Every time someone asks, “What is your favorite food,” I have the same answer: chocolate cake. I have known this about myself since grade school and, as a result, I have a lot of experience with chocolate cakes. This one is supernaturally good. One night, while I was getting ready for bed, the thought came to me that I should check the amount of cocoa powder in my favorite 9x13 chocolate cake and the amount of flour in my favorite Bundt cake (not chocolate), and if I would do those two things, I would know how to make the perfect chocolate Bundt cake.

When you take baking and chocolate cake as seriously as I do, you don’t ignore that kind of a thought. I looked up the recipes, opened a new email to myself, and typed the ingredients the way I thought they should be. A few days later, when the family had a hankering for dessert, I made it. We all agreed that it was the best chocolate Bundt cake we’d ever eaten. On day one, the outside is crisp and the interior moist. On days two and three, the exterior becomes less crisp and the whole thing becomes more fudgy (though not actually fudgy). I had my cake expert friend make the recipe—she loved it. I made it for us again. Just perfect.

We have a favorite Lemon Bundt Cake recipe that we thought we’d share for Mother’s Day because it’s lovely, appropriate for spring, and my mom loves lemon cake. But we couldn’t do it—too many mothers out there love chocolate more than any other flavor. If your mother is one of them, this is for her.

Double Chocolate Bundt Cake

• 1/2 pound (two sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature

• 2 cups sugar

• 4 large eggs, room temperature

• 1 tablespoon vanilla

• 3 cups flour

• 1 teaspoon baking soda

• 1 teaspoon table salt

• 1 cup unsweetened cocoa powder, dutch process but natural also works

• 2 cups half-and-half, room temperature

• 2 cups bittersweet chocolate chips (Amelia likes 2 ½)

Heat oven to 325 degrees. Grease and flour a full-size Bundt pan (we like to use Baker's Joy spray for Bundt cakes--they always release well when we do).

Whisk together flour, soda, salt, and cocoa powder.

Cream the butter and sugar until light and fluffy, 4 to 5 minutes on medium with the paddle attachment of our KitchenAide mixer. Add the eggs one at a time, beating well after each. Add the vanilla and mix again.

With the mixer on low, add 1/3 of the flour mixture, then half of the half-and-half, then flour, then half-and-half, then flour. Scrape the bowl with the rubber spatula to make sure everything is well mixed. Then stir in the chocolate chips. This batter will really fill the pan. You might want to eat some of it, like I did today for my 4 pm snack, or bake a couple of cupcakes on the side (the cupcakes will be fully baked in maybe 22 minutes). 

Pour into the prepared pan, smooth the top, and bake for 1 hour 25 minutes. (Do NOT overbake the cake. Our oven runs true to temperature, and we live 4000 feet above sea level, and this timing is perfect for us; 1 hour 27 minutes would definitely be too long). You may want to check your cake at 1 hour, if your oven runs hot. A tester inserted into a melty chocolate chip may fool you that the cake isn’t done when in fact it really is. Overbaked, this cake will be dry and the chocolate flavor dull (but it might still be the best chocolate Bundt cake you’ve eaten).

Cool in the pan for 10 minutes, then flip upside down onto a wire rack to cool. After it's cooled for at least 45 minutes, dust with powdered sugar to make it look even more appealing. The cake will still be warm, but no longer hot enough to melt the powdered sugar.