Decadent Double Dark Chocolate Cake

Little Miss’s eighth birthday was earlier this month.  At the time, we were in Puerto Rico.  No big deal – we managed to celebrate both my husband’s and my dad’s birthdays with cake while we were there, and Little Miss’s falls right between theirs (lucky her).  The only problem is her dairy allergy.

Good luck finding a dairy free cake in Puerto Rico.

Fortunately, she accepted the non-dairy sorbet we got for her instead, along with a promise that yes, I would make her our traditional birthday dinner.  And yes, that traditional dinner is whatever she wants plus a cake of whatever kind she wants.  She immediately chose my pizza and wanted a chocolate cake with chocolate frosting.

While we were aboard the Carnival cruise, they graciously made Little Miss a dairy free cake one of our first nights on the ship, and she was thrilled.  She told me it was the best chocolate cake she’d ever had, better than any cake I’d ever made even.  I honestly thought she might forget about it after that, but she started asking about when we would make her cake two days before we left Puerto Rico – and she never stopped.

When she had a playdate last Thursday with a friend, she begged again (day 2 of our being home by the way) to be able to make the cake.  When her friend agreed that she’d love to bake with us, I gave in.  And yes, the gauntlet had been thrown.  I was going to make an even better cake than what she’d had.  I was pulling out the big guns.

While my cake decorating skills leave a bit to be desired, the three children who helped me bake the cake agreed it was awesome.  They decided my new moniker would be “I don’t make pretty cakes; I make tasty cakes.”  It got dubbed even better than the cruise cake.  Personally, I don’t like chocolate cake.  I find them dry and often tasteless.  This one though?  Even I’ve been secretly nibbling at it here and there.  It’s that good.

Double Dark Chocolate Cake

Ingredients:
2 c sugar
2 c cake flour
3/4 c cocoa powder (use the good stuff, trust me)
1 1/2 t baking soda
2 t baking powder
3/4 t salt
2 eggs
1 c rice or coconut milk (because we made it dairy free – use whole milk if making it with dairy)
1/2 c coconut oil*
1 t vanilla
2/3 c hot, strong coffee
1 1/2 c dark chocolate chips

*Coconut oil really makes this cake.  It is amazing to cook and bake with, and it’s dairy free.  If you don’t want to use coconut oil, you can use vegetable oil but it won’t be as good.  It’s worth trying.

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Prepare 2 nine inch cake rounds by greasing them and lining the bottoms with parchment (because I learn from my mistakes).

In your mixing bowl, add the flour, sugar, cocoa powder, baking soda, baking powder, and salt.  Mix until thoroughly combined.

In another bowl (or be like me and use a large measuring cup to save on dishes later), add the milk, coconut oil, vanilla, and eggs.  Note that the coffee is not yet added.  Whisk to get somewhat combined.  Expect that the coconut oil will be relatively solidified, and don’t worry.

Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and mix on medium speed for a couple minutes until it is combined.

Add the hot coffee (I reheat coffee leftover from my husband’s morning habit) and stir on low until just incorporated.  The batter will be very thin compared to what you’re used to with cake batter.  It’s supposed to be that way and is totally ok.  Add the chocolate chips after the coffee so the coffee doesn’t melt them, and stir gently to distribute them.

Pour the batter evenly into the two cake pans, and bake in your 350 degree oven for 35-40 minutes or until a cake tester comes out clean.

Cool the cakes for ten minutes in the cake pans.  Once they are partially cooled, flip them out onto cooling racks and let them cool the rest of the way before frosting.  These are great with both a ganache (what I made for Little Miss) and a buttercream frosting.

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