devil's food cake

	3 ounces good-quality unsweetened chocolate
	1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature
	2 1/4 cups (packed) dark brown sugar
	3 eggs
	2 1/4 cups cake flour
	2 teaspoons baking soda
	1/2 teaspoon salt
	1/2 cup buttermilk
 	1 cup boiling water
 	2 teaspoons vanilla extract

1. Preheat the oven to 375F. Grease and flour two 9-inch cake pans; set them aside.
2. Place the chocolate in a small heavy saucepan, and melt over low heat, stirring constantly. Remove the pan from the heat and set it aside.
3. Cream the butter and brown sugar together in the bowl of an electric mixer. With the mixer on low speed, add the eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition. Stir in the melted chocolate.
4. Combine the cake flour, baking soda, and the salt. Alternating between the two, add the flour mixture and buttermilk to the chocolate mixture in three stages, ending with flour. Then slowly stir in the boiling water and the vanilla.
5. Pour the batter into the two prepared pans, and bake until a toothpick inserted in the center of a layer comes out clean, 30 minutes.
6. Remove the pans from the oven and let the layers sit for 5 minutes. Then invert the pans over
wire racks, releasing the cake, and let the cake cool completely before icing.

       KATHLEEN’S CHOCOLATE ICING* 
 	1 1/2 cups semisweet chocolate morsels
 	8 tablespoons (1 stick) unsalted butter, at room temperature
 	2/3 cup milk
 	1 teaspoon vanilla extract
 	1 cup confectioners’ sugar

 1. Combine the chocolate and butter in a small heavy saucepan, and melt over very low heat.
 2. Remove the pan from the heat, stir in the milk and vanilla, and transfer the mixture to a mixing bowl.
 3. Add the sugar gradually, beating with an electric mixer. Continue beating until the mixture is smooth; it will be runny.
 4. Refrigerate the mixture for 1 hour, beating it every 15 minutes. (The icing will stiffen.)

   *I always double recipe & use extra for cookies