Recipe: Aunt Sabella's Black Chocolate Cake with Fudge Frosting (8-inch square cake)

AUNT SABELLA'S BLACK CHOCOLATE CAKE WITH FUDGE FROSTING

2 ounces unsweetened chocolate, chopped
5 tablespoons plus 1 teaspoon butter, at room temperature, divided use
1 1/4 cups sifted all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 cup buttermilk
1 cup sugar
2 egg yolks
Fudge Frosting (recipe follows)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

Put chocolate in a small heatproof bowl set over a small pot of gently simmering water, and melt over medium-low heat, stirring occasionally with a wooden spoon. Remove bowl from heat and set aside until chocolate is cool.

Meanwhile, grease an (8-inch) square cake pan with 1 teaspoon butter and set aside.

Sift flour and salt together in a small bowl and set aside.

In another small bowl, stir baking soda into buttermilk and set aside.

In a large mixing bowl, combine sugar and 5 tablespoons butter, and blend with an electric mixer on medium speed until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes. Beat in egg yolks, then add melted chocolate and beat until thoroughly combined. Add one-third of the flour mixture, then one-third of the buttermilk mixture, beating well after each addition. Repeat process to use all of both mixtures, then pour batter into prepared pan.

Bake in a preheated 350 degree F oven 40 to 50 minutes, until a toothpick inserted in center of cake comes out clean. Transfer cake to a rack to cool in pan, then invert onto a cake plate.

FUDGE FROSTING

2 1/4 cup confectioners' sugar, sifted
5 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder
6 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
5 tablespoons hot freshly brewed coffee
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract

In a medium bowl, sift together confectioners' sugar and cocoa powder. Stir in butter, then coffee, then vanilla, mixing well with a wooden spoon after each addition, until frosting is smooth.

Ice top and sides of cake with frosting.

Makes 16 servings
Source: Hometown Appetites: The Story of Clementine Paddleford, the Forgotten Food Writer Who Chronicled How America Ate by Kelly Alexander and Cynthia Harris