Today is Richard's Birthday Eve, but since he'll be out of the office tomorrow, we're celebrating today. Good thing too because I feel like it's been forever since I baked anything. I've been itching to make this cake for Richard since I made the Hazelnut Cheesecake.
It has a great reputation so I thought it would be a good bet and Richard was jazzed to try it. I mean seriously, anything with almost two pounds of milk chocolate and cocoa powder has to taste good, right? This recipe is the epitome of what chocolate cake should be. I followed Epicurious's Double Chocolate Layer Cake but used Dutch processed cocoa even though it said not to. Pure cocoa is just too expensive and can be bitter. I didn't want to chance it. Since Dutched cocoa but already contains alkali, I omitted the baking soda it the recipe.
The cake was much more dense then I expected so next time I make it I might just cut the baking soda in half instead of omitting it all together. Nevertheless, I'm feeling confident that it should still taste good. I'm not a big chocolate fan but I think I'm going to have to try a small piece, you know, for educational purposes. :-)
Tasting Update: Richard and I discussed this and we both agreed that it almost had a New York style cheesecake texture. This is not a cake that can be eaten too quickly. One must take small bites and wait before digging in again. Peter S. told me me that he got a little buzzed from it. This is definitely one for the books folks. If you want to make an impressive super-duper chocolate cake, this one is it.
Holy SHIT that was good! Small bites, small bites...
ReplyDeleteThis is the best chocolate cake I've EVER had!
ReplyDelete"cocao may . . . delay decline as people age, researchers said on Sunday."
ReplyDeletethe fountain of youth is on my desk
outrageous!
That cake looks so good!
ReplyDeleteI really want some of this. This looks amazing, Julia. A dark chocolate cake buzz sounds like a really nice state of mind.
ReplyDeleteThat recipe looks absolutely delicious. Have you ever used carob in place of chocolate?
ReplyDeleteI know many people avoid carob, but I find that the trick is to find the right brand and
then you'll really see that carob can be (almost) as good as chocolate.
The brand I use is from Holy Food Imports,
which comes from Israel, so it does have an excellent and unique taste.
Clara -- I've had carob but its never occurred to me to bake with it. What are its advantages?
ReplyDeleteYour description of the density and texture have sold me. I'm going to try making this exactly as you've described, with no baking powder. I have high hopes!
ReplyDeletemelakem -- I'm so excited on your behalf. You're going to love this cake! Just be sure to really invest in good ingredients and try not to skimp as it will impact the end result.
ReplyDelete