Extra-Dark Chocolate Devil's Food Cake

It seems I've been having entirely too much fun with colored sugar lately...

I well had an occasion to do so, however, because on Saturday night we celebrated our friend (and my college room-mate :-) Emily's birthday!

Since Emily is such a special friend, I wanted to bake her a particularly special cake... I had a gorgeous Dagoba 100% cacao unsweetened dark chocolate bar just awaiting a grand event,

and I've long wondered how my favorite Endangered Species 88% cacao dark chocolate would fare in a baking project,

so I combined the two in an extra-dark chocolate devil's food cake! The resulting cake was so luxurious, so hauntingly and melodically chocolaty, that I decided to gild it with only the light vanilla glaze that I used for Zach's Valentine's Day vanilla cake... along with, of course, just a few sprinkles of colored sugar... ;-)

Here's to birthdays and wonderful friends! :-)

Extra-Dark Chocolate Devil's Food Cake

1 cup whole wheat flour
1 cup all purpose flour
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
2 oz 100% cacao unsweetened dark chocolate
3 oz 88% cacao dark chocolate
2 eggs, separated
1/2 cup light, non-hydrogenated, olive-oil based vegan margarine
2/3 cup raw turbinado sugar
2/3 cup skim milk
1 tsp vanilla

Vanilla Glaze (optional)

~ Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Line an 8x8 baking dish or 9" round cake pan with parchment paper.
~ Stir together the whole wheat flour, all purpose flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt, and set aside.
~ Melt the two kinds of chocolate in the microwave, by heating at 30 second intervals, stirring between each interval, until the chocolate is nearly melted. Continue stirring until the chocolate has melted completely, then set the bowl aside to allow the chocolate to cool to lukewarm.
~ In a small bowl, whip the egg yolks until they are creamy, smooth, and lemon-colored. Set aside.
~ Using an electric mixer, beat the egg whites until stiff peaks form. Gently slide the egg whites into a bowl, and set aside.
~ Beat the vegan marg and turbinado sugar together until creamy.
~ Add the egg yolks to the sugar mixture, and beat well.
~ Add the melted chocolate, and beat again until smooth and well combined.
~ Add the dry ingredients in 3 parts, alternating with the milk and vanilla, stirring until just combined after each addition.
~ Pour the batter into the prepared baking dish, and bake for 35 to 40 minutes - until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
~ Allow the cake to cool in the baking dish, then transfer to a plate, remove the parchment paper, and, if you fancy, top with vanilla glaze!

On the blog this time last year... Parsnip and Carrot Sunshine!