Chocolate Bourbon Cake
* 1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened, more for greasing pan
* 2 cups all-purpose flour, more for dusting pan
* 5 ounces high quality, unsweetened dark chocolate
* 1/4 cup instant espresso (can use instant coffee)
* 2 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder
* 1 cup bourbon whiskey (can use 1/2 cup), more for sprinkling
* 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
* 2 cups granulated sugar
* 3 large eggs
* 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
* 1 teaspoon baking soda
* 1/4 cup confectioners’ sugar (powdered sugar), for sprinkling
Preheat oven to 325°F. Grease and flour a large bundt pan (10 cup capacity), or two 8- or 9-inch loaf pans. Melt chocolate in a microwave oven or in a double boiler over simmering water. Let cool.
Put instant espresso and cocoa powder in a 2-cup (or larger) glass measuring cup. Add enough boiling water to come up to the 1 cup measuring line. Mix until powders dissolve. Stir in whiskey and salt; let cool.
Beat softened butter until fluffy (2-3 minutes on high). Add sugar and beat until well combined. Beat in the eggs, one at a time, beating well between each addition. Beat in the vanilla extract, baking soda and melted chocolate, scraping down sides of bowl with a rubber spatula.
With the mixer on low speed, beat in a third of the whiskey espresso cocoa mixture. When liquid is absorbed, beat in 1 cup flour. Repeat additions, ending with whiskey mixture. Scrape batter into prepared pan and smooth top. Bake until a cake tester inserted into center of cake comes out clean, about 1 hour 10 minutes for Bundt pan (loaf pans will take less time, start checking them after 55 minutes).
Transfer cake to a rack. Unmold after 15 minutes and sprinkle warm cake with more whiskey. Let cool. Sprinkle powdered sugar through a mesh sieve over the cake before serving.
