silverton chocolate coffee cake

08 Thursday Mar 2012

Tags

baking, cake, chocolate, chocolate cake, coffee, coffee cake, snack

Have you noticed how hard it is to find a good coffee cake these days? I’ve been craving coffee cake for weeks now and finally decided to hunt in my collection of cookbooks for a good recipe. Today, I found one that is moist, flavorful and goes perfectly with, well… coffee!

Silverton Chocolate Coffee Cake

3/4 cup freshly brewed espresso or 2 tablespoons instant coffee powder dissolved in 3/4 cup boiling water

4 ounces semisweet chocolate, chopped

2 tablespoons instant coffee powder

6 tablespoons unsalted butter

3 eggs, separated and at room temperature

1/2 cup organic granulated sugar (or natural sweetener of your choice)

3/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons hazelnuts, toasted and peeled

6 tablespoons all-purpose flour

2 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder

1 egg white

pinch of salt

powdered sugar for dusting

Preheat oven to 350 degrees (F). Lightly grease the bottom and sides of a 9-inch round cake pan. Line the bottom with a round of parchment paper or waxed paper. Grease the paper and set aside.

In a saucepan over low heat, combine the brewed espresso, chocolate, coffee powder and butter, stirring occasionally until melted. Set aside to cool.

In a medium bowl, whisk together the egg yolks and sugar together until pale and fluffy. Slowly whisk the chocolate mixture into the egg mixture until well blended.

In a food processor (or large mortar and pestle), process the 3/4 cup of toasted hazelnuts until finely chopped, about 20 seconds. Add the flour and cocoa and process for 10 more seconds. Measure out 1 cup of the chocolate batter. With the machine running, gradually add the mixture to the food processor through the feed tube to form a paste. Stir the paste back into the batter and beat until well blended.

In a large bowl, beat the 4 egg whites with the salt until stiff, glossy peaks form. Whisk about one-quarter of the beaten whites into the batter. Using a rubber spatula, fold in the remaining whites until blended. Pour the batter into the prepared pan and bake until firm, about 30 minutes. A toothpick inserted into the center should come out slightly sticky. Transfer the pan to a wire rack and let the cake cool. Unmold, remove the parchment paper and place the cake on a plate. Chop the remaining 2 tablespoons of hazelnuts and sprinkle in the cake along with the powdered sugar. Enjoy!

Resource:

Perry, S. (2001). The New Complete Coffee Book: A Gourmet Guide to Buying, Brewing, and Cooking. Vancouver, BC: Raincoast Books.

chocolate cake with wild berries

08 Sunday Jan 2012

Posted by Delena Rose in cook, wild berries

≈ 2 Comments

Tags

chocolate, chocolate cake, Cointreau, decadent chocolate cake, dessert, Grand Marnier, raspberries, Saskatoon Berries, wild berries, wild berry sauce

This cake has never failed me. Even non-chocolate lovers dive in! Perhaps the secret is the sauce? This cake is worth the effort to make and always looks good for any sort of presentation. I normally use Grand Marnier or Cointreau in the sauce for the liqueur. Garnish the cake with whole berries or edible flowers. Today I sprinkled some the the rose petals that I dried back in July on top. For the sauce, I used some of the Saskatoon berries and wild raspberries that I had picked last summer as well.

Chocolate Cake with Wild Berries

1 cup semisweet chocolate chips

1/2 cup butter

1/2 cup all-purpose flour

4 eggs, separated

1/2 cup sugar

1/2 cup semisweet chocolate chips

2 tablespoons butter

2 tabelspoons corn syrup

Preheat oven to 325 degrees (F). Grease a spring form pan. Heat 1 cup chocolate chips and 1/2 cup butter in a small saucepan until melted. Cool for 5 minutes then stir in flour and eggs yolks until well-mixed.

In electric mixer, beat egg whites on high speed until foamy. Add sugar, a few spoonfuls at a time, and continue to beat until stiff peaks form. Fold the chocolate mixture into the egg white mixture. Spread in pan.

Bake for 35-40 minutes, or until wooden toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Allow cake to cool for 10 minutes then run a knife along the sides of the cake to loosen. Open spring and remove. Invert cake onto a wire rack and remove bottom of spring form pan. Allow cake to cool completely.

Heat 1/2 cup chocolate chips, 2 tablespoons butter and the corn syrup over medium heat until the chocolate chips are melted. Mix until smooth and then spread over the top of the cake, allowing some to drizzle down the sides.

Garnish with whole berries. Serve with Wild Berry Sauce and whipped cream if desired.

Wild Berry Sauce

2 cups of fresh or frozen berries (raspberries, strawberries, blueberries, Saskatoons, dew berries, etc.) or 1 package (10 oz) frozen berries, thawed, drained, juice reserved

1/4 cup sugar

2 tablespoons cornstarch

1-2 tablespoons orange or raspberry-flavored liqueur (if desired)

Add enough water to the reserved berry juice to measure 1 cup. Mix sugar and cornstarch in a small saucepan and stir in the juice and berries (reserve some whole berries for the garnish, if desired). Heat to boiling over medium heat, allowing the mixture to boil for about a minute. Remove from heat and stir in the liqueur. Serve warm over chocolate cake or ice cream.

Enjoy!