BVC Eats: Dark chocolate and lemon brownie cake

This cake is a real punch in the mouth—extreme chocolate and extreme lemon.  Serve it in very small slices with hot tea.

Cake:

One pouch of your favorite brownie mix
2 eggs, room temperature
1/3 cup fresh squeezed lemon juice
1 T vodka
1/3 cup melted butter
Zest grated from three lemons
Zest sliced from lemons for garnish

Preheat oven to 325.  Grease pan and dust with cocoa powder.

Soak the grated lemon zest in vodka half an hour to get the lemon oil out, then squeeze it in cheesecloth.  Discard the zest and reserve the lemon-oil.

Beat the eggs until very fluffy (about 1 minute).  Add the lemon juice and zest and beat another minute.  Add brownie mix and butter and mix with large, quick strokes until just moistened (about 20 strokes).

Bake 40 to 45 minutes.  Remove promptly and allow to cool.

Icing:

12 oz. 60% cacao chocolate chips
Juice of two lemons, fresh squeezed and strained to remove pulp and seeds

Place chocolate chips and lemon juice in a microwavable bowl and nuke in 20 second bursts, stirring after each burst, until chocolate chips are completely melted and mixed with the lemon juice.

You can pour the icing over the still-warm cake if it’s runny enough.  If you have extra icing, refrigerate the cake a few minutes and then pour more icing over it, until you have used up your icing.

Garnish with curls of lemon zest.