Perfect Chocolate Cake

We spent the night in the emergency vet because my poor Jelly got in a little fight with another dog on his walk last night. Some wounds on his ear and face would not stop bleeding, so I called up Rich & Can to ask if we could borrow their car and then off to the 24-hour animal hospital in Forest Hills we went.

God bless the SAINTLY New Yorkers with cars who let their friends borrow their keys in moments like these. Upon seeing Jelly's beat up face, I thought for half a second about trying to hail a cab or call an Uber with a bloody Labrador and wanted to throw up. I've never loved my sister's boyfriend and his Mazda more.

Jelly is home now, just with some sutures in his ear, but otherwise (mostly) back to normal. I went to the pet store and bought this inner tube thing that he can wear around his neck instead of the plastic cone, so he's walking around with what looks like an airplane pillow around his neck. Between that and the pain killers that have him a little wobbly, he looks like a sleepy starlet just stepping off the jet at LAX, so that's pretty funny.

We've been hanging out and resting for the day, watching lots of episodes of Happy Endings and holding ice packs to Jell's face while he recovers. I finished the last bite of this cake, too, and I am very sad to see it go.

This perfect, frosting-less cake counts as breakfast on desperate days and, with it's coarse crumb, bitter espresso twang, and bite from the buttermilk, it cuts through a milky cup of tea like whoa. Honestly, this might be my favorite recipe since my spicy tofu. Make it and keep it handy for those unexpectedly stressful days. Let me tell ya; it was exactly the treat I wanted around!

P.S. Still on the fence as to whether "loaf cake" is a disgusting or delightful term. Any thoughts in comments much appreciated.

Perfect Chocolate Cake

• 1/2 cup sugar
• 3/4 cup light brown sugar
• 1/2 cup vegetable oil
• 2 eggs
• 1 cup buttermilk
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 1 3/4 cup flour
• 3/4 cup cocoa powder
• 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 1/2 tsp baking powder
• 1 tsp espresso powder
• 1 tsp sea salt
• 1/2 cup white chocolate chips

Cooking Directions

1. Preheat oven to 325. Grease a 1-lb loaf pan.
2. In a large mixing bowl, combine sugars and oil; mix to combine. Beat in 1 egg at a time until well blended. Add in buttermilk and vanilla extract. Mix.
3. Add in all remaining ingredients except white chocolate chips. Beat to combine with a wooden spoon. If a few lumps remain, that's OK! Don't overmix.
4. Fold in white chocolate chips and immediately pour batter into loaf pan.
5. Bake for 70 minutes, or until toothpick inserted comes out clean.
6. Remove from oven and let cool completely before running a knife around the edges of the pan to loosen. Then, turn cake out onto a large plate. Dust with powdered sugar, if desired. Slice & serve!