Everyday Chocolate Cake

1 cup buttermilk

1 teaspoon espresso powder

1 stick unsalted butter, softened

1 cup/237 grams/8 3/8 ounces firmly packed light brown sugar

1/2 cup/100 grams/4 ounces granulated sugar

1 large egg, at room temperature

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 1/2 cups/190 grams/6 3/4 ounces all-purpose flour

3/4 cup/75 grams/2 5/8 ounces Dutch cocoa powder

1/4 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

1/4 teaspoon salt

1 cup/170 grams/6 ounces bittersweet or semisweet chocolate chips (optional)

Preheat the oven to 325°F. Butter and lightly flour a 9×5 inch loaf pan. Stir the espresso powder into the buttermilk until no lumps remain and set aside. 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, add the chocolate chips and stir in, 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.

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