Chocolate - Fermenting to Roasting to Milling

To continue about fermentation - in our demonstration, Alex, from Taza Chocolates, lined a wooden box that had holes in the bottom with banana leaves and we all helped crack open the cacao pods and empty the beans into the box. The banana leaves "contain bacteria that enhance the fermentation process, liquefying the mucilage [that slimy white stuff covering the beans] so it can drain away, leaving the beans." (Source: The Chocolate Connoisseur by Chloe Doutre-Roussel)

When the beans were first put in the fermentation box

How they looked 2 days into fermentation

Once the beans are fermented, they’re then dried. Drying prevents them from getting moldy and enables them to be shipped and stored without spoiling. The dried beans are what farmers like Eladio take to market to sell. At the time we were there, they were getting $1.15 USD per pound of beans. Doesn't sound like much, does it? That's because it isn't. Eladio said a few years ago he was selling up to 800-900 lbs of cacao beans but in recent years, he's only been able to harvest around 400 lbs of beans. He wasn't really clear about why the drop in production but I think some of it had to do with a bad tornado that blew through his farm and damaged his cacao trees.

We were given demonstrations of what to do with the dried beans both at Eladio’s farm and at Cotton Tree Chocolate which had a little “factory”, aka a room, a back porch and a small tempering room. First you roast the beans. At Cotton Tree, they roasted the beans in a coffee roasting oven. And yes, they smelled as good as you might imagine.

Second, you take the (cooled) roasted beans and grind them to break up the shells and the nibs within the shells. You only want the nibs and not the shells so to separate them, Cotton Tree winnows the shells by blowing through the bowl of cracked nibs and shells with a hair dryer. Yes, a hair dryer. It was pretty effective too, once you know how to do it. There’s a certain skill in having the hair dryer in one hand aimed at the bowl and mixing up the nibs and shells with the other hand. Done properly, the hot air blowing from the hair dryer will blow out the lighter shells while keeping the nibs in the bowl. Done improperly, Kendra and I discovered our hair blowing (or nibs/shell blowing) techniques were metaphoric for our lives and personalities. Kendra was told by the Cotton Tree chocolate maker than she was blowing too hard and therefore causing the nibs to fly out of the bowl along with the shells. I had the opposite problem in that I was so afraid of losing the nibs that I wasn’t aggressive enough and left some of the shells in the bowl. Hmm, read into that what you will of each of our personalities.

Me with my careful, cautious dryer blowing

Kendra going for it with the hair dryer - nibs, shells and all :)

Once we had the bowl of shelled nibs, we put them in what was essentially a juicer and fed the nibs into it at one end and out the other came a wet mass of processed cocoa nibs, aka cocoa liqueur, which more or less had the consistency of peanut butter. Nibs have a lot of fat (cocoa butter) in them and you could see the oil as it was being processed through the juicer. Julie, the Cotton Tree Chocolate manager, called it juicing. My chocolate books refer to it as milling.

The last remaining steps to follow....

Chocolate - from Bean to Bar

I haven't posted in a couple of weeks, partly because I've been too busy to bake and partly because I was out on vacation. I spent last week in Belize on a chocolate tour sponsored by Taza Chocolate, a chocolate maker in Boston, MA. It was one of those things on my bucket list that I wanted to do “someday” and, thanks to my friend Kendra (Kendra's blog) who told me about the trip and talked me into teaming up with her in the Jungle House cabana at Cotton Tree Lodge near Punta Gorda, Belize, I got the opportunity to experience chocolate making from bean to bar.

When most people think of chocolate making, they picture vats of warm melted chocolate swirling around before pouring them into candy bar molds and cooling. It’s a nice visual but that’s actually the last two stages of chocolate making: tempering and molding. Or last 3 stages if you count eating as the final step. Further up the chocolate making chain, you actually need to start with the cacao bean itself. This is where chocolate ultimately comes from.

Cacao beans grow within cacao pods which are from the cacao trees. The pods grow directly out of the tree trunk and there’s some fancy flora and fauna name for that kind of plant but I can’t remember what it is from the tour and am not trying to be uppity in knowing what it’s called.

