UNION HOTEL CHOCOLATE CAKE

By curly

In the words of one chocolate lover, this cake, which was once on the menu at the venerable Union Hotel in Benicia, a small town at the mouth of the Sacramento Delta, is so good that it can make you cry. It is a dark, rich, moist loaf, quickly and easily mixed with a spoon in a saucepan – you do not even need an electric beater. Sliced thickly, it requires no icing, just a spoonful of unsweetened whipped cream.

Ingredients

• TOPPING:
• 7 squares (7 oz) unsweetened chocolate
• 3/4 cup butter
• 1 1/2 cups strong coffee
• 1/4 cup bourbon
• 2 eggs
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 2 cups cake flour (soft-wheat)
• 1 1/2 cups sugar
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 2 cups heavy cream
• 2 tsps vanilla

Preparation

Step 1

Preheat oven to 275 degrees. Grease and flour two 8 ½ x 4 ½ x 2 ½ inch loaf pans. Put the chocolate, butter and coffee in a heavy-bottomed pan of about 16 cup capacity. Place over low heat and stir almost constantly until the chocolate melts, then stir vigorously until the mixture is smooth and completely blended.

Set aside to cool for about 10 minutes, then beat in the bourbon, eggs and vanilla.
OVER
Combine the flour, sugar, baking soda and salt and sift them together. Add to the chocolate mixture and beat with a wooden spoon until well blended and smooth.

Divide the batter evenly between the prepared pans and bake for 45 to 55 minutes, or until a wooden skewer inserted in the center of a loaf comes out c lean. Remove from the oven and let the cakes cool in the pans for 15 minutes, then turn them out onto a rack to cool completely.

Before serving, combine the cream and vanilla and whip until it barely stands in peaks; it should be fluffy, but thin enough to run down the sides of the cake when you place a spoonful on each serving.