilla.

In a second bowl, combine the flour, cocoa powder, salt, and baking powder, slowly mixing them together with a whisk. Combine the coffee and milk in a measuring cup with a spout.

Add the dry ingredients to the butter mixture in 3 installments, alternating with the coffee mixture, beginning and ending with the dry (dry-wet-dry-wet-dry). After each addition, use a spoon or rubber spatula to stir from the bottom of the bowl just enough to blend. Fold in the chocolate chips with the last addition of flour. Don't over mix. Transfer the batter to the prepared pan, spreading it evenly into place.

Bake in the middle of the oven for 45 to 50 minutes, or until sharp knife inserted all the way into the center comes out clean. Cool for at least 30 minutes before removing the cake from the pan. Then invert it onto a plate (if you used a Bundt pan) or pullout the tube and gently lift the cake off and onto a plate (if it's in a tube pan). Cool for another 10 to 15 minutes before slicing.

*You can replace up to half the flour with soy protein powder.
**You can adjust the proportion of coffee and milk to get a stronger or milder coffee flavor. Just make sure the total liquid adds up to 1 cup.

Makes 1 tube cake, 12 or more servings
Adapted from source: Mollie Katzen's Sunlight Cafe by Mollie Katzen