We visited a cacao farm in Belize owned by a 51-year-old man named Eladio Pop. The “Pop” part of his name was pretty accurate as Eladio is the father of 15 children. His oldest is 31 and has 5 kids of her own. His youngest is 2 years and 4 months. Eladio split open a cacao pod to show us the cluster of beans inside and we each got to taste one. Let me assure you it’s a far cry from the ultimate finished product of chocolate that the beans produce. Hence why the processing is so important.

After the beans are removed from the cacao pods, they’re put in containers and set to ferment in the heat and humidity of their native country, be it Belize, the Dominican Republic, Bolivia, etc. Beans can ferment anywhere from 2-6 days. The longer they ferment, supposedly the more developed the flavor. Some chocolate makers, such as Taza, only source beans that are 90% fermented while more common and large-scale operations like Green & Black only require 70% fermentation. Everyone’s tastes are different but for the chocolate snob in us all, they traditionally favor the more fermented beans. You don’t let the beans just sit there fermenting either. You have to mix them all around to get the fermentation going.

To be continued in the above post.....(have to go workout now)

Quintuple Chocolate Brownies

Quintuple Chocolate Brownies - made May 11, 2010 from Fearless Baking by Elinor Klivans

These brownies are so-named because it’s supposed to use 5 different kinds of chocolate. However, I was missing the heavy cream to put in the white chocolate layer on top so I improvised by skipping the white chocolate layer altogether and adding chopped up Toblerone bars in the last 5 minutes of baking to soften them slightly over the top of the brownie. I knew from reading the recipe that this would yield a dark chocolate brownie and I was right, especially since I use a dark cocoa (Pernigotti) in the brownies. The texture on these was good and fudgy but these are probably a little “too dark chocolate” for me as a milk chocolate lover. But dark chocolate lovers should like this one.

Funny thing about brownie taste and fudginess – my first preference is milk chocolate but not when it comes to brownies since milk chocolate as a brownie base (as opposed to as an add in) is actually too sweet. But if it’s too dark of a chocolate, I don’t like it either. I guess you can safely say my brownie preferences lean towards semisweet or bittersweet and if you have to lean towards more of a dark chocolate base, I like to do milk chocolate add-ins, such as with the Toblerone bars to offset the dark chocolate.

If I had stayed true to the original recipe and used the white chocolate layer on top, I have a feeling that would’ve worked really well since white chocolate is pretty sweet and would’ve offered a nice contrast to the dark chocolate brownie base.

Brownies
½ cup all-purpose flour
¼ cup unsweetened cocoa powder
½ teaspoon salt
1 stick (8 tablespoons) unsalted butter, cut into 8 pieces
3 ounces unsweetened chocolate, coarsely chopped
3 ounces bittersweet chocolate, coarsely chopped
2 tablespoons strong coffee
1 cup sugar
3 large eggs
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
6 ounces premium-quality milk chocolate, chopped into chips or 1 cup store-bought milk chocolate chips
1 cup chopped nuts

Glaze
6 ounces premium-quality white chocolate, finely chopped, or 1 cup store-bought white chocolate chips
1/3 cup heavy cream

1. Center a rack in the oven and preheat the oven to 325˚F. Line a 9-inch square baking pan with foil, butter the foil and place the pan on a baking sheet.
2. Sift together the flour, cocoa, and salt.
3. Set a heatproof bowl over a saucepan of simmering water and add, in the following order, the butter, two chocolates and the coffee. Keeping the pan over low heat, warm just until the butter and chocolates are melted – you don’t want the ingredients to get so hot they separate, so keep an eye on the bowl. Stir gently, and when the mixture is smooth, set it aside for 5 minutes.
4. Using a whisk or a rubber spatula, beat the sugar into the chocolate mixture. Don’t beat too vigorously – you don’t want to add air to the batter – and don’t be concerned about any graininess. Next, stir in the eggs one at a time, followed by the vanilla. You should have a smooth, glossy batter. If you’re not already using a rubber spatula, switch to one now and gently stir in the dry ingredients, mixing only until they are incorporated. Finally, stir in the milk chocolate chips and the nuts. Scrape the batter into the pan.
5. Bake for about 35 minutes, or until a thin knife inserted into the center comes out streaked but not thickly coated. Transfer the pan to a cooling rack and let the brownies rest undisturbed for at least 30 minutes. (You can wait longer, if you’d like.)
6. Turn the brownies out onto a rack, peel away the foil and place it under another rack – it will be the drip catcher for the glaze. Invert the brownies onto the rack and let cool completely.
7. To make the glaze: Put the white chocolate in a heatproof bowl. Bring the heavy cream to a boil and pour it over the chocolate. Wait 30 seconds, then, using a rubber spatula, gently stir until the chocolate is melted and the glaze is smooth.
8. Hold a long metal icing spatula in one hand and the bowl of glaze in the other. Pour the glaze onto the center of the brownies and use the spatula to nudge it evenly over the surface. Don’t worry if it dribbles over the edges, you can trim the sides later (or not). Refrigerate the brownies for about 20 minutes to dry the glaze.
9. Cut into 16 squares, each roughly 2 ¼” on a side.

