Little Chocolate Cakes

A plain butter cake batter lightened with whipped whites and baked in muffin tins. The original gives no oven temperature or time at all, which was normal for 1911 — the cook was expected to know her range.

• Oven and timeBake at 350–375F for 15 to 20 minutes, until a pick comes out clean and the tops spring back. These are small and shallow; they overbake quickly and the chocolate hides the browning cues.
• "Squares" of chocolateA square meant a one-ounce block of unsweetened baking chocolate, so two ounces total. Modern chocolate bars are not squares in this sense — weigh 2 oz of unsweetened chocolate, and do not substitute semisweet without cutting the sugar.
• Pastry flourPastry flour is softer and lower in protein than all-purpose. If you have none, use a scant cup of all-purpose with two tablespoons replaced by cornstarch, or simply mix as lightly as possible once the flour goes in.
• Butter and measures¼ cup butter is 4 tablespoons, 2 oz. Cream it soft rather than melted, or the whipped whites will have nothing to hold onto.
• The hingeFold the whites in with a spatula in as few strokes as will do the job. The batter has a teaspoon of baking powder to a cup of flour and the beaten whites on top of that, so stirring them down gives a dense, gluey crumb.
• Melted chocolate temperatureLet the melted chocolate cool to barely warm before adding it to the creamed butter. Hot chocolate will loosen the butter and break the emulsion.
• Pans and yieldGrease the tins well and fill them about two-thirds. Expect roughly 10 to 12 standard muffin-size cakes, or something over a dozen in mini tins with the time cut to 10–12 minutes.
• ServingThese are unfrosted as written and not especially rich, so they are best the day they are baked. A thin water or butter icing, or a dusting of sugar, suits them.