Chocolate Whiskey Cake

It has come to my attention that many people do not care for whiskey. It's not a fun alcohol that gets mixed into fruity drinks, nor is it a clean taste that inevitably is eclipsed by the tonic and lime it's served with. It's darker and smokier, and more real. I think there's something wrong with the people who avoid whiskey. I think that they don't like real drinking.

I, of course, love whiskey. It is fantastic stuff, very nearly as good as scotch. So when, in the course of looking for another cake to take up an afternoon of my time, I found a cake that contained almost nothing but chocolate, whiskey, and coffee (my three favorite things), I simply had to try it. I was worried that it wouldn't appeal to "those people", those cowardly rum and tequila drinkers. But as it turns out I was wrong. Even with the substantial amount of liquor I used (after all, I was the one making the cake, and I saw no reason to cater to the preferences of others), everyone thought it was well-balanced..."just a hint" of whiskey coming through. The cake is not overly sweet, keeps well (and supposedly improves with age, if it lasts that long), and can be made in under 10 minutes. It's perfect. And your kitchen will smell absolutely divine.

You can, of course, change the liquor to something else (scotch would be amazing, if expensive, in this recipe; or you could use Disaronno or rum or anything a bit sweeter). You can opt for the lower level of whiskey, as well, if you're worried about overpowering the wussy ones. I would suggest using high quality cocoa powder, even though I didn't. The cake is very rich and moist on it's own, but good cocoa will bump up the chocolate flavor. If you're worried about picky people, glaze it or frost it, but the cake does nicely without. A dollop of whipped cream is a good thing on the side...I expect it would be a better thing if it was flavored with brown sugar, or better yet, more whiskey!

Try this one. It's easy and it's fantastic. And it's alcoholic. Excellent for strenuous days, breakups, and really anything else. Enjoy this perfect vice.


Chocolate Whiskey Cake
Stolen from Gourmet, September 2005

Ingredients:
1 cup unsweetened cocoa powder, plus extra for dusting pan
1 1/2 cups strong freshly brewed coffee
1/2 cup whiskey (I used Maker's Mark, but whatever you have will do)
(NOTE: you can also use 1 cup coffee, and 1 cup whiskey, as I did)
2 sticks (1 cup) unsalted butter, cut into 1-inch pieces
2 cups sugar
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/4 teaspoons baking soda
2 large eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla

Whipped cream (if desired)

Glaze (if desired) of one cup chocolate chips, melted, and mixed with 1 tsp. vegetable oil

Directions:


Preheat oven to 325°F. Butter bundt pan well or spray with cooking spray. Sift a 1/8 cup of cocoa powder into the pan - if you don't sift it, it is REALLY hard to get the pan covered. Knock excess powder around the sides until the inside of the pan is a highly unattractive black powdery mess.


Heat coffee, whiskey, butter, and 1 cup cocoa powder in a saucepan over moderate heat, whisking, until butter is melted. Try not to let it boil - you'd hate to lose extra alcohol content. Remove from heat, then add sugar and whisk until dissolved, about 1 minute. Transfer mixture to a large bowl and cool 10 minutes.


While chocolate mixture cools, mix flour and baking soda in a small bowl - sift if there are large clumps. Whisk together eggs and vanilla in a slightly larger bowl.


I find it advisable to then temper the eggs mixture by adding small spoonfuls of the warmer chocolate mixture and whisking it into the eggs thoroughly. When the eggs are a nice dark brown color, SLOWLY poor them back into the chocolate mixture, whisking constantly. if you skip this step and the chocolate is too hot, you'll have chocolate plus scrambled eggs, which is less tasty (I assume). Add flour mixture and whisk until just combined (batter will be thin and bubbly). Pour batter into bundt pan and bake until a thin knife inserted in center comes out clean, 40 to 60 minutes depending on your oven.


Cook in pan, on rack, for 45 minutes. DO NOT attack the warm cake, even though it will smell truly divine. After 45 minutes, turn it out of the pan onto the rack to cool completely. Resist the temptation to remove large pieces of cake with your fingers and shove them into your mouth - it totally ruins the presentation.


It's good warm, but if you choose to use the glaze you must wait until it cools, then glaze it, throw some whipped cream on it, and commence eating the entire thing yourself.

You're welcome.