Chocolate-Buttermilk Squares

Makes 9 squares

This one-bowl recipe is simple enough to make as an after-school snack. Use premium Dutch-process cocoa for the richest taste. I like Pernigotti or Van Leer (the actual cookbook contains Mail-Order and Online Resources).

Nonstick cooking spray
1-3/4 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
3/4 cup unsweetened Dutch-process cocoa powder
1 cup sugar
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup buttermilk
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, melted
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Coat the inside of an 8-inch square baking pan with cooking spray.

2. Combine the flour, cocoa powder, sugar, baking soda, and salt in a large mixing bowl. With a wooden spoon or electric mixer, stir in the buttermilk, melted butter, and vanilla until just combined.

3. Scrape the batter into the prepared pan and smooth the top with a rubber spatula. Bake until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, about 35 minutes. Let the cake cool in the pan for about 10 minutes, invert it onto a wire rack, and then turn it right side up on a rack to cool completely. Cut into 9 squares.

Chocolate-Buttermilk Squares will keep, wrapped in plastic at room temperature, for up to 2 days.

Buy the Book!

Mom's Big Book of Baking
by Lauren Chattman
Harvard Common Press, 2001
$16.95, 358 pages
Recipe reprinted by permission.