This is the ultimate chocolate cake

By Claire Saffitz, The New York Times

I once read an interview with French chef Alain Ducasse, in which he said, “Sugar is the enemy of chocolate.” Ducasse owns his own chocolate company, which makes extraordinary bars and truffles, so I’d be inclined to take his word for it, even if all of my experience as a baker didn’t back up his statement. Undoubtedly, excessive sugar dulls and masks chocolate’s singular flavor.

Yet at the same time, sugar, in just the right quantity, brings chocolate to life, tempering its bitterness and bringing subtler flavors to the forefront. So when I set out to develop my ideal chocolate layer cake, my goal was to add just enough sugar to produce both a cake and a frosting that were flavorful but not noticeably sweet. The final cake had to be moist, but not heavy, and pack considerable chocolate flavor without being overpowering.

For that, I skipped melted chocolate in favor of cocoa powder. Melted chocolate...