Shirley's Fudgy Brownies

Shirley's Fudgy Brownies - made May 9, 2010 from Bakewise by Shirley Corriher

A few months ago, I blogged about how the copy of Bakewise I had bought off eBay had been stolen when the mailman left the package by my garage door. It soured me on getting Bakewise which had nothing to do with the book but I had looked forward to getting it for so long and having it ripped off like that left a bad taste in my mouth literally. But the seller, upon hearing what had happened to my package, sent me another brand-new copy (this time to my office address so there'd be no repeat chance of another theft) free of charge and even offered to refund me my shipping cost of the original package. Which was an amazing affirmation of the goodness in people and one for which I was exceedingly grateful.

I'm way overdue in trying out recipes from my new copy of Bakewise but to rectify that, I tried one of the brownie recipes last night. Oh. My. If you've followed my blog with any regularity, you'll know how much I prefer brownies for quick and easy baking, not to mention my enjoyment of rich, fudgy brownies in general. You might even recall that I was in ecstasy over Rosie's Award Winning Brownies from the Rosie's Bakery baking book. Hmm, move over Rosie, Shirley has won me over and taken first place in the Best Brownie I've Ever Eaten category. This was dense, fudgy, chocolaty but not overwhelming in a sickly sweet way. It was just good.

The funny thing is, most brownie recipes are very similar but this one was different enough that I didn't expect it to be so good. For one thing, in my experience, the best-tasting, fudgiest, richest brownies start with unsweetened chocolate. This one has almost all semisweet and what wasn't semisweet was sweet chocolate. Immediately I thought it would be an overly sweet brownie and not be rich-chocolate tasting enough. Not so. For another thing, it uses confectioners' sugar more than granulated sugar, another unusual ingredient that I thought would make the brownie more cakey than fudgy. Wrong again. Which goes to show Shirley Corriher is smarter than I am and knows her brownies.

In typical fashion, I omitted the nuts from this and left the brownie plain. Didn't even add chocolate chips. But I did chop up some Snickers bars and cover half the brownie pan with them after they had finished baking. The recipe calls for baking the brownies for an hour but I took mine out after 45 minutes as the toothpick in the edges came out clean and towards the middle came out with moist crumbs. Then I turned the oven off, topped half the brownie with the chopped-up Snickers and left them in the hot oven for a few minutes, just long enough to soften the Snickers so that when I took the brownie out of the oven, I could smear some of the Snickers into the top of the brownie with a small spatula. Genius.

I brought these into work for a staff meeting today and they were a hit. My boss even poked me in the shoulder during the meeting to gesture to the brownie he was eating and gave me a thumbs up. Success.

1 ½ cups pecans
1 ½ cups plus 2 tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into 1-tablespoon pieces, divided
Nonstick cooking spray, optional
12 ounces semisweet chocolate, finely chopped
1 ounce German’s Sweet Chocolate
4 large eggs
3 large egg yolks
1 ½ cups dark brown sugar, packed
1 cup confectioners’ sugar
2 tablespoons granulated sugar
3 tablespoons light corn syrup
1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract
¾ teaspoon salt
1 ½ cups spooned and leveled bleached all-purpose flour

