Mountain Meadow Chocolate Fudge Cake

Supposedly, Sticky, Chewy, Messy, Gooey by Jill O'Connor is the next feature for Joseph Beth's Cookbook Potluck Club.

The book says "desserts for the serious sweet tooth" on the front cover. Even though I love dessert, some of these recipes seem a little too intense for me (ie cheesecake milkshake.) Still, the book is beautifully designed and all the recipes have a happy, whimsical quality.

I decided to try this relatively simple chocolate cake recipe. It was well recieved at a potluck on Sunday. It's not the fanciest cake in the world, but it uses fairly simple ingredients and takes less than an hour to make.

The frosting might seem a little strange at first; while warm, it has a weird, oily consistency. Even if it seems a little thin, I recommend omitting the optional 1 cup of powdered sugar. Once the cake cools completely, the frosting will have hardened in to a decadent fudge layer that's best at room temperature. The toasted pecans are a great textural addition.

Mountain Meadow Chocolate Fudge Cake
adapted from Sticky Chewy Messy Gooey by Jill O'Connor
2 cups all purpose flour
1 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter
1 cup boiling water
4 oz unsweetened chocolate, chopped
2 cups sugar
1/2 cup buttermilk
2 large eggs
1 tbsp pure vanilla extract

For the icing:
3 oz unsweetened chocolate, chopped
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter
1/3 cup buttermilk
1 tsp pure vanilla extract
pinch of salt
3 to 4 cups confectioners sugar, sifted
1 1/2 cups chopped pecans, toasted

Position a rack in the middle of the oven and preheat to 400 degrees. Brush a 9x13 inch baking pan with melted butter or spray with a nonstick spray.

Sift the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt together in a large bowl and set aside.

Combine the butter, boiling water, and chocolate in a saucepan. Place the saucepan over medium-low heat and whisk gently until the butter and chocolate are melted and the mixture is smooth. Remove the pan from the heat and whisk in the sugar. Quickly whisk in the buttermilk and then the eggs and vanilla. Using an electric mixer set on medium speed, beat the chocolate mixture into the dry ingredients just until combined and a smooth batter forms, about 1 minute.

Pour the batter into the prepared pan. Bake until the cake starts to pull away from the sides of the pan and a wooden skewer inserted into the middle of the cake comes out clean, 20-25 minutes.

Meanwhile, make the icing. Combine the chocolate, butter, and buttermilk in a saucepan and cook, stirring over medium heat, until the chocolate is melted. Remove from the heat and whisk in the vanilla, salt, and 3 cups of the confectioners sugar. If you would like the icing sweeter and thicker, whisk in the remaining sugar to taste. Stir in the pecans.

Transfer the cake to a wire rack and pour the warm icing over the cake while it too is still warm in the pan. Let cool completely, then cut into squares and serve.