June 25, 2007

Espresso Cake (recipe)

Mmm Mmm Mmm. Can you believe that this is my first entry to Sugar High Friday for the year? I don’t know what’s taken me so long! 🙂 But look at this cake, I think it was worth the wait 🙂 This time around Domestic Goddess asked participants to post desserts that they ‘crave’. Well I crave chocolate cake. Not only is it the cake that I make the best but it also needs little to no adornment 🙂

Light, moist and incredibly intense in flavour this recipe for Espresso Cake hides one little ‘secret’, wholewheat flour! If you’ve never tried wholewheat flour in a dessert recipe I strongly suggest that you give it a try. It adds a whole other level of richness without any of the heaviness that you might expect (of course this is when used in the right proportions 😉 ). Plus, you can use it to trick yourself and your friends into having another slice, cos it’s good for you 😛

That’s what I’m telling myself anyway 🙂

Because this cake leans towards the bittersweet I suggest serving it with a light counterbalance such as a drizzle of semisweet chocolate sauce, custard, sweet cream, or as I have above, a splash of confectioners sugar. For my own personal taste I think frosting would be overdoing it, but you be the judge! 🙂

Espresso Cake
——————————————————————————–

Adapted from a recipe in O, The Oprah Magazine
Serving Size: 14

Ingredients:

2/3 cup whole wheat pastry flour
1/4 cup unbleached all-purpose flour
1 cup raw cane sugar (Turbinado)
2/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup vegetable oil
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 cup brewed coffee, cooled

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350°. Spray a 9-inch cake pan with cooking spray. Line bottom of pan with waxed paper; spray paper. Dust bottom and side of pan with cocoa powder, tapping out excess; set aside.

In a medium bowl, combine flours, sugar, cocoa, baking powder, baking soda and salt; set aside. In another bowl, combine oil, eggs, vanilla and coffee. Mix wet ingredients into dry ingredients and pour into prepared pan.

Bake 30 to 35 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in middle of cake comes out clean. Cool cake in pan on a wire rack 10 minutes.