1. Arrange a shelf in the middle of the oven and preheat the oven to 300˚F.
2. Spread the pecans on a baking sheet and roast for 10 minutes. While the nuts are hot, stir in 2 tablespoons of the butter. When cool, coarsely chop and set aside.
3. Line a 13 x 9 x 2-inch pan with parchment sprayed with nonstick cooking spray or Release foil (nonstick side up), allowing overhang on both long sides to make removal easier.
4. Place the remaining 1 ½ cups butter around the edge of a microwave-safe glass bowl. Place the semisweet and sweet chocolate in the center. Melt the butter and chocolate in the microwave on 100% power for 1 minute, stirring at least 2 times, and then 15 seconds more, stirring 1 time. Or, place the chocolates and butter together in a stainless-steel bowl. In a large skillet, bring water to a simmer. Set aside until the water is no longer steaming. Place the bowl of chocolate and butter in the hot water, being careful not to get water or steam into the chocolate. Stir the chocolate every few minutes until melted.
5. In a large bowl, beat the eggs with a fork just to blend whites and yolks. With a minimum of hand stirring, stir together the eggs, egg yolks, brown sugar, confectioners’ sugar, granulated sugar, corn syrup, vanilla and salt.
6. By hand, with a minimum of stirring, stir together the egg mixture and the chocolate mixture. Stir in the flour. Pour the batter into the prepared pan and smooth out.
7. Place the pan on the arranged shelf and bake until brownies just begin to pull away from the edge of the pan, about 1 hour. Err on the side of undercooking rather than risk drying out the brownies.
8. Cool completely in the pan or a rack. Remove the brownies from the pan, using the parchment or foil overhang to help lift out the brownies. When completely cool, wrap the brownies well with plastic wrap and refrigerate overnight.
9. Place the brownies on a cutting board and move the parchment or foil. Place another cutting board on top and turn over so that the brownies are right side up. Trim the edges and cut into 2-inch squares. Wrap individually in plastic wrap and store refrigerated.

Orange Buttermilk Cake

Orange Buttermilk Cake - made April 17, 2010, original recipe

I invented this recipe – sort of. If you look closely, it’s a variation of the Kahlua Cake recipe but I just changed some components to get a different flavor. But the texture and moistness are approximately the same. I changed it up because I wanted to use up some buttermilk and oranges I had. Past experience has taught me the basic elements of this cake (cake mix, vanilla pudding mix, eggs, oil and liquid flavoring) are pretty forgiving and bake up into a nice cake even if you do get creative with the add-ins.

1 18.25-oz package of yellow cake mix
1 4-oz package vanilla pudding mix
4 large eggs
1 cup buttermilk
Zest of 1 orange
Juice from 1 orange squeezed into a 1 cup measure, then top off the measuring cup with oil for a total of 1 cup orange juice & oil

1. Preheat oven to 350˚F. Grease Bundt pan.
2. Sift the cake mix to get rid of any lumps. Combine remaining ingredients in the mixing bowl of a freestanding electric mixer and mix with the paddle attachment until smooth, 2-3 minutes.
3. Pour batter into greased Bundt pan and slide into preheated oven.
4. Bake until top is firm and toothpick inserted in center of Bundt ring comes out almost clean or with a few moist crumbs. Make sure you do the toothpick test in the most moist-looking part of the cake.
5. Let cool in pan for 5 minutes then invert onto serving plate and let cool almost completely before glazing.

Glaze
I made up this glaze recipe – the thing with glaze is it’s really a matter of personal preference. Some people like runny glazes and others want their glaze to have the firmer consistency of frosting. For this one, I combined 5 tablespoons of softened butter, some powdered sugar, the zest from 1 orange and the freshly squeezed juice of 1 orange. How much orange juice and how much powdered sugar is up to you. Add more juice if you want a runny glaze and more powdered sugar for a thicker glaze. Use an electric mixer to combine the ingredients as that’ll show you the consistency you have fairly easily and you can add juice or powdered sugar to your taste.

For this particular glaze, I waited until the cake was still a bit lukewarm or just barely cool and I spread half the glaze over the cake. It melted slightly into the cake. Let the cake cool completely then cover with the rest of the glaze. That first layer of glaze will harden slightly as the cake cools and the sugar crystallizes and the second layer will remain softer like a frosting. I like to have both textures against the soft crumb of the cake.

