Holiday party: Bourbon Dark Chocolate Bundt Cake

   I recently went to a good friend's home for a Holiday party and brought along with me a bundt cake that has become my favorite.  I've made many bundt cakes now but this cake really shined and may have aided in gaining me new friends!  

   I often clip recipes that look interesting to me from the New York Times as well as from various food magazines. Now I've got blogs to bookmark online too! So many recipes and so little time. I like recipes that look easy to do and sounds like the food will be tasty, but I also like challenging recipes for the days when I want to learn new skills.

   One of the recipes I clipped from several years ago that I've been wanting to try is Melissa Clark's Whiskey-soaked dark chocolate bundt cake. I am glad this month's bundt-a-month theme is Boozy December because this recipe is perfect for that! To learn more about bundt-a-month, see http://bakerstreet.tv/bundtamonth/ and Cake Duchess.  Back to my bundt, Melissa Clark writes good recipes - easy to follow, interesting flavor profiles and delicious results. This particular recipe always sounded intriguing to me. If you've followed my blog, you know that chocolate is one of my favorite foods.  But more than the fact that I love chocolate, chocolate goods are one of those items that almost always bring a smile to a gift recipient. I know that not everyone loves chocolate or cocoa. (Gasp!) But I have found that to most people, chocolate represents a kind of luxury. So for me, my various chocolate baked goods have been welcomed gifts to friends and colleagues.

   When I was thinking about what to bring to my friend's party, I thought I can't go wrong with chocolate.  Problem was other than my friend, her husband and children, I don't know the others at her party. I decided to take a gamble and go with Melissa's Whiskey-soaked dark chocolate cake. Wow, was I glad I did! The recipe sounded luxurious and simple enough to do, even after work one night. I was tired but determined to get a cake baked for my friend's party.  As I was mixing the bourbon with the cocoa and espresso powders, I was struck by just how much whiskey this recipe called for! I've read other similar recipes, like one for Kentucky Bourbon cake, but all called for half the amount of alcohol.  I mean, just look at that deep dark color of the sauce.  I could smell the bourbon from afar! 

I started to get worried because my friend really doesn't drink and I wasn't sure if her friends drank.  I may not get invited back for another party...

   I need not have worried because everyone at her party Loved the cake!   It was a cold windy day with some snow flakes floating in the air. I carried that cake and gifts through NJ Transit train then the NYC subway to my friend's home. Once there, my friend had lots of yummy savory items for us to enjoy.  She made delicious chicken wings and pernil.  Other friends had brought along little cupcakes and cookies for all the kids to enjoy.  We laughed and we ate.  We had coffee, talked, laughed and ate more. My new friends all generously told me how they loved the cake.  And I did too.

  

  I followed Melissa's recipe pretty closely (full recipe by clicking here). I used Valhrona cocoa powder and King Arthur Flour's espresso powder because that's what I had left from my other chocolate baked adventures. My cake was done in less than an hour so make sure you start checking your cake after around 50 minutes. I've read a lot of people say how hard it is to get the cake to come out of the bundt pan in one piece and I used to have the same problem.  My best solution has been the oil spray with flour.  Baker's Joy has it and so does Spectrum oil.  I've found it at Trader Joe's and Whole Foods, and of course, at baking supply shops. The oil spray works like wonder for the bundt pan. Just spray all over the pan. If you have just oil spray, not one with flour, you can then dust your pan with flour, or in this case, cocoa powder after thoroughly spraying pan with oil.  Just tip pan around and turn it over to dump out extra powder. Also I used honey bourbon so I called my cake Bourbon Dark Chocolate Bundt Cake. 

   Whatever you called this cake, it is moist on the inside but the crust has a little crunch. It's not too sweet and it has a clear mocha taste.  Personally, I like cakes that are not too sweet so I actually went back for more slices. Just a fair warning, you can also taste the bourbon.  I don't think the alcohol is overwhelming, it adds to the depth of flavor. But this cake is not your usual store-bought chocolate cake, which I find is more sugar-sweet than anything else. This cake beautifully blends the alcohol and espresso with the chocolate into a decadent treat that you want to go back for again and again. Thanks Melissa for such a great recipe.  

