Chocolate Mascarpone Pound Cake

Pound cake is such a wonderful dessert; it's moist, barely sweet, and pairs well with almost any sweet sauce or fruit.  It's great for winter, when you want something a little heavier than ice cream, but want to keep all your teeth from rotting away.  Giada de Laurentiis' version has chocolate chips and unsweetened chocolate (with sugar added!), so its' flavor is deeper than your typical chocolate cake.  Coating the chips in flour before adding them to the liquid ingredients makes sure they don't sink to the bottom of the cake; flour helps them situate themselves throughout the entire dough.  I don't know how it works, but it's best to not question these things.
This is the world's most perfect chocolate chip pound cake recipe because it makes TWO cakes!  Wrap the second one in plastic wrap, then aluminum foil, and freeze for a later use. 

Chocolate Chip Pound Cake (from Giada de Laurentiis' Giada's Kitchen, 2008)
5 oz. unsweetened chocolate, chopped
1/3 c. mascarpone cheese, room temperature
2 1/4 c. sugar
1 c. vegetable oil
3 large eggs
1 Tbsp. vanilla extract
1 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. baking powder
3/4 c. chocolate chips
1. Preheat the oven to 375.  Grease and flour two 9x5-inch loaf pans.
2. In a small sauce pan, combine the unsweetened chocolate and 1 c. water.  Place over medium-low heat and stir constantly until the chocolate is melted, about 2 minutes.  Set aside to cool for two minutes, then whisk in the mascarpone until the mixture is smooth.
3. Beat the sugar, oil, eggs and vanilla in a large bowl for 30 seconds.  Stir in the chocolate mixture.
4. Whisk the flour, baking soda, salt, baking powder and chocolate chips in a medium bowl.  Add to the wet ingredients and stir until just blended.
5. Divide the batter among the two pans and bake for 55-60 minutes, until a tester inserted into the center of each loaf comes out with no crumbs attached.  Cool in the pans for 5 minutes, then turn out into a wire rack to cool completely.