Sunday, September 27, 2009

Craaazzzy Chocolate Cake

Alright, here it is... Ladies, the next time you have one of those chocolate attacks, you are sooo gonna thank me for this one. Actually, we have Martha to thank, this came from the Martha Stewart "Annual Recipes 2002" cookbook. And for my friend Christine and my mom who celebrated their birthdays in the last couple of days, this one's for you!

Let the record show, I'm not a huge baker. Baking is a little too scientific for me. You can't do too much improv with most baking recipes
. I AM a big chocolate fan, however - so for this I will don my lab jacket and concoct this beauty.

For the Cake:
1 1/2 sticks of butter, melted
2 C. flour
1 1/2 C. sugar
3/4 C. cocoa powder
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp. baking powder
3/4 tsp. baking soda
1 egg, room temp
1 egg white. room temp
1 tsp. vanilla
1 1/3 C. strong, hot coffee

Preheat oven to 325. Butter & flour two 8in. cake pans.
Mix everything (EXCEPT coffee) in a mixer on low till combined.
Slowly add coffee, mix till smooth then pour into pans. Bake 25-30 mins, till toothpick comes out clean.

For the Ganache (frosting): here's my disclaimer; I found a way to ad lib this one because the recipe in the book was for about 5x the amount here. SO, my measurements aren't real measurements, I wing it. But I tried to come up with a rough guess here.

1 package semi-sweet baking chocolate
1/3 C. heavy cream
3 Tbs. butter
2 Tbs. sour cream

In a heat proof bowl, set over a pan of simmering water, melt the chocolate and the cream. Stir stir stir...
Remove from heat and add butter & sour cream.
Allow to cool.
If you want a fluffy frosting you can use an electric mixer to whip it. I broke my mixer, plus I like it without, so I just go with it as is.
The rest is obvious... smear some ganache in between cake layers and then pile the rest on finished cake.

If you want to get crazy, put some heavy whipping cream in a mixer with some sugar and mix until you have whipped cream. Pour into a bowl and fold in some fresh raspberries. Dollup some of this on your slice and behold!
Quote of the Day:
"Birthdays are good for you: the more you have, the longer you live." ~Anonymous




4 comments:

  1. This looks delish! I would make it in a heartbeat, but I seem to mess up cakes from scratch. If I could I would hop on a plane and share yours!!!

    ReplyDelete
  2. Come on over! It's easier than it looks, I'm tellin' ya, I'm no baker either!

    ReplyDelete
  3. ...have you discovered the 5 minute chocolate cake in a coffee cup yet?

    ReplyDelete
  4. Chocolate cake in a coffee cup??? Do tell!

    ReplyDelete