A seriously chocolate cake

Tired of sugar plums and gingerbread? Need to sink your teeth into some serious chocolate? Want a recipe that's faster than instant?

Several years ago my friend Ashleigh made a cake she called Texas Sheet Cake. It was lovely though a bit ladylike. I decided it would be even better if I at least doubled the amount of cocoa, using only Hershey's extra dark, and then added dark chocolate chips to the batter, then cut the rest of the recipe in half.

"Um, do you think that might be too much chocolate?" a friend politely asked. "You can't have too much chocolate," I answered. Feel free to add even more if you like. If simple hedonism doesn't induce you to make this cake, think of the antioxidants.

I need a name for this recipe. It might involve the words Dark Side. Suggestions are welcome.

Here's the recipe.

Cake

Preheat the oven to 375.

In a small saucepan, combine

• 1 stick butter
• 1/3 C Hershey's extra dark dry cocoa
• 1/2 C water (or coffee, if you're really serious about this)

Bring to a boil, stirring constantly. Remove from heat.

In a medium mixing bowl, stir together

• 1 C + 2 T flour
• up to 1 C sugar (or start with 1/4 C and, just before adding chocolate chips, taste batter and add more if you like it sweeter)
  
• 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 1/2 tsp salt

In a small bowl, whisk together

• 1 egg
• 1/4 C buttermilk
• 1/2 tsp vanilla

Add to dry mixture and stir until mixed. Stir in

• a handful or two of dark chocolate chips
  

Pour into an 8x8 buttered or sprayed pan and bake for 20 minutes.

Frosting

In a saucepan, mix

• 2 T butter
• 2 T dark cocoa powder
• 1 1/2 T buttermilk

Cook and stir until boiling, then remove from heat. Stir in

• 1 C powdered sugar
• 1/2 tsp cinnamon extract (or vanilla or rum extract)
  

The mixture will be more like a thick liquid than a frosting. That's what you want. As soon as you pull the cake out of the oven, pour the frosting over it. Let the frosted cake cool before cutting.