Tuesday, July 21, 2009

COFFEE CAKE WITH CHOCOLATE GANACHE 'N CHOCOLATE BARKS


I have been debating with myself over making this cake for the past few weeks. Unfortunately cakes just have too much sugar, eggs and butter while the ganache has so much cream in it that I just don't want to make it for the family too often and especially so when I am not able to resist anything that looks even remotely like chocolate. I've been working at the gym like a good girl and too much cake and cream is just not going to be good for me/you and everyone else. And just in case you didn't notice that's the reason I don't blog too much about cakes with cream, fudge or frosting etc. But, the devil won and finally with much guilt and bad feeling I did it. I gave in. I succumbed like a cookie crumb to ants.

I had to make this coffee cake and slap on that darkly lovely ganache.

But I always say this little prayer before I indulge.....

If you eat something and no one sees you eat it, it has no calories. If you drink a diet soda with a candy bar, the calories in the candy bar are cancelled out by the diet soda. When you eat with someone else, calories don't count if you don't eat more than they do. Food used for medicinal purposes NEVER count, such as chocolate, brandy, toast and Sara Lee Cheesecake. If you fatten up everyone else around you, then you look thinner. Cookie pieces contain no calories. The process of breaking causes caloric leakage. Things licked off knives and spoons have no calories if you are in the process of preparing something. Examples : peanut butter on a knife when making a sandwich, or ice cream on a spoon when making a sundae. Foods that have the same colour have the same number of calories. Examples : spinach and pistachio ice cream, or mushrooms and white chocolate. Note : chocolate is a universal colour and may be substituted for any other food colour.

Whoever wrote this is a genius.


The cake was moist, soft and quite rich but could do with more coffee in it. And if you like, lots of choc chips too! I made it once with choc chips and it was so good. The ganache was fabulous...as always...Rose's recipe never fails me. YUM. I was licking my fingers at every smear I made. There were a lot of smears believe me. Unfortunately our hot weather made the ganache a little soft so it didn't show through well between the layers but was ok on the top. I did not coat the cake too thickly though....just too rich. But nobody complained.


I made the whole recipe but divided them between 2 pans about 6 inches in diameter so that I could frost only one of them and left the other one plain. Less fat for everyone. I made the chocolate barks from melted chocolate a little earlier in the morning and chilled them in the refrigerator. I didn't take a picture of how I made them but they're pretty easy to do. I might make them again tomorrow just to take some pictures to blog.


Anyway here's the recipe.................

280 butter
250 sugar
250 self raising flour (I used plain and added 2 tspbaking powder)
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
5 large eggs
2 or more tbsp instant coffee plus 1 tbsp hot water to dissolve coffee, leave aside to cool.
2 tbsp cream/milk ( I used sour cream, which I think doesn't make any difference to the final cake)

Set the oven at 180 C. Prepare 2 9 inch sandwich pans.

Sift flour, baking powder and salt into a bowl.

Mix the coffee mixture with the milk/cream.

Beat butter and sugar until creamy and fluffy. Add egg one at a time and beat until fluffy. Add the coffee and cream/milk mixture. Take it off the mixer if you're using one and fold in the flour with a spatula in 3 batches.

Add chocolate chips at this point if using (YUM).

Pour into pan and bake 35 to 40 minutes (depending on your oven). Will spring back lightly if done the sides will shrink a little,

Turn out after 6 or 7 minutes and allow to cool completely.

Ganache....Rose Beranbaum's recipe

340 gm bittersweet chocolate
385 gm heavy cream/whipping cream
57 gm unsalted butter (optional) (I did not use this)
28 Cognac (I did not use this)

Break chocolate into pieces and process in food processor until very fine. Heat the cream to boiling point and with the food processor running, pour in the cream in a steady stream. Process a few seconds until smooth. Transfer to a bowl and cool completely. Gently stir in the optional butter if using and the Cognac. Allow to cool several hours before using.

I sandwiched the cake with ganache and topped it with ganache too. Normally when I'm not being lazy or for special occassions I would make a light chocolate butter cream and use that to sandwich the cakes together and the cake will only be covered with ganache. Then topped with chocolate barks. The different flavours and textures of the chocolate butter cream, the ganache and the coffee and the chocolate barks make a sensational combination.



13 comments:

La Table De Nana said...

I saw your photo at FG and thought..that looks out of this world~

And it's you and it is:)

tracieMoo said...

Wah! Looks so perfectly done! Really good job on this =) Can take Order ah??

Jennifer said...

STUNNING cake!!! it looks so rich and decadent! yum!

Anonymous said...

That cake looks like sin itself! Now I'm gonna start reading those "rules" before eating anything!

terri@adailyobsession said...

the ganache looks slurp-worthy. am licking it. like u, am trying not to eat cakes but choc cakes are good n healthy yes?!

diva said...

i'm brainwashed!! licking anything off knives and spoons?? agree - they're calorie free. hahah. what a lush cake. it looks absolutely gorgeous!!

www.sugarbar.org

Denise ^ ChickyEGG said...

lolz !!!! u oso licking off ur fingers? ;p~

Elin Chia said...

Nice one Zurin, you too managed to get your butt off to make such a sinfully rich chocolate cake. Haha..I love that part about.." I always read this before I indulge " haha so funny :)

Thanks for sharing the recipe. my son loves anything chocolatey. He loves Secret Recipe 's Chocolate Indulgence...asked me to baked one for him...I told him I will wait for someone to put up the recipe :p

tracieMoo said...

Hello Zurin, I have passed you an award. Do check my blog for it when you're free okay? =)

Joanna said...

Hello, first time here and I haven't been able to take my eyes off the amazing drool-worthy load of chocolate ever since...

Btw that excerpt on calorie cheating is pure genius !

Zurin said...

La able de Nana, tq :) glad u dropped by.

Tracie, the recipe is there dear...u can make it :D

Jennifer, tq.it is rich.. sigh..

Amritac, yes RICH...SIGH :)o yea read the rules. b4 anything.

Terri, OH yea choc is GOOD n healthy

Diva, its all in the mind eh..

Denise, Yup

Elin, oh yea the butt moved.

Tracie, tq dear..sure will go look n pick up...

Joanna, welcome tq for dropping by...yes pure genius :)

Sprouted Kitchen said...

wwooowww this cake looks so intense! love it! can never have too much chocolate. Beautiful job on the frosting too

[Rhiannon][Wretchdz] said...

I always give myself a calorie free-pass day (Sunday).


Om nom nom, I think I could eat that whole cake in one sitting...it looks that good!

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