Chocolate Eclipse - cooking recipe

Ingredients

2 tablespoons unsalted butter
2 ounces unsweetened chocolate
2 cups buttermilk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 1/2 cups unbleached flour
2 1/4 cups packed brown sugar
1 tablespoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips (optional)
1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa (plus 2 tbl)
2 1/2 cups boiling water

Preparation

Preheat oven to 350\u00b0F.
Grease a 9x13-inch baking pan.
Melt butter and unsweetened chocolate together in a double boiler over hot water.
In the meantime, heat buttermilk gently in a saucepan until just a little warmer than body temperature.
In a large mixing bowl combine flour, 1 cup of the brown, sugar, baking powder, baking soda and salt.
Mix well, using your hands if necessary to break up any lumps to achieve a uniform mixture.
Stir in chocolate chips, if using.
Pour the butter/chocolate mixture into buttermilk.
add vanilla and then pour into the dry ingredients.
Stir until well combined.
Spread into prepared pan.
Combine remaining 1 1/4 cups of brown sugar with unsweetened cocoa in a small bowl.
Sprinkle this over the batter in the pan as evenly as possible.
Next, pour boiling water gently and evenly over the sugar/cocoa mixture; do NOT stir.
Place the pan immediately into the preheated oven.
Bake for 30- 35 minutes, or until the center feels firm to the touch.
Watch carefully, as it tends to over brown around the edges.
Cool at least 15 minutes before serving.
Best cooled for 2 hours.
The finished result is a cake with a fudgy sauce hidden underneath.
When serving, invert the cake so that the fudgy sauce becomes a topping.
Serve with vanilla ice cream, creme fraiche or whipped cream.