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Chocolate. Bourbon. Cake. I think the moment my father spied this recipe in the New York Times he was a goner. (“You had me at chocolate.”) Nothing was going to stop him from making this cake. When he found out I possessed a 10-cup bundt pan, that was it, he was half-way to the store getting chocolate and instant espresso for the recipe. Reading Melissa Clark's recipe we both decided that 1/2 cup of Bourbon, instead of the full cup she used, would do. We were both wrong. With 1/2 cup we could barely taste the bourbon. Next time, and there will be a next time soon, we'll use the full cup. This is a great cake. Fine crumb. You can slice it beautifully thin and it still holds its shape. Great for us gals who like to take a very thin slice. And then another one. And then another. (Drives my dad nuts.)
For those of you who would want to substitute out the alcohol I apologize in advance, and suggest that you consider one of the other recipes on this site for chocolate cake that do not use alcohol. This is a whiskey cake; it requires whiskey. And chocolate. Yum.
Ingredients
- 1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened, more for greasing pan
- 2 cups all-purpose flour, more for dusting pan
- 5 ounces high quality, unsweetened dark chocolate
- 1/4 cup instant espresso (can use instant coffee)
- 2 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder
- 1 cup bourbon whiskey, more for sprinkling
- 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
- 2 cups granulated sugar
- 3 large eggs
- 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/4 cup confectioners’ sugar (powdered sugar), for sprinkling
Method
- Preheat oven to 325°F. Grease and flour a large bundt pan (10 cup capacity), or two 8- or 9-inch loaf pans. Melt chocolate in a microwave oven or in a double boiler over simmering water. Let cool.
- Put instant espresso and cocoa powder in a 2-cup (or larger) glass measuring cup. Add enough boiling water to come up to the 1 cup measuring line. Mix until powders dissolve. Stir in whiskey and salt; let cool.
- Beat softened butter until fluffy (2-3 minutes on high). Add sugar and beat until well combined. Beat in the eggs, one at a time, beating well between each addition. Beat in the vanilla extract, baking soda and melted chocolate, scraping down sides of bowl with a rubber spatula.
- With the mixer on low speed, beat in a third of the whiskey espresso cocoa mixture. When liquid is absorbed, beat in 1 cup flour. Repeat additions, ending with whiskey mixture. Scrape batter into prepared pan and smooth top. Bake until a cake tester inserted into center of cake comes out clean, about 1 hour 10 minutes for Bundt pan (loaf pans will take less time, start checking them after 55 minutes).
- Transfer cake to a rack. Unmold after 15 minutes and sprinkle warm cake with more whiskey. Let cool. Sprinkle powdered sugar through a mesh sieve over the cake before serving.
Notes
Recipe from Melissa Clark's Whisky-Soaked Chocolate Bundt Cake, from the article, When Temperance Isn't in the Cards, in the New York Times, Dec 3, 2008 source: http://www.elise.com/recipes/archives/007371chocolate_bourbon_cake.php
tags: vegetarian, can be made pareve
Additional
Good with whiskey, Amaretto, or Kahlua as the alcohol. Better the second day.