16 SERVINGS
This recipe is from the first cookbook I ever wrote, Tailgate Parties, but it has proved so popular, keeps so well, and serves so many that I am repeating it here.
½ pound semisweet or sweet dark chocolate, broken into pieces
3 cups all-purpose flour
1½ teaspoons baking powder
1½ teaspoons baking soda
8 tablespoons (1 stick) unsalted butter, at room temperature
1½ cups sugar
3 eggs
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
2 cups (1 pint) sour cream
1. Position a rack in the center of the oven and heat the oven to 325°F. Grease a 10-inch tube pan with a removable bottom. In a double boiler, melt the chocolate over hot water, stirring until smooth. Remove from the heat and set aside.
2. In a bowl, combine the flour, baking powder, and baking soda. Whisk gently to mix.
3. In a large bowl, beat the butter and sugar together with a hand mixer until light and fluffy. Beat in the eggs, 1 at a time, blending well after each addition. Beat in the vanilla and sour cream until blended. Gradually beat in the dry ingredients. The batter will be very thick.
4. Stir about 1 cup of the batter into the melted chocolate. Turn half of the remaining vanilla batter into the tube pan. Spoon half of the chocolate batter on top. Repeat with the remaining vanilla batter and then top with the remaining chocolate. Stick a kitchen knife or spatula straight down into the center of the batter and pull it around the pan, weaving back and forth to swirl the chocolate through the cake. Smooth the top with a rubber spatula.
5. Bake in the center of the oven for 1 hour, or until the cake begins to pull away from the sides of the pan and a cake tester inserted in the center comes out clean, except perhaps for a little melted chocolate. Let stand for 5 minutes. Remove the outside of the pan. Let cool for 10 minutes. Then unmold and let cool completely on a rack before slicing. (Wrapped well, the cake will keep in a cool place for up to a week, or it can be frozen for months.)