Easy Mix Yellow Cupcakes

Easy Mix Yellow Cupcakes - made April 13, 2010 from Cupcakes by Elinor Klivans

Another coping attempt as I baked these cupcakes after my uncle died and a couple of days before his funeral. Anything to keep busy. This was an easy recipe which I needed since I had a tendency to become too distracted and not bake well because I kept forgetting key ingredients. These are nearly foolproof and are a nice standard vanilla cupcake. Watch the baking time. I hovered by the oven and pulled these out at that sweet spot where a toothpick inserted one minute comes out with almost raw batter but another toothpick the next minute comes out nearly clean but with a few moist crumbs. That’s when you know it’s done. I didn’t bother to frost these because I just didn’t feel like it and it was late at night and I was tired. Fortunately, they tasted pretty good on their own and didn’t need to be accessorized with frosting. That’s when you know you have a good recipe.

1 ¼ cups unbleached all-purpose flour
½ teaspoon baking powder
¼ teaspoon baking soda
¼ teaspoon salt
1 large egg
1 large egg yolk
1 cup sugar
½ cup canola or corn oil
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
½ cup sour cream

1. Sift the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt into a medium bowl and set aside.
2. In a large bowl, using an electric mixer on medium speed, beat the egg and yolk and sugar until thickened and lightened to a cream color, about 2 minutes.
3. Stop the mixer and scrape the sides of the bowl as needed during mixing. On low speed, mix in the oil and vanilla until blended. Mix in the sour cream until no white streaks remain. Mix in the flour mixture until it is incorporated and the batter is smooth. The batter is ready to bake, or for additions such as nuts, fruit or other flavorings.

Yield: 12 cupcakes

Heirloom Devil's Food Cake

Heirloom Devil's Food Cake - made April 8, 2010 from Chocolate Chocolate by Lisa Yockelson

I turned to baking as a crutch to get me through what would turn out to be a weekend vigil at the hospital for my uncle’s final days. I made this devil’s food cake to keep myself busy before it was time to go see him at the hospital. I had made this recipe before and my notes said it had turned out pretty well. I made it again and it did turn out well – the texture was moist and a bit dense but not too heavy. The chocolate butter frosting was rich but not as overwhelming as the one for the Godiva chocolate cake. But I will admit the Godiva chocolate cake itself was the better cake. It had more flavor and a slightly softer texture which wasn’t as dense. If I’m in the mood for an all-chocolate cake again, I would pair the Godiva Ultimate Chocolate Layer Cake with the Chocolate Butter Frosting and call it a day. I didn’t time how long the layers took (I hardly ever do) but you do need to keep an eye on baking time, especially with chocolate cakes since you can’t rely on them turning golden brown or other visual cues to tell you they’re done. By the time a chocolate cake looks done, it’s probably overbaked, especially if the top feels really firm and/or there are cracks on top.

Devil’s Food Batter
2 ¼ cups bleached all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
½ teaspoon salt
12 tablespoons (1 ½ sticks) unsalted butter, softened
1 ¾ cup plus 1 tablespoon granulated sugar
3 large eggs
1 ¾ teaspoons vanilla extract
3 ounces unsweetened chocolate, melted and cooled to tepid
1 ¼ cups buttermilk, whisked well

Frosting
Chocolate Butter Frosting

1. Preheat the oven to 350˚F. Lightly grease the inside of two 9-inch layer cake pans (1 ½ inches deep) with shortening, line the bottom of each pan with a circle of waxed paper cut to fit, grease the paper, and dust with flour.
2. Mix the batter: Sift the flour, baking soda, and salt onto a sheet of waxed paper.
3. Cream the butter in the large bowl of a freestanding electric mixer on moderate speed for 3 minutes. Add the sugar in 3 additions, beating for 1 minute after each portion is added. Add the eggs, one at a time, beating for 45 seconds after each addition. Blend in the vanilla extract and melted chocolate. On low speed, alternately add the sifted mixture in 3 additions with the buttermilk in 2 additions, beginning and ending with the sifted mixture. Scrape down the sides of the mixing bowl frequently to keep the batter even-textured.
4. Spoon the batter into the prepared pans, dividing it evenly between them. Spread the batter evenly.
5. Bake and cool the layers: Bake the cake layers in the preheated oven for 30 minutes, or until risen, set and a toothpick inserted in the center of each layer withdraws clean (or with a few crumbs attached). Cool the layers in the pans on racks for 10 minutes. Invert the layers onto other cooling racks, peel away the waxed paper, and cool completely.
6. Set up the serving plate: Tear off four 3-inch-wide strips of waxed paper. Place the strips in the shape of a square on the outer 3 inches of a cake plate.
7. Assemble and frost the cake: Center one cake layer on the plate (partially covering the waxed paper square; the strips should extend by at least 1 inch). Spread over a layer of frosting. Carefully position the second layer on top. Frost the top and sides of the cake, swirling the frosting as you go. Once set, gently remove and discard the strips of paper. Let the cake stand for 1 hour before slicing and serving.
Bake and serve within 1 day

