Everyday Chocolate Cake

Adapted from Magnolia Bakery At Home

My changes were to streamline the recipe (and shirk some recipe-writing conventions) to make this a one bowl cake, because anything called “everyday” really oughta be in one bowl. I added weights (because then your bowl becomes your measuring cups and look how few dishes you have to do!). And I completely messed up on a key ingredient, cocoa.

[Updated 8/5/10] Although I was thrilled with the result when I used Dutch cocoa and 1 teaspoon baking soda (in the original published recipe, 8/4/10), the cake rose and sank slightly in the baking process, a sign that the leavener was off. I retested this the next day with different levels of leavener and two different types of cocoa, in hopes to keep the cake aloft. I’ve updated the recipe below with the suggestion of Dutch cocoa, a reduced amount baking soda and the addition of baking powder. I found that the version with Dutch cocoa was darker with a more appealing chocolate flavor. But fear not: If you only have a natural or non-Dutched cocoa, you can still use it, but you’ll want to use 1/2 teaspoon baking soda and no baking powder. Here’s a photo of both versions side-by-side. Both were gleefully received. Happy baking!

1/2 cup (1 stick or 4 ounces) unsalted butter, softened
1 cup (6 7/8 ounces) firmly packed light brown sugar
1/2 cup (4 ounces) granulated sugar
1 large egg, at room temperature
1 cup buttermilk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 1/2 cups (6 3/4 ounces) all-purpose flour
3/4 cup (2 5/8 ounces) Dutch cocoa powder (see above for a natural cocoa adjustment)
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt

Preheat the oven to 325°F. Butter and lightly flour a 9×5x3-inch loaf pan, or spray it with a butter-flour spray. In a large bowl, on the medium speed of an electric mixer, cream the butter until smooth. Add the sugars and beat until fluffy, about 3 minutes. Add the egg and beat well, then the buttermilk and vanilla. Don’t worry if the batter looks a little uneven. Sift the flour, cocoa, baking soda, baking powder and salt together right into your wet ingredients. Stir together with a spoon until well-blended but do not overmix. Scrape down the batter in the bowl, making sure the ingredients are well blended.

Pour the batter into the prepared loaf pan. Bake for 60 to 70 minutes, or until a cake tester inserted into the center of the loaf comes out clean. Cool in pan on a rack for about 10 to 15 minutes, at which point you can cool it the rest of the way out of the pan. Serve with whipped cream and fresh berries, if you’re feeling fancy.

Eggplant Salad Toasts

Makes about 8 toasts; double the recipe if you’d like to eat the salad straight or use it in one of the ways suggested above

1 medium eggplant, about 3/4 pound, cut into 1/2-inch cubes
2 tablespoons olive oil plus additional for oiling baking sheet
1/4 teaspoon salt
Black pepper
1 teaspoon red wine vinegar
1/4 cup crumbled crumbled feta
1 scallion, thinly sliced
8 1/2-inch slices of baguette, brushed with olive oil (I used 1-inch slices in the photos, then decided they were too thick)
1 small clove garlic, peeled and halved

Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Lightly oil a baking sheet or roasting pan. Toss eggplant, 2 tablespoons olive oil, salt and a generous amount of black pepper together in a medium bowl until evenly coated. Spread on prepared baking sheet and roast for about 25 minutes, moving pieces around occasional so they evenly brown. For a cold salad, let the eggplant cool a bit before mixing it with red wine vinegar, feta and scallion. For a warm salad where the feta glues itself to the eggplant a bit, toss the vinegar, feta and scallion together when the eggplant just comes out of the oven. You’ll want to eat the warm salad quickly.

Broil or toast baguette slices then rub them with a garlic clove before heaping on eggplant salad.

Nigella’s Double Chocolate Chip Muffins

(adapted from The Food Network, Nigella Lawson – Nigella Feasts)
Makes 12

1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
3 tablespoons best quality cocoa powder
3/4 cup caster (super fine) sugar
pinch of salt
3/4 cup semisweet chocolate chips
1 cup milk
1/3 cup plus 2 teaspoons vegetable oil
1 egg
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
extra 1/4 cup semisweet chocolate chips, for sprinkling

Preheat oven to 400° F. Line standard muffin tin with paper liners or lightly grease with cooking spray.
In a large bowl, whisk together the dry ingredients, flour, baking powder, baking soda, cocoa, sugar and salt. Stir in 3/4 cup chocolate chips.
Pour all the liquid ingredients, milk, vegetable oil, and egg, into a 2-cup measuring jug. Using a fork, mix to combine.
Using a spatula, mix the wet and dry ingredients together. Do not over-mix, a lumpy batter makes the best muffins.
Divide batter evenly among muffin cups. Using the remaining 1/4-cup chocolate chips, sprinkle each muffin with a few chips.
Bake for 18 to 20 minutes or until the muffins are dark, risen and springy and a cake tester inserted into centre comes out clean.