   We ate so much of it that I do not have an extra slice to show you! 

Holiday Edible Gifts: Chocolate Straws

   It's that time of year when many households are baking for dinner parties, gifts and just plain eating.  I decided that this year I will mainly give edible and homemade goods as gifts. For some, knowing that there is something they really want, I added non-edible gifts. This year I am proud of myself for not just making the gifts, but importantly, packing and mailing the goods in early December. The packing and mailing part had been my downfall in past years. I would buy nice gifts but then have to go back to the store, which is quite unpleasant with the crowds this time of year, to get packing material. Once packed, I still have to somehow get to the post office in time and get on line to mail that package and those cards. Then days go by and January inches closer... The trials and tribulations of gift-giving but I truly enjoy giving gifts to my friends and family, especially when I know that there is something that can make their day.  

   I'll share some goodies that have received good reviews already. For example, these Chocolate Blocks got reviews of "yummy" and "can I have more?" from little ones. King Arthur Flour's recipes have been great. I'll write more about another one of their chocolate recipes that received rave reviews.  First, I'll tell you about these Chocolate Straws that I made.  The recipe is by Julia Moskin of the New York Times. This recipe is just perfect for this time of year when you've got so many tasks to complete.  You can do this in a relatively short time and put them in pretty or plain long cellophane bags and finish with a pretty ribbon. At least that's what I did. 

   I used Trader Joe's puff pastry and let it sit overnight in the refrigerator to thaw. They were pretty easy to work with the next evening.  I rolled out puff pastry, then while they go back in the fridge, I started grating the chocolate. You can use a box grater or use a serrated knife to grate the chocolate. When Williams Sonoma had a sale, I could not resist and went into the store. I got one of my favorite tools, the microplane zester. This one, however, is different from the basic and original one I got years ago. This one can create slightly wider strips, more like ribbons.  It looks like this and worked like wonders on the chocolate without creating a mess. See the shavings of chocolate?

I combined bittersweet chocolate with turbinado sugar for a deeper flavor. The turbinado sugar has a light, almost molasses flavor. Good puff pastry has lots and lots of butter but these Chocolate Straws really come out light, flaky and full of good chocolate goodness.   I was going to sprinkle some sugar on these once they come out of the oven for a little sparkle but it was getting late so I didn't do it this time. They would make nice bites for a dinner party as well.

          CHOCOLATE STRAWS

• INGREDIENTS
• Flour, for rolling
• 1 pound puff pastry, preferably made with butter
• 2 ounces bittersweet or semisweet chocolate, finely grated (use a Microplane or rotary cheese grater)
• 2 tablespoons granulated sugar
• 2 tablespoons butter, melted

PREPARATION

1.

Heat oven to 375 degrees, or 350 degrees with convection. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper or silicone mats.

2.

Lightly flour a work surface. Use a rolling pin to roll the pastry into a long rectangle, about 8 inches wide, turning over a few times to distribute the flour evenly. Patch any cracks with warm water and roll smooth.

3.

Combine chocolate and sugar in a bowl and set aside.

4.

Turn the pastry so the long side is facing you. Using a ruler or straight edge, trim off edges so the rectangle is smooth and straight. Cut the rectangle in half, top to bottom, into two smaller rectangles of equal size. Refrigerate for 20 minutes

5.

Brush both rectangles with melted butter. Sprinkle the chocolate-sugar mixture evenly over one rectangle and place the other on top, butter side down. Use the rolling pin to roll out and press the two layers together.

6.

Using a ruler (if desired), cut into strips about 8 inches long and 3/4- to 1-inch wide. Lift up a strip by the ends, gently twist it two or three times, and place on the prepared pan. Press the ends flat. Repeat, leaving about 1/2 inch of space between straws.

7.

Bake until light brown and crisp, 18 to 22 minutes, rotating the pans in the oven after 10 minutes. Cool on a rack.

YIELD

About 1 dozen straws