Union Hotel Chocolate Cake

TOPPING
2 c Heavy cream
2 ts Vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 275 Grease and flour 2 9 X 5 X 3-inch loaf pans.

Put the chocolate, butter, and coffee in a heavy-bottomed pan of about
16-cup capacity. Place over low heat and stir almost constantly until the
chocolate melts, then stir vigorously until the mixture is smooth and
completely blended.

Set aside to cool for about 10 minutes, then beat in the bourbon, eggs, and
vanilla.

Combine the flour, sugar, baking soda, and salt and sift them together. Add
to the chocolate mixtrure and beat with a wooden spoon until well blended
and smooth.

Divide the batter evenly between the prepared pans and bake for 45 to 55
minutes, or until a tester inserted in the center of the cake comes out
clean. Remove from the oven and let the cakes cool in the pans for 15
minutes, then turn out onto a rack to cool completely.

Before serving, combine the cream and vanilla and whip until it barely
stands in peaks; it should be fluffy but thin enough to run down the sides
of the cake when you place a spoonful on each serving.

Makes 2 loaves.

NOTE:”In the words of one chocolate lover, this cake, which is on the menu
at the venerable Union Hotel in Benicia, a small town at the mouth of the
Sacramento Delta, is so good that it can make you cry. It is a dark, rich,
moist loaf, quickly and easily mixed with a spoon in a saucepan – you do
not need an electric beater. Sliced thickly, it requires no icing, just a
spoonful of unsweetened whipped cream.”