Philly Fluff Cake

Ingredients

For 12 servings

• •272 g cake flour (9.6 ounces; 2 cups plus 2 tablespoons), plus more for dusting
• •2 c. à café baking powder
• •1 1/2 teaspoons Diamond Crystal kosher salt; for table salt, use half as much by volume
• •226 g (8 ounces) full-fat cream cheese (preferably Philadelphia brand), room temperature, cut into 8 pieces
• •113 g unsalted butter (8 tablespoons), room temperature (see notes)
• •92 g vegetable shortening (3.2 ounces; 1/2 cup), room temperature
• •6 large eggs, room temperature
• •2 c. à café (10 ml) vanilla extract
• •425 g granulated sugar (15 ounces; 2 cups)
• •113 g (4 ounces) bittersweet chocolate, melted and cooled to room temperature
• •28 g confectioners' sugar (1 ounce; 1/4 cup)

Method

1. 1.Adjust oven rack to middle position and preheat oven to 325°F (160°C). Liberally spray a 10-cup Bundt pan with cooking spray and dust well with flour. Set aside.
2. 2.In a large bowl, whisk together cake flour, baking powder, and salt until well combined; set aside.
3. 3.In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, place cream cheese, butter, and vegetable shortening and beat on medium speed until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes, scraping the bottom and edges of the bowl halfway through.
4. 4.Through a fine-mesh strainer or sifter, sift flour mixture directly into mixer bowl with whipped cream cheese mixture and beat on low speed until just combined, about 1 minute.
5. 5.In a 2-cup liquid measuring cup, whisk together eggs and vanilla extract; set aside. With stand mixer running on low, slowly add 1 cup granulated sugar, then slowly pour in egg mixture. Add remaining sugar and beat until smooth, about 2 minutes, scraping the edges and bottom of bowl as needed to ensure mixture is well combined.
6. 6.Pour half of mixture into prepared Bundt pan and use a small offset spatula to smooth into an even layer. Drizzle melted chocolate evenly over the batter in pan and use spatula to gently swirl into batter. Pour remaining batter over top and smooth into an even layer with spatula. Bake until golden brown and a toothpick or cake tester inserted into center of cake comes out clean, 55 to 65 minutes.
7. 7.Transfer pan to a wire rack and let cool for 25 minutes. Run a clean offset spatula or butter knife along the edges and center of pan to ensure cake doesn't stick, then carefully invert cake onto a wire rack and remove pan. Cool completely, at least 2 hours or up to 24 hours. To serve, dust with confectioners' sugar before cutting into 1-inch slices.