2011 New Recipe #4

Tuesday night Naco, Wendy, and I took Lisa to dinner for her bday. Lisa is Bishop Jarvie's wife. We love them both. (If you haven't noticed by now, our bishopric/ward rocks.) In fact, Bishop went with us, too. And he paid, despite our attempts otherwise! They had never been to Great Mex and it's one of our favorite places so we took them there. Love love love that place. After dinner we went back to the Jarvie's house for cake and ice cream. Fun night.

I'm not a fan of this picture but wanted to show the cake with the candles! :)

But now for the story of the cake:

Tuesday afternoon I asked Bishop what Lisa's favorite cake/dessert was and he said he didn't know of a favorite but that chocolate was always safe. I wanted to try a new recipe so I did a quick search and found this "hot" chocolate cake recipe. I noticed in the description that it was reminiscent of Mexican hot chocolate and was intrigued. The first time I tasted Mexican hot chocolate was when I moved to California. I had never heard of Mexican hot chocolate and didn't know that's what I was drinking. I took a few sips and was surprised at the taste. Honestly, I thought someone had spiked the hot chocolate or something! Come to find out, it was Mexican hot chocolate and it's supposed to taste like that (whew). The recipe calls for cayenne pepper and cinnamon. I ran it past Wendy, Annie, and Ashley for their opinions. Wendy said go for it but later told me she was a little leery of the cayenne pepper. Annie suggested other recipes and Ashley had never heard of Mexican hot chocolate and thought the cake sounded weird. I decided to go for it anyway.

Making the cake was fun and new. I'm pretty sure that was my first time to use baking squares in a recipe. Also my first time to butter (rather than use Crisco or cooking spray) the cake pan and dust it with cocoa powder. I've used parchment paper with baking a few times and I'm a fan. So much better than risking the cake sticking and falling apart! My oven cooks fast so I took the cake out after 25 minutes instead of 30-40 minutes per the recipe. I drizzled the glaze on the cake with a spoon and it worked well. I was happy with the presentation (although maybe a few berries and sprig of something green would look nice?), especially with the tall pink candles on top (courtesy of Naco). BUT the cake was really dry. The edges were too done so I should have baked it for even less time than I did. Even then, though, I think the cake would be dry. Basically the only liquid was eggs! Maybe it needs a little milk or something, I don't know. Luckily we had ice cream so it wasn't as bad. The taste was fine but nothing special. I didn't taste the cayenne or cinnamon at all, which I was bummed about. Overall, cake failure. I give it 2 stars.

Naco, Wendy, and I laughed about the cake on the way home. We decided that the cake would have been a lot better if we had soaked it in milk. Maybe next time. I am interested in trying another "hot" chocolate cake. Maybe I'll have to search for another recipe. This time I'll be sure to read the reviews and speculate a little more...and have milk on hand in case I need to use the "soak it in milk" method.



"Hot" Chocolate Cake

From Country Living

Subtly spiced with cinnamon and cayenne pepper, this decadent chocolate cake is reminiscent of Mexican hot chocolate.

Ingredients

• 1/4 cup(s) (plus 1 tablespoon) cocoa
• 1 cup(s) flour
• 1/2 teaspoon(s) salt
• 1/2 teaspoon(s) baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon(s) cinnamon
• 1/4 teaspoon(s) cayenne pepper
• 8 ounce(s) bittersweet chocolate
• 1/2 cup(s) (plus 2 tablespoons) unsalted butter
• 4 large eggs
• 1/2 cup(s) sugar
• 1/3 cup(s) dark brown sugar
• 1 teaspoon(s) vanilla extract

Directions

1. Make cake batter: Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Butter one 9-inch round cake pan and line the bottom with parchment paper. Butter the parchment paper and dust the pan with 1 tablespoon cocoa. Set aside. In a medium bowl, sift together flour, 1/4 cup cocoa, salt, baking powder, cinnamon, and cayenne and set aside. In a double boiler over simmering water, melt 6 ounces chocolate and butter. Set aside. In a large bowl using an electric mixer set on medium high, beat eggs and sugars until mixture thickens and increases in volume, about 5 minutes. Reduce mixer speed to low, add the chocolate mixture and the vanilla, and beat until combined. Gradually add the flour mixture and beat until incorporated. Pour batter into prepared pan. Bake on the middle shelf of the oven until cake springs back when lightly touched in the center, 30 to 40 minutes.
2. Make glaze: Cool cake in pan on a wire rack for 20 minutes. Invert cake onto wire rack, remove parchment paper, and cool completely. Transfer cake to a serving dish. Melt remaining bittersweet chocolate and drizzle over top of cake.