23 March 2012

Chocolate Spice Cake

Remember when I talked about the start of spring and healthy food, and the end of heavy buttery, sugary stuff a few weeks ago? 
I've been eating quite healthy for the last few weeks. Salad, rice, veggies, olive oil instead of butter. But somewhere in the middle of it, I had a relapse. Major relapse. And it came in the shape of a moist chocolate spice cake. Moist + chocolate + spices + cake. Honestly, who'd be able to resist? Not me, obviously.

 

It is rich, chocolate-y, and faintly reminiscent of Christmas with all its faraway spices, and worth every sticky-crumbly sinful bite.



Chocolate Spice Cake
(Recipe stolen from Life's a feast)

250 ml/1 cup boiling water
90 g/3 oz unsweetened chocolate
8 Tbsp  unsalted butter, softened
1 tsp vanilla
400 g/2 cups sugar
2 large eggs, separated
1 tsp baking soda

110 g/0.5 cup sour cream (I used a mixture of yogurt and cream cheese which worked out just fine)
225 g/2 cups flour
1 tsp baking powder
1.5 tsp mixed spices


3 Tbsp rum
4 Tbsp icing sugar


Preheat your oven to 180° C/350° F.

Grease a large bundt cake tin and put aside.

Separate the eggs. Put aside the egg yolks, put the egg whites into a mixing bowl and beat until stiff peaks form.

Break the chocolate into smallish pieces, cube the butter, then place both in a heat-safe bowl. Boil 250 ml/1 cup of water and pour it over the butter and the chocolate. Stir until melted and smooth, then add the sugar, the vanilla, and the egg yolks, one at a time. Continue stirring until well-combined.

In a separate bowl, mix flour, baking powder, and the spices (I used 0.5 tsp cinnamon, 0.5 tsp cardamon, a pinch of chili, a pinch of cloves, some nutmeg, 0.5 tsp garam masala and some pepper. You can also use a Christmas spice mix if you prefer). Stir the baking soda into the sour cream (or whatever you ended up using instead), then add first the sourcream, then the flour mix to the chocolate batter, and continue whisking until completely smooth, dark, and shiny. Carefully fold the egg whites into the batter. Stir, fold, and mix until the egg whites have disappeared completely, you wouldn't want any white spots in your cake. But be careful not to overwork the batter.

Pour the batter into your cake tin, pop it into the oven and bake for 40-50 minutes, depending on your oven. If you're unsure whether your cake is done or not, try pressing the surface. If it feel liquid and wobbly, leave it to bake for another 5-10 minutes. If you feel some resistance, insert a toothpick. It should come out almost clean, with a few moist crumbs sticking to it. Tadaaa! Your cake is done. Be careful not to leave your cake in the oven for too long, you want it moist and sticky, not dry.

Leave to cool for 10 minutes, then turn over on a wire rack. Drizzle the rum on top and dust with icing sugar.

Eat the first slice with a big dollop of whipped cream while still warm.

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