guinness chocolate cake

It’s fair to say Guinness and chocolate are two of my favorite ingredients. They are significant contributors to my chili recipe; how they have a cake of their own.

Preheat the oven to 350. Grease and flour two nine-inch round cake pans.

1 1/2 cups Guinness (or other dark beer or stout)
1 1/2 cups butter
1 cup cocoa powder (use Dutch-press cocoa)

Heat the butter and Guinness together until the butter melts; remove from the heat and whisk in the cocoa powder until the mixture is smooth. Set aside to cool to room temperature.

In a separate bowl, whisk together

3 cups flour
1 1/2 cups brown sugar
1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
2 1/4 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon salt

In the bowl of your mixer, combine

3 large eggs
2/3 cup sour cream

Add the Guinness-cocoa mixture, and stir until combined. Put the mixer on slow speed and add the dry mix, scraping the sides of the bowl as necessary. Once everything is in the bowl, mix on medium speed for about one minute.

Divide the mixture between the two cake pans. Bake the layers for 45-50 minutes, or until a cake tester comes out clean. Remove the cakes to a rack for at least ten minutes before turning them out of the pans and returning them to the cooling rack. Let them cool completely before icing, which is easy because the icing has to cool for a couple of hours.

1 pound semi-sweet chocolate chips
2 cups heavy cream
1 teaspoon vanilla

Put the chocolate chips in a large heatproof bowl. Bring the cream to a simmer in a heavy saucepan or in the microwave. Pour the hot cream over the chocolate and stir until the mixture is velvety smooth. Add the vanilla and stir again. Refrigerate until the icing is both stiff and spreadable -- about two hours.

When you get ready to ice the cake, make sure the bottom layer is flat on top, so it doesn’t crack when you invert it on the cake plate. Place it bottom side up and use almost two-thirds of the icing on the top of the bottom layer. Place the second layer top side up and use the remaining icing for the top and sides.

I found it helpful to put the entire cake in the fridge to let the icing set -- the layers can slide around a bit.

Peace,
Milton

lemon blueberry pound cake

Mix together

1/3 cup milk
6 large eggs
1 1/2 tablespoons vanilla extract

in a small bowl. In another bowl, mix

2 2/3 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon double-acting baking powder
1 1/4 teaspoons salt

Using a stand mixer or a hand mixer, cream together

3 sticks (1 1/2 cups) unsalted butter, softened
1/2 cup granulated sugar
3/4 cup firmly packed light brown sugar

until they are light and fluffy. Add the flour mixture alternately with the egg mixture, starting and finishing with the flour. Beat the batter after each addition until everything is combined. Add your last ingredient

3 cups picked over blueberries, tossed with 1 1/2 tablespoons flour

in stages. Fold 1 1/2 cups into the batter. Spoon one third of the batter into a greased 10-inch bundt pan and spread it evenly. Sprinkle a half a cup of blueberries over it and then add another third of the batter and another half a cup of blueberries. Add the rest of the batter and the last of the blueberries. Bake the cake in the middle of the oven at 350 for 60-70 minutes, or till it is golden brown and the tester comes out clean.

While the cake is cooking, mix together

1/3 cup fresh lemon juice
1/2 cup granulated sugar

and heat until the sugar is dissolved. When the cake comes out of the oven, put it in a cooling rack and poke a bunch of holes in the bottom of the cake with the tester or a toothpick and then pour half of the liquid over the cake slowly, so it soaks in. After ten minutes, invert the pan and remove the cake, leaving it on the cooking rack. Poke holes all over it and brush with the remaining sauce.

I adapted this recipe from here.

Peace,
Milton

caramel cake

This recipe is adapted from the wonderful recipe I found here.

For the cake
2 cups plus 2 tablespoons sifted cake flour (not self-rising; sift before measuring)
1 teaspoon baking powder
3/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 stick unsalted butter, softened
1 cup sugar
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
2 large eggs, at room temperature 30 minutes
1 cup well-shaken buttermilk

Preheat oven to 350°F with rack in middle. Butter an 8-inch square cake pan and line with a square of parchment paper, then butter parchment. Sift together flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.
Beat butter and sugar in a large bowl with an electric mixer at medium speed until pale and fluffy, then beat in vanilla. Add eggs 1 at a time, beating well after each addition. At low speed, beat in buttermilk until just combined (mixture may look curdled). Add flour mixture in 3 batches, mixing until each addition is just incorporated.

Spread batter evenly in cake pan, then rap pan on counter several times to eliminate air bubbles. Bake until golden and a wooden pick inserted in center of cake comes out clean, 35 to 40 minutes. Cool in pan on a rack 10 minutes, then run a knife around edge of pan. Invert onto rack and discard parchment, then cool completely, about 1 hour.

For caramel glaze
1 cup sweetened condensed milk
1/2 cup packed light brown sugar
1 tablespoon light corn syrup
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

Bring cream, brown sugar, corn syrup, and a pinch of salt to a boil in a 1 1/2-quart heavy saucepan over medium heat, stirring until sugar has dissolved. Boil until glaze registers 210 to 212°F on thermometer, 12 to 14 minutes, then stir in vanilla.

Put cake in a shallow baking pan and pour hot glaze over top of cake, allowing it to run down sides. Cool until glaze is set, about 30 minutes.

The blog post that goes with this recipe can be found here.

Peace,
Milton