Mocha Rum Cake from Epicurious

Love, love, love Epicurious recipes.  Always delicious. 

This cake is no exception.  It's in my "personal" dessert cookbook, but I've no idea where it came from.  Likely Gourmet or Bon Appetít. Aha!  Actually, Gourmet, 1994.  From back in the day.

Half a cake is better than none.  OK, a bunch of people ate some before I thought of taking a photo.  It is dense and dark and chocolaty.  Kind of a pain in the butt to make, but most wonderful things require some degree of effort. 

Here is the recipe:

Mocha Rum Cake from Epicurious:

Gourmet Magazine, 1994

Ingredients

   

• cocoa powder for dusting
• 3 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
• 3/4 teaspoon salt
• 3/4 pound fine-quality bittersweet chocolate (not unsweetened), chopped    
• 3 sticks (1 1/2 cups) unsalted butter, cut into pieces
• 1/3 cup dark rum
• 2 cups strong brewed coffee
• 2 1/4 cups granulated sugar
• 3 large eggs, beaten lightly
• 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• confectioners' sugar for dusting
• lightly sweetened whipped cream
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Preparation

1.  
1. Preheat oven to 300°F. Butter a 4 1/2-inch-deep (12-cup) Kugelhupf or bundt pan and dust with cocoa powder, knocking out excess.  Butter well!

2. In a bowl whisk together flour, baking soda, and salt. In a large metal bowl set over a saucepan of barely simmering water melt chocolate and butter, stirring until smooth. Remove chocolate from heat and stir in rum, coffee, and granulated sugar. With an electric mixer beat in flour, 1/2 cup at a time, scraping down side, and beat in eggs and vanilla until batter is combined well. Pour batter into prepared pan.
3. Bake cake in middle of oven until a tester comes out clean, about 1 hour and 50 minutes. Let cake cool completely in pan on a rack and turn it out onto rack. Cake may be made 3 days in advance and kept wrapped well and chilled.
1.  

2.     Dust cake with confectioners' sugar and serve with whipped cream.

Notes:  Make sure pan is well-buttered, so cake won’t stick.  I used 3 4oz. bars of Ghirardelli bittersweet chocolate.  Used a very potent dark rum.  Made instant coffee from Megdalia D’oro expresso.