Bittersweet Mocha Bundt Cake

From The Heart of the Plate by Mollie Katzen (Author of Moosewood Cookbook)

What could be better than chocolate and coffee?  I hardly ever bake, but I was asked to bring a dessert to a friend's house for dinner - all the other food was already accounted for, including enough fruit.  It's not that I don't eat sweets - I do! - but usually someone else has prepared them.  So, I perused my favorite websites and cookbooks and came up with this recipe.  If a recipe comes from a vegetarian cookbook full of cauliflower and brussel sprouts recipes, it can't be too unhealthy, right?  Even if there are 2 sticks of butter in one little cake!  I gave my husband the final deciding vote, and since he loves chocolate and coffee, this was the clear winner.  And it was a good decision!!

Think ahead hints from Mollie Katzen:
- serve with cappuccino or chai for brunch or for dessert, even as a birthday cake.
- unwrap the butter ahead of time and place in mixing bowl to soften
- freeze, maybe even pre-sliced, to have it at the ready

Ingredients:

16 Tablespoons (2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened
1 1/4 cups sugar
4 large eggs
1 Tablespoons pure vanilla extract
2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour (I used 1 cup whole wheat, 1 cup white)
1/3 c unsweetened cocoa powder
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup strong brewed coffee, cooled to room temperature; decaf is fine
1/4 cup milk (low fat works fine)
1 cup semisweet mini chocolate chips
Confectioners sugar (optional topping)


Directions:

1) Preheat oven to 350, with a rack in the center position.  Lightly spray the bottom and center of a standard-sized Bundt or tube pan with non-stick spray.

2) Beat the butter for about 3 minutes in a large bowl with an electric mixer at high speed, until fluffy.  Add the sugar and beat for 2-3 minutes longer, until completely incorporated and the mixture is very light.  Add the eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition, then beat in the vanilla.

3) In a second bowl, whisk together the flour, cocoa, baking powder, and salt.  Combine the coffee and milk in a measuring cup with a spout.

4) Add the dry ingredients to the butter mixture in 3 installments, alternating with the coffee mixture, beginning and ending with the dry, using a rubber spatula to stir from the bottom of the bowl after each addition.  Fold in the chocolate chips with the last addition of flour.  Don't overmix.

5) Scrape the batter into the pan, spreading it evenly.  Bake for 40 minutes, or until a sharp knife inserted all the way into the center comes out clean.

6) Cool in the pan on a wire rack for at least 30 minutes before removing the cake from the pan.  If you used a Bundt pan, invert the cake onto a plate.  If you used a tube pan, pull out the tube and gently lift the cake off and onto a plate, or if it is one piece, run a small knife or thin spatula around the sides of the pan and invert the cake onto a plate.  Cool for another 10-15 minutes before slicing.

7) Consider sifting confectioners' sugar over the top for a nice finish after it cools.  I shook the sugar through a fine sieve to get the same effect, and used less than a tablespoon.