Chocolate Eclipse

Total Time: 55 mins Preparation Time: 20 mins Cook Time: 35 mins

Ingredients

• 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
• 2 ounces unsweetened chocolate
• 2 cups buttermilk
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 2 1/2 cups unbleached flour
• 2 1/4 cups packed brown sugar
• 1 tablespoon baking powder
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips (optional)
• 1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa (plus 2 tbl)
• 2 1/2 cups boiling water

Recipe

• 1 preheat oven to 350°f.
• 2 grease a 9x13-inch baking pan.
• 3 melt butter and unsweetened chocolate together in a double boiler over hot water.
• 4 in the meantime, heat buttermilk gently in a saucepan until just a little warmer than body temperature.
• 5 in a large mixing bowl combine flour, 1 cup of the brown, sugar, baking powder, baking soda and salt.
• 6 mix well, using your hands if necessary to break up any lumps to achieve a uniform mixture.
• 7 stir in chocolate chips, if using.
• 8 pour the butter/chocolate mixture into buttermilk.
• 9 add vanilla and then pour into the dry ingredients.
• 10 stir until well combined.
• 11 spread into prepared pan.
• 12 combine remaining 1 1/4 cups of brown sugar with unsweetened cocoa in a small bowl.
• 13 sprinkle this over the batter in the pan as evenly as possible.
• 14 next, pour boiling water gently and evenly over the sugar/cocoa mixture; do not stir.
• 15 place the pan immediately into the preheated oven.
• 16 bake for 30- 35 minutes, or until the center feels firm to the touch.
• 17 watch carefully, as it tends to over brown around the edges.
• 18 cool at least 15 minutes before serving.
• 19 best cooled for 2 hours.
• 20 the finished result is a cake with a fudgy sauce hidden underneath.
• 21 when serving, invert the cake so that the fudgy sauce becomes a topping.
• 22 serve with vanilla ice cream, creme fraiche or whipped cream.