Yum yum yum – everyone said this is good! Especially me as I nibbled and nibbled. So good in my ice cream the other night. Really good! This was an especially sweet success after many baking failures this month. Sylvie said this was the best thing I’ve made in a long while. (Which was of course good and bad to hear.) This chocolate cake is light in texture yet very satisfying. Moist. Chocolate. Delicate. Those are the adjectives that come to mind. The unmelted chocolate chunks and chips fell to the bottom a bit – creating a chewy chocolatey section on the bottom of the cake. I LOVE that. I do. So does my family. Enjoy this – I would double the recipe since it freezes so well. (If you manage not to eat it all!) This recipe is from my new book Huckleberry. I really really adore this book. It is filled with so many fresh takes and beautiful photos. I’m excited to bake from it again and again.
The recipe includes weighted measurement so if you have a scale, use it. Much more accurate!
Anyway, enjoy this one. Perfect for fall.
chocolate tea cake (from Huckleberry by Zoe Nathan):
3/4 cup/100 grams pastry flour
6 tablespoons/45 grams all purpose flour
6 tablespoons/30 grams cocoa powder
1 teaspoon baking powder
3/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 cup/120 ml strong brewed coffee, cooled
1/2 cup/120 ml buttermilk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 3/4 cups/300 grams coarsely chopped dark chocolate, 60-70 percent cacao
1/2 cup + 2 tablespoons/140 g unsalted butter, cubed at room temp
1 cup + 2 tablespoons/225 grams sugar
1/2 teaspoon, plus a dash, kosher salt
3 eggs, room temp
sugar for dusting/powdered sugar for presentation
Pull your eggs, butter, buttermilk to room temp. Brew coffee. Place 3/4 cup of the chopped chocolate (reserve a cup) in a double boiler or in a bowl over barely simmering water to melt.
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. You can use a 9×5 loaf pan, or divide this into smaller pans and shapes. And if you double use two pans – or again, a mix of different sizes. Just adjust baking time accordingly and check often for doneness. Grease pans and I like to line the bottom with parchment to assure there is no chance of sticking.
Whisk together the pastry flour, flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt.
Combine cooled coffee, buttermilk, and vanilla extract.
Beat butter and sugar with paddle attachment on medium high until lighter and fluffy. 4-6 minutes. Beat in the eggs, one at a time.
Scrape bowl down and beat again to combine.
Stop the mixer. Add the dry ingredients and mix on low for a a few seconds. Add the buttermilk mixture on low, and mix until just combined.
Remove from mixer and finish by folding in the melted chocolate and the chopped chocolate.
Pour into prepped pans. Do not overstuff pans – (if you double and use various sized pans).
Sprinkle with granulated sugar (this forms a yummy crust.
Bake until cake starts to pull away slightly from pan. And/or when the top springs back gently if touched. Or, when a toothpick comes out almost clean. You really don’t want to over bake this one.
Set your timer for 30 minutes and peek – the 9×4 will likely take 50-60 m – but you really want to learn how to check for doneness without a book telling you the time. Oven temps vary – outside temp varies – so the more comfy you get checking yourself is best.
If you do over bake – just make teacake parfait with whipped cream and ice cream layers. Delicious.
