HispanicBusiness

Chocolate lovers all around the world unite!

Today, Jan. 27, is National Chocolate Cake Day, but feel free to carry on the celebration through the weekend.

The earliest record of using chocolate dates back before the Olmec. In November 2007, archaeologists reported finding evidence of the oldest known cultivation and use of cacao at a site in Puerto Escondido, Honduras, dating from about 1100 to 1400 BC.

The residues found and the kind of vessel they were found in indicate the initial use of cacao was not simply as a beverage, but the white pulp around the cacao beans was likely used as a source of fermentable sugars for an alcoholic drink.

The Maya civilization grew cacao trees in their backyards, and used the cacao seeds it produced to make a frothy, bitter drink.

Documents in Maya hieroglyphs stated chocolate was used for ceremonial purposes, in addition to everyday life.

The chocolate residue found in an early ancient Maya pot in Río Azul, Guatemala, suggests the Maya were drinking chocolate around 400 AD.

But we're talking about chocolate cake, right?

The history of chocolate cake goes back to 1764, when Dr. James Baker discovered how to make chocolate by grinding cocoa beans between two massive circular millstones.

Baker set up shop in Dorchester, Mass. He was a Harvard doctor and businessman who had launched America's first permanent and profitable chocolate factory, stepped down after nearly four decades as "the king of cocoa." He chose his son Edmund as the successor to the family business.

To celebrate the chocolate cake, we scoured the Internet to find one of teh best recipes we could find. We have Martha Stewart to thank for this one:

"This dense cake offers an intense chocolate experience, complete with fudgy frosting," according to MarthaStewart.com.

Prep Time: 45 minutes
Total Time: 1 1/2 hours, plus cooling
Yield: Serves 16

Ingredients
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature, plus more for pans
1/2 cup unsweetened Dutch-process cocoa (spooned and leveled), plus more for pans
2 cups all-purpose flour (spooned and leveled)
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 cups packed light-brown sugar
2 large eggs plus 2 large egg yolks, room temperature
6 ounces bittersweet chocolate, melted
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1 cup low-fat buttermilk

Directions
1.Preheat oven to 350. Butter two 8-inch round cake pans; dust with cocoa, tapping out excess. Line bottom of each pan with a round of parchment paper; set aside. In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, cocoa, baking powder, baking soda, and salt; set aside.
2.In a large bowl, using an electric mixer, beat butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add eggs and yolks, one at a time, beating well after each addition; beat in chocolate and vanilla. With mixer on low, alternately add flour mixture in three parts and buttermilk in two, beginning and ending with flour mixture.
3.Divide batter between prepared pans; smooth tops. Bake until a toothpick inserted in center of a cake comes out clean, 40 to 45 minutes. Cool in pans 15 minutes; run a knife around edge of each pan, and invert cakes onto a wire rack to cool completely.
4.Set a rimmed baking sheet upside down on a work surface. Place one cake on sheet, and spread top with 1/3 of ganache. Place second cake on top, and spread remaining ganache over top and sides of cake. Using two wide metal spatulas, carefully transfer frosted cake to a serving platter.