Cooking in Cambridge: Chocolate Fudge Cake

This is the first recipe from "Gluten-Free Baking Classics" that did not turn out perfectly (or close to). Yes, the cake and muffins were yummy, delicious even, but the cake and especially the cupcakes fell in the center. My plan was to bring the cupcakes in honor of M*'s birthday to Judge Pub Night, but I'm too vain to have brought gravitationally-challenged cupcakes to a gathering where people do not know that I usually produce well-formed baked goods.

The problem may have been that I opened and closed the oven doors a few times during baking: I had the cake in the upper oven and the cupcakes in the lower. I actually accidentally slammed the bottom oven door once. Since the recipe calls for 2 tsps of baking powder and 1 tsp baking soda, I should have been more careful. Since the recipe was for two 9-inch round layers and I split the batter between cupcake and oval pans, I felt that I needed to check the progress of their baking throughout. Another reason they could have fallen is due to not being cooked enough, but M* and I liked how they tasted and did not think they were gooey.

I love this type of cake with my Grandma Welling's seven-minute white icing. M* found the icing too sweet—the sugar hurt his teeth. I told him that he is not allowed to say anything negative about Grandma Welling's recipes, but I did agree to attempt the recipe with less sugar in the future.

Chocolate Fudge Cake from "Gluten-Free Baking Classics"
4 ozs unsweetened chocolate, chopped
1 3/4 cups Brown Rice Flour Mix
1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
2 tsps baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
3/4 teaspoon xantham gum
1/2 cup canola oil
1 1/2 cups fat-free milk
2 cups granulated sugar
2 large eggs
2 tsps pure vanilla extract

Melt chocolate in small, heavy saucepan over low heat. Stir regularly. When done, remove from heat and cool until lukewarm.

Whisk ingredients 3-7 in a medium bowl until thoroughly combined. Whisk canola oil and milk in liquid measuring cup until thoroughly combined. Discard two tbsps of liquid.

Beat sugar and eggs in large bowl at medium speed until light and fluffy. Blend in melted chocolate and vanilla. Add dry and wet ingredients in two additions at low speed, then at medium for 1 minute.

Cook in center of oven in two 9-inch round layer cake pans (lined with parchment or waxed paper and sprayed lightly with cooking spray) at 35o° for 30-35 minutes (35-40 minutes for 8-inch layers; 18-20 minutes for cupcakes).

Cool cake layers in pans on a rack for 5 minutes. Loosen cake from sides of pans, invert layers onto a rack, peel off paper, and cool.

Notes:
I could not find unsweetened chocolate, so I used 80% dark chocolate and reduced the sugar by 1/4-1/3 cup.

I melted the chocolate in a bowl in the microwave at low heat, stopping the cooking to stir regularly. Worked fine and took less work.

I didn't line the cake layer; I forgot=(

Grandma Welling's Seven-Minute White Icing
2 egg whites
1 1/2 cups sugar
1 tbsp light corn syrup or 1/4 tsp cream of tartar (I've always used the cream of tartar)
1/3 cups cold water
1/16 tsp salt
1 tsp vanilla extract

Place all ingredients except vanilla in double boiler; mix thoroughly. Cook, beating steadily (I use a hand mixer) until frosting forms stiff peaks, about 7 minutes. Remove from heat; add vanilla extract and beat until think.