I’ve been angry a lot this year, but I think I was angriest this week, when I watched the President tell America to just ignore the danger of Covid, and suggest that if only you have the will to fight it, you will be fine. Too bad the 200,000 Americans who already died didn’t have someone to tell them to just be strong, I guess? It’s infuriating, and not surprising, of course, to hear such nonsense, but it was also incredibly insulting to those of us who are trying our best to live our lives as safely as possible. And the price of that safety, for many of us, is that when we will see our family again is an unknown.

I live in California, and most of the rest of my family lives across the country, or even across the world in one case. This makes it difficult in the best of circumstances to see each other more than a few times a year, and in the case of my Grandparents, I rarely see them more than once a year, because they don’t fly and they live in a place that is difficult to travel to in less than a day. So, of course I have been missing them, but I’ve also been terribly worried about them, because those of us who believe in science know the risk of Covid increases the older you are.

But, I’m here, in California, powerless to do anything, and cut off from family except for Zoom and FaceTime. So what to do? As I’ve done most of this year, I baked my feelings. I pulled out my new bundt pan and made the chocolate cake my Grandma always makes for us when we visit.

It’s a simple pound cake that uses a very not trendy 46% cacao chocolate, and it bakes up into the most wonderful, delicately chocolate-flavored thing. She usually makes it in a tube pan, which makes a giant cake, but I, mindful of who was (not) around to help eat this, made a half recipe in a 6 cup bundt pan. And then, because I had to highlight the perfect swirls, I iced it, which is probably not what Betty Myers would do but it was certainly pretty.

This cake didn’t magically transport me to Virginia, but it did make me feel just a little bit better, so I don’t think this will be the last time I make it during this Pandemic.

Chocolate Pound Cake

Makes one, 8-inch bundt cake or one, 9x5 inch loaf cake.

For the cake:

• 1 bar sweet baking chocolate (see note)

• 1 1/4 cup flour

• 3/4 tsp baking powder

• 1/4 tsp kosher salt

• 1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, softened

• 3/4 cup + 1 tbs sugar

• 2 eggs

• 1/2 tsp vanilla

• 1/2 cup + 1 tbs milk

For the vanilla glaze (optional):

• 1 cup powdered sugar

• 1 1/2 tbs milk

• 1 tsp vanilla

1. Heat oven to 325 degrees. Grease and flour a 6 cup bundt pan or a 9x5 inch loaf pan. Heat chocolate in a heat-proof bowl set over a pot of boiling water about 1 inch deep. Let the chocolate sit until partially melted, then remove from the heat and stir until completely melted. Set aside to cool.

2. In a separate bowl, sift together the flour, baking powder and salt, set aside. In the bowl of a stand mixer, add the butter and beat until fluffy, then gradually add sugar and beat until very light and fluffy, about 5 minutes.

3. Add the eggs one at a time, thoroughly mixing in each one. Stir in the cooled chocolate and vanilla and beat well to combine, scraping the sides of the bowl as needed. Add the flour and the milk in alternate batches, beating well after each.

4. Pour the batter into the prepared pan and bake for 30-35 minutes, until a toothpick or a knife inserted into the center comes out clean. Cool in the pan for 15 minutes, then remove from the pan and cool completely.

5. If you are glazing your cake, combine the glaze ingredients in a small bowl, and pour over the top of the cooled cake or drizzle as desired.

Notes:

• This recipe is best made with sweet baking chocolate, which is not the same as semi-sweet or bittersweet. It has a lower cacao content, which gives the cake it’s subtly sweet chocolate flavor. My grandmother’s preferred brand of chocolate for this is Baker’s German’s sweet chocolate. If you can’t find this, semi-sweet chocolate is probably the best replacement, though I haven’t tried it.

• The ingredient amounts for the glaze above make enough to generously coat the cake in vanilla glaze, though I use a little less and just drizzle over the top for a sweet, vanilla accent. I also glaze right on the serving plate, the better to scoop up little puddles of glaze along which each slice.