Chocolate Midnight Cake

Guest recipe by Anne Walker, Dabney Gough and Kris Hoogerhyde
Authors of Sweet Cream and Sugar Cones: 90 Recipes for Making Your Own Ice Cream and Frozen Treats from Bi-Rite Creamery

Makes one 8-inch round cake (enough for 1 ice cream cake) or 16 cupcakes |
 
Nonstick cooking spray or unsalted butter, for the pans
11/2 cups sugar
3/4 cup (31/2 ounces) unbleached all-purpose flour
3/4 cup (31/2 ounces) cake flour
13/4 ounces (1/2 cup) Dutch-processed cocoa powder, measured then sifted
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
11/2 cups boiling water
2 large eggs
1/2 cup canola or other neutral-flavored oil

1. Position racks in the upper third and lower third of the oven and preheat the oven to 350°F. If making a cake, spray or butter a round cake pan, 8 inches in diameter by 2 inches deep, and line the bottom with parchment paper. If making cupcakes, line sixteen cups of two standard muffin pans with paper or foil liners. 
2. In a mixing bowl, whisk together the sugar, both flours, the cocoa, baking soda, and salt. Gradually whisk the boiling water into the flour, adding about 1⁄2 cup of the water at a time, until all the water is added and you have a smooth, thick batter. Whisk in the eggs one at a time, blending well after each addition, then whisk in the oil. You should have a very thin but smooth batter.
3. Pour the batter into the cake pan or divide among the muffin cups. Bake until the cake springs back to a light touch and a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean, 50 to 55 minutes for the cake and about 25 minutes for cupcakes.
4. Let the cake cool in the pan for 30 minutes, then invert onto a wire rack. Remove the parchment and let cool completely. Let the cupcakes cool in the pans for 30 minutes before transferring onto a wire rack, then let cool completely.
“Reprinted with permission from Sweet Cream & Sugar Cones by Kris Hoogerhyde, Anne Walker, and Dabney Gough, copyright © 2012. Published by Ten Speed Press, a division of Random House, Inc.”