Rich Chocolate Brownie Cake

I made this for a party I went too and it was super good! I didn't get a picture of it (and my star design didn't look half as good as this one) so I took a picture of it from my cookbook! It says in the book "The secret to this rich brownie cake is good-quality chocolate with a high cacao content" So buy some good quality chocolate and try this out! I found some ghiradelli chocolate at my local store that was 60% cacao!

Rich Chocolate Brownie Cake

(Williams Sonoma Holiday Entertaining Cookbook)

• 1/2 cup butter, room temp.
• 1 cup sugar
• 2 large eggs, lightly beaten
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 1/8 tsp salt
• 3/4 cup flour
• 4 oz good quality semisweet or bittersweet chocolate (at least 61% cacao)
• Powdered sugar for dusting

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line an 8 inch round cake pan with aluminum foil, allowing the edges to overlap the pan. Using a pastry brush, lightly butter the foil (I did this step, but thought to try spraying the foil next time).

In your mixer, beat butter until light and fluffy, about 1 minute. Add the sugar and beat until well blended. Add the eggs and vanilla and beat again until well blended. Add the salt and flour, about 1/4 cup at a time. Beat well after each addition of flour.

Break up the chocolate, or chop it. Place in the top of a double boiler set over (but not touching) gently simmering water. Melt chocolate and then remove from pan and let cool slightly, about 2-3 minutes. Add it to the cake batter and beat until well combined and creamy. Pour batter into prepared pan.

Bake until the cake is puffed and a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean, 20-25 minutes. Transfer to a wire rack and let cool completely.

Using the edges of the foil, lift the cooled cake out of the pan. Invert the cake onto a cake stand or cake plate and peel off the foil. Turn the cake right side up. Place a stencil of your choice on your cake and sift the powdered sugar over the stencil to create your design.

Enjoy!