Happy 9th birthday to Riegl Palate!  It has become a tradition to share a chocolate cake to celebrate this milestone. During all of this time, I’ve posted a new recipe every week and never missed one. Some might say I’m crazy but I’m just having too much fun. Today’s post is number 508 to my site. 

I made this cake to celebrate another birthday – Ed’s in January. We were able to sneak in a celebration with my parents made more special because of the pandemic. The inside is like that of a chocolate molten cake minus the ‘molten’ part. It will puff up as it cooks and deflate as it cools. 

Thank you to Alice G for giving us Ina Garten’s newest book, Modern Comfort Food. As soon as I started reading this book I knew that this would be a perfect cake to celebrate birthdays of all kinds. We have enjoyed many other delicious recipes from this book as well.

I recently met Teresa M, a fellow alumna from Immaculate Heart High School in Hollywood, CA, through a virtual brunch project we worked on together. She’s spent most of her adult life in New York – most recently on Long Island. She has had the pleasure of attending one of Ina Garten’s parties where she enjoyed some lovely rosé wine (my favorite) amongst other goodies. If you have any of Ina’s cookbooks you know that she loves hosting gatherings of friends and always includes wonderful pictures. I added attending an Ina-hosted party to my bucket list…

This is a simple cake to make – only one bowl is required and no mixer. Please use good quality chocolate since it’s the star. I used Guittard’s bittersweet baking bars (70%). I also used a non-GMO/small batch all-purpose flour for this cake. While I didn’t try making it with a gluten-free flour, it should work just as well since there isn’t much flour (only 1/4 cup). Think of it as a flourless chocolate cake that has just a bit of flour. Don’t forget the salt – I used coarse sea salt (rather than kosher salt) and doubled the amount as compared with the original recipe.  Salt makes the chocolate flavor even better.

Given Ed’s love of all things bourbon, I decided to dress up the topping. I’d recommend making the cake and topping the same day you plan to serve it knowing that leftovers will keep for a few days. While the topping contains heavy cream, it’s okay to make it a few hours in advance as it doesn’t hold soft peaks like traditional whipped cream.

A huge thank you to all who read, comment on, share and make recipes from Riegl Palate – it means so much to me. I continue to be amazed by the interesting connections I make or requests I receive. Spending the last year at home has meant more cooking for so many people. It has been wonderful watching people discover how much fun they can have in the kitchen whether it’s making a simple meal or conquering a sourdough starter (I tried but did not succeed). It makes my day when family and friends reach out to me with a food or cocktail question or a recipe suggestion.

Cheers to the art of good eating and to many more years of Riegl Palate!

P.S.  If you aren’t already following Riegl Palate on social media please consider doing so. Check out Riegl Palate on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and Pinterest.

Bittersweet Chocolate Cake with Bourbon Crème Fraîche