Chocolate Butter Frosting

4 ½ cups confectioners’ sugar, sifted
1/8 teaspoon salt
5 ounces unsweetened chocolate, melted and cooled to tepid
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
7 tablespoons milk, heated to tepid
8 tablespoons (1 stick) unsalted butter, cut into chunks, softened

1. Place the confectioners’ sugar, salt, melted chocolate, vanilla extract and milk in the bowl of a heavy-duty freestanding electric mixer fitted with the flat paddle. Scatter over the chunks of butter and beat on moderately low speed for 2 minutes to being the mixing process.
2. When the frosting begins to come together, raise the speed to moderate and beat for 3 minutes, or until very smooth. Scrape down the sides of the mixing bowl to keep the frosting even-textured.
3. Increase the speed to high and beat for 2 minutes, or until very creamy. Adjust the texture of the frosting to spreading consistency, as needed, for adding additional teaspoons of milk or tablespoons of confectioners’ sugar.

Dealing with Life...and Death

I haven’t blogged as regularly for the past few weeks or baked as much, partly because I haven’t felt like it and partly because I haven’t had time. We lost my uncle a week and a half ago and it’s been difficult to get “back to normal”. Whatever normal really is.

Whenever death hits our family, I’m both angry and resentful that the rest of the world still goes on. People still go to work, TV shows still run, the radio DJs are still cheerful as they yak away, stores are still open, traffic is still bad during commute hours, and on and on. I feel like I need to come to a standstill if no one else will and just mourn. I mourn not only for myself in losing my uncle but I mourn for my mom who lost a brother, my cousin who lost a father, my aunt who lost a husband and everyone else who lost a great presence in their lives. It seems wrong and even almost frivolous to just go forward as if nothing ever happened. He meant something to all of us and that should be acknowledged. And it is. We had a very touching and dignified military funeral for him complete with Navy officers in dress whites and his casket draped in the US flag. We say prayers daily, each in our own way and through our own beliefs.

But I’ve also come to realize that doing those things isn’t the only way to honor and remember my uncle. It’s also in how we remember him, what positive influences we take from him and how we reflect that influence in our own lives. It isn’t about coming to a standstill, however much we want to. That’s not what he stood for nor is it what he would wish for us. Yes, life relentlessly moves on, even when death seems to make you want to come to a halt. Our part in it is to take that gift of life that we still have and to do the best we can with it. Each person we meet touches our lives in some way. If we’re fortunate, they touch it for the better. It’s our job and our tribute to deceased loved ones not to waste their influence on us or fritter away our own remaining time. That’s how they remain infinite and forever with us. Because we celebrate their lives in the way that we live our own.

This is a picture of my uncle at his college graduation, 45 years ago.

Godiva Ultimate Chocolate Layer Cake

Godiva Ultimate Chocolate Layer Cake - made April 6, 2010 from Epicurious?

I've had this recipe for so long that I forgot where I got it from but I think I downloaded it from epicurious.com some years ago. I've never made it until now and I'm sorry I waited so long. I love this cake. It has a nice chocolate flavor and a wonderful texture that's nice and moist. I took it out at just the right time - one minute the toothpick inserted in the center still had raw batter clinging to it and a couple of minutes later, it only had moist crumbs clinging to it. That's when you know it's baked just right. Unfortunately, true to form, I didn't really time it though.

