A customer, Sharon, recently tagged us on her Facebook page, in this recipe for chocolate-espresso cake. It sounds spectacular; I will make one and post some photos. Meanwhile, here’s the recipe, directly from her.
I recently made this chocolate cake — twice. I have to say that the best frosting is really my simple cream-cheese / lemon frosting, and not the chocolate ganache, because it just makes the cake too rich. Anyway, after a barrage of requests, here is the recipe:
Chop 3 ounces of the best semisweet chocolate you can find. I prefer Scharffenberger’s, but Ghirardelli is OK too. Brew 1.5 cups of good quality espresso (I prefer Muddy Dog Coffee’s Sweet Jane Espresso (www.muddydogcoffee.com) [Editorial note from Jim: any of our espressos would taste great in this cake!]. Combine the hot coffee and chopped chocolate in a bowl and stir occasionally until melted.
Sift together 2.5 c all-purpose flour, 3 c sugar (I use raw or demerrera sugar, which doesn’t sift well but I prefer its taste, so I force it to cooperate), 1.5 c unsweetened, finest quality cocoa powder (please, no Hershey’s and no Dutch process), 2 tsp baking soda, 3/4 tsp baking powder, and 1 1/4 tsp salt (I use finely-ground sea salt). (really sift it — don’t just mix with fork or whisk).
Beat 3 large eggs with an electric mixer until thickened (~3 minutes), and slowly add in 3/4 c vegetable oil, 1.5 c well-shaken whole buttermilk, and 3/4 tsp vanilla. Finally, add in the melted coffee/chocolate mixture and beat well. Add sifted sugar/flour/etc. mixture and beat on medium speed until just combined (don’t beat it to death, then you will have a chocolate hockey puck). Divide the batter between 2 greased & floured (line bottoms with wax paper first if you want extra anti-stick protection) 10×2-inch round cake pans. OR, just use a good old spring form pan, you’ll just have to bake it a bit longer (~10 minutes more).
Bake at 300 for 60-70 minutes.
I prefer a simple cream-cheese + lemon frosting (just beat cream cheese, the zest of 1 lemon, and the juice of 2 lemons together until smooth, and add confectioner’s sugar alternating with orange or lemon juice until you like the flavor and consistency). Chocolate frosting on this thing will make it almost too rich to eat.
Thanks for sharing the recipe, Sharon!
