Ingredients
- 3 eggs
- 2 cups sugar (or a little less)
- 2 sticks butter (plus some to grease pan)
- 1/2 cup water
- 2 1/2 cups flour
- 2 Tbls cocoa (get the good stuff)
- 1 tsp baking soda
- 1 tsp cinnamon
- 1 tsp allspice
- 1 cup finely-chopped walnuts
- 1/2 cup semi-sweet chocolate bits (get the good stuff)
- 2 cups peeled & grated apples (you can substitute zucchini)
- 1 Tbsp vanilla
- OPTIONAL: Powdered sugar to dust before serving.
Equipment
- Loose-bottom tube pan (10")
- 2 mixing bowls
- Electric mixer
- Sifter (or whisk to cheat)
- Peeler & grater
- Cake rack for cooling
- And of course: a spatula
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 325°F
- Cream together first 4 (wet) ingredients with mixer until "fluffy." I've never actually figured out what that means... maybe look for a YouTube video. And if anyone else knows, please explain in comments. If you send a photo I'll post it!
- Sift together the flour, cocoa, baking soda, and spices. Add to the wet, fluffy stuff and mix some more.
- Fold in the walnuts, chocolate bits, grated apples, and vanilla with spatula or wooden spoon. Keep folding until distributed evenly.
- Grease all inside parts of the pan and dust with flour. Spoon batter into pan.
- Bake for 60-70 minutes. Test with toothpick: it should come up clean, but beware of chocolate bits.
- Remove from oven and allow to cool in pan at first. Once you can manage it, try lifting the center piece out of the outer ring and allow cake to cool some more on rack. Eventually you can slice around the ring and the bottom of pan to get the darn thing to let go of your cake.
A long-time favorite!
The essential pan...
English