We posted this cake for National Dessert Day on Instagram (October 14), which, silly us, we thought was everyday! It comes from The Maverick Cookbook, by Lynn Cline (Leaf Storm Press) that we styled and photographed last year. And, if you’re wondering, the cake tastes as good as it looks. Enjoy!
Teahouse Chocolate Cake
Inspired by Edith Warner’s chocolate loaf cake recipe that is still being passed around, this recipe blends chocolate with coffee, almonds and cinnamon, topped with a decadent chocolate frosting.
¾ cup all-purpose flour 1¼ teaspoons baking powder ½ teaspoon salt ¼ cup ground almonds (see Kitchen Clue) 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon ½ cup (4 ounces) semi-sweet baking chocolate 2 tablespoons freshly brewed coffee 2⁄3 cup Vanilla Sugar ½ cup whole milk 3 large eggs 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Preheat oven to 200 degrees. Butter and flour a loaf pan.
Sift together the flour, baking powder, and salt in a medium bowl. Stir in the ground almonds and cinnamon.
Add the chocolate and coffee to the top part of a double boiler or small saucepan and cover. Place in a larger pan partially filled with water. Bring water to a boil. Remove from heat and let sit, covered, for about 10 minutes or until chocolate melts.
In a large bowl, beat the Vanilla Sugar and melted chocolate together using an electric beater on low until combined, about 1 minute. Gradually add the flour mixture and the milk, alternately a bit of each until well combined, and then beat for 1 minute. Add the eggs and vanilla, and beat for 1 minute more, until the batter has the texture of whipped cream.
Pour batter into the prepared loaf pan and bake for 15 minutes. Increase the oven temperature to 275 degrees and bake for an additional 15 minutes. Then increase the temperature to 300 degrees and bake for 30-40 minutes, or until a knife inserted in the center comes out clean.
Cool on a wire rack for 30 minutes, then remove the cake from the pan and cool completely. Cover with Chocolate Butter Frosting.
Chocolate Butter Frosting:
½ cup (4 ounces) semisweet baking chocolate 3 tablespoons freshly brewed coffee 8 tablespoons (1 stick) unsalted butter ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
Add the chocolate, coffee and butter to the top part of a double boiler or a small saucepan and cover. Place in a larger pan partially filled with water. Bring water to a boil, then remove from heat and let sit, covered, for about 10 minutes or until all is melted and well-combined. Stir in cinnamon.
- For a thinner icing that can be poured over the cake, use as is.
- For a thicker, more spreadable icing place the pan with the icing into a larger bowl filled with ice water, making sure not to let any of the water spill into the icing. Beat until the mixture thickens. Spread onto the cake.
Kitchen Clue
Ground almonds are widely available, usually in bulk. To grind almonds yourself, measure the amount of blanched almonds you need and put in a food processor. For every ¼ cup of almonds, add 1 tablespoon sugar to keep the almonds from clumping up. You may use Vanilla Sugar for this if you like. Pulse a few times, until the mixture resembles coarse sand.