Dark Chocolate Five-Spice Cake

Serves 10-12.

Sichuan Five Spice pairs beautifully with chocolate in this dark, moist, and very rich cake. Drizzled with chocolate ganache, it's a chocolate-lover's dream. For a simpler presentation, skip the ganache and dust with powdered sugar.

1 tablespoon butter, room temperature, for greasing pan
1 cup + 2 tablespoons Marou raw cacao powder
4 teaspoons Sichuan Five Spice
2¼ cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking soda
½ teaspoon baking powder
½ teaspoon salt
¾ cup whole-milk Greek yogurt
1½ cup warm water
¼ cup neutral oil
3 eggs, room temperature
2¼ cups sugar

Preheat the oven to 350˚ F. Generously butter a 12-cup (3-quart) bundt pan, dust it with 2 tablespoons of cocoa, and tap out the excess. Set the pan aside.

Put 1 cup of the cocoa with 3 teaspoons of the Sichuan Five Spice into a mixing bowl; add the flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt and whisk gently to combine. In a separate bowl, whisk the yogurt, water, and oil until smooth and well combined. Set both bowls aside.

In a large bowl, or a stand mixer fitted with the paddle, beat the eggs and sugar until the sugar dissolves and the mixture is a creamy, light color.

Fold a third of the flour mixture into the egg mixture until just combined; then, fold in half the yogurt mixture. Repeat, and finish by folding in the remaining flour mixture. The batter will be thin-ish.

Pour the batter into the prepared pan. Bake until a tester inserted into the cake comes out almost clean (the internal tempera­ture should be 190˚ – 195˚ F), about 1 hour. Allow the cake to cool in the pan for 10 minutes, then invert it onto a cooling rack. Let it cool to room temperature before glazing it with the ganache (recipe below) or dusting it with powdered sugar. Either way, sprinkle the remaining teaspoon of Sichuan Five Spice over the cake.

Tips: A practical method for dusting a bundt pan with flour or cacao is to set it on a large piece of baking parchment, then shake the flour or cocoa through a sieve over the pan. This makes it easier to coat the pan’s center “post” and to capture the excess flour or cocoa.

Dark Chocolate Ganache Glaze
3 ounces dark chocolate (70-72% cocoa), such as Callibaut
4 tablespoons water
½ teaspoon coconut oil

Put all the glaze ingredients in a heat-proof bowl set over a simmering pot of water. Stir until melted, combined, and smooth.