For the frosting, I used the Pernigotti cocoa from Williams Sonoma which has a really deep chocolate flavor. It turned out a dark chocolate frosting that was a bit too rich for me but if you're a dark chocolate or a frosting fan, you might like it. Regardless, the cake itself is delicious. The recipe calls for making it as a 3-layer cake but I needed some batter for cupcakes to give away so I baked it as 2 layers and 8 cupcakes. I ended up not using the entire 1/2 cup of Godiva chocolate liqueur to brush over the baked cakes. It didn't seem like I needed that much to make it flavorful and moist and turns out I didn't. But I did use the exact amount called for in the cake itself and the frosting.

Buttercream
1 cup unsalted butter, softened
2 cups sifted confectioners’ sugar
1 cup sifted cocoa powder
1/3 cup Godiva Liqueur

Cake
2 cups sifted flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
¼ teaspoon salt
6 ounces unsalted butter
1 1/3 cups sugar
3 large eggs
3 ounces unsweetened chocolate, melted
1 cup buttermilk
1 cup Godiva liqueur, divided
Shaved chocolate

1. For the buttercream, cream the butter until smooth. Sift the sugar and cocoa powder over the butter, add 1/3 cup Godiva liqueur and slowly mix until smooth.
2. For the cake, sift together the flour, baking soda and salt; set aside. Cream the butter and sugar and add the eggs one at a time, beating after each addition. On low speed, stir in the chocolate and gradually add the reserved sifted ingredients in three additions, alternating with the buttermilk and ½ cup of Godiva liqueur; beat until smooth. Divide the batter among three greased and floured 9-inch cake pans. Bake in preheated 375˚F oven for 25 minutes until a toothpick inserted in the middle of the cake comes out clean. Remove from the oven and cool in pans for 10 minutes, then invert onto a rack to completely cool. Chill the layers in the freezer for about 30 minutes, until firm.
3. To assemble the cake, remove the cake layers from the freezer and brush with the remaining Godiva liqueur before spreading ¾ cup of buttercream between each layer. Spread the remaining buttercream over the top and sides of the cake, which has been placed on a serving plate. Serve immediately or refrigerate if necessary. If refrigerating, remove 1 hour prior to serving. Garnish with shaved chocolate. Serves 12.

Kahlua Cake

Kahlua Cake - made April 1, 2010, adapted from recipe from Patricia Ng

I haven't kept up with this blog much lately, partly because I haven't had as much time to bake as often and partly when I have baked, I've made things I've already blogged about. My nieces were here last week for spring break and I did make one of our favorite cakes. I first had this cake when I worked at eBay and my coworker friend Patricia made this cake. I thought it was scrumptious. Patricia shared the recipe but over the years I've somehow lost track of it. So for this version, I've tried to recreate what I remember of it. It turned out pretty well so this time I'm documenting it.

This is really easy to make. The directions are somewhat sparse and I play around with the proportions of the Kahlua and water in the cake and the amount of Kahlua and confectioners' sugar in the glaze. I make the glaze and heat it until it has a syrupy viscosity but I admit I didn't really measure. I just made it until it "looks right". You can't really go wrong. This is more of a soaking syrup than a glaze anyway. You don't want it too thin but don't make it so thick that it's a noticeable glaze on the cake. This is another good picnic-type cake as it's very versatile and travels well.

1 package yellow cake mix
1 4-ounce package instant chocolate pudding mix
4 large eggs
1 cup oil
1 cup mixture of Kahlua and water (mix to taste – you can use all Kahlua if you want a stronger taste of Kahlua or ½ and ½ or ¾ and ¼ or anywhere in between

Glaze
½ cup confectioners’ sugar
¼ to 1/3 cup Kahlua

1. Preheat oven to 350˚F and spray a 10-inch Bundt pan.
2. Sift yellow cake mix until lump-free. Combine all ingredients in the mixing bowl of an electric stand mixer and beat with a paddle attachment until smooth – 2 to 3 minutes.
3. Pour into prepared pan and bake until a toothpick inserted into the cake comes out with moist crumbs clinging to it (toothpick inserted in the outer edges should come out clean).
4. For the glaze: combine confectioners’ sugar and Kahlua in small saucepan over medium heat and whisk to a boil. Brush glaze over warm cake.