The instructions were to whisk the alkalized cocoa & boiling water until it was smooth. It was actually very thick, but I covered it as instructed, & allowed it to cool in my refrigerator until it was about room temperature.
In an other bowl I whisked the egg whites, with water & the required vanilla until just frothy.
In the bowl of my standmixer I combined the flour, sugar, baking powder, & salt. I don't have the flat beater, so I whisked it a bit with the standard whisk, scraping down the sides to be assured that the dry ingredients were mixed. I mixed it for about 1/2 a minute, then added the butter a Tbsp. at a time, then the cocoa mixture, on low speed as instructed, just until the dry ingredients were moistened. Raising the speed, & scraping down the sides of the bowl, as instructed it was still thick as seen here.
Making an error, I added the egg mixture in 3 batches, instead of the instructed 2, beating on medium speed for at least 30 seconds after each addition, scraping down the sides of the bowl, as instructed. It states it will strengthen the cake, & I've learned to not doubt Ms. Beranbaum. My silicone spatula is narrow, & didn't do as good a job as I'd like. (Adding new spatulas to my shopping list!)
I scraped the batter into my prepared bundt pan & ran my spatula around the top to be certain that the batter was level. My oven had been preheated & I moved the rack one step lower so that the cake would be in the middle of the oven. The cake was done exactly at 50 minutes, as predicted in a metal pan. I'd cooled the cake, then placed it on a cake stand with a matching dome, sprinkling a bit of confectioner's sugar on top of the cake, just for appearances sake.
It's difficult to see in this last photograph, but the crumb was increadibly tender, and the cake was moist as had been promised. It is not too sweet, & has a lovely chocolate-fudge taste. What is it about Velvet cakes that keeps me drawn to them! My daughter's chocolate craving was gone, to say the least! Great baking everyone! jo
