–CAKE–
1 3/4 c Regular sour cream
1 ts Baking soda
3 c All-purpose flour
1 1/2 ts Baking powder
1/2 ts Salt
3/4 c Unsalted butter; at room
-temperature
1 3/4 c Granulated sugar
3 lg Eggs
2 ts Vanilla
1/4 c Cocoa
3 tb Water
4 Squares semisweet or
-bittersweet chocolate; (4
-oz)
GANACHE ICING
2 Squares semisweet or
-bittersweet chocolate; (2
-oz)
3 tb Whipping cream
Preheat oven to 350F (180C). Grease a 10-inch (25-cm) Bundt or tube pan.
Sprinkle lightly with flour. Shake until pan is evenly coated with flour,
then shake out excess. In a small bowl, stir sour cream with baking soda.
Into a large mixing bowl, measure flour, baking powder and salt. Stir with
a fork until evenly blended. Coarsely chop 4 chocolate squares until pieces
are about the size of chocolate chips.
Using an electric mixer or a wooden spoon, beat butter and sugar until very
creamy. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Stir in
vanilla. Using a wooden spoon, stir in about a third of the flour mixture
just until combined. Then, stir in half of the sour cream mixture just
until smooth. Repeat with another third of the flour mixture, then
remaining sour cream mixture and the remaining flour mixture.
To make chocolate batter, sieve cocoa into a medium-size mixing bowl. Stir
in water until a smooth paste forms. Add a third of the white batter. Stir
until evenly mixed, then, stir in chocolate chunks. Spoon the remaining
white batter into the greased and floured pan. Smooth the top. Then, spoon
the chocolate batter on top in 3 large evenly spaced dollops. With a
spatula or large knife, gently fold the chocolate batter into the white,
being careful to just swirl, not totally stir.
Bake in centre of preheated oven until centre of cake springs back when
lightly touched or a cake tester inserted into centre of cake comes out
without any clinging batter, from 60 to 65 minutes. Cool in pan on a rack.
Turn cooled cake out of pan and onto a serving plate upside down.
To make ganache icing, coarsely chop 2 chocolate squares. Pour cream into
the smallest saucepan you have. Watching closely, place over low heat just
until it starts to steam, from 5 to 7 minutes. Or heat in a small dish in
the microwave on high from 30 to 45 seconds. Remove from heat and
immediately stir in chocolate chunks until smooth. Drizzle over cake,
letting some dribble down the sides. Cake will keep well at room
temperature for 1 day or can be covered and refrigerated for up to 4 days.
Coffee cake freezes well but icing texture may break down in the freezer,
so it’s best to add icing when preparing to serve.
Preparation time: 25 minutes Baking time: 1 hour Makes: 16 to 20 slices
Notes from head of recipe: Perfect for Valentine’s Day, this amazing coffee
cake is baked by Dufflet Pastries for Toronto’s Aroma Coffee Bar. Ganache,
a rich chocolate mixture normally used in truffles, generously covers a
sour cream cake that is marbled with chocolate cake and studded with chunks
of bittersweet chocolate. What a sensational way to start the day!
Nutrients per slice 4.1 g protein, 14.8 g fat, 38.3 g carbohydrates, 1.3 mg
iron, 45 mg calcium,
294 calories
Yields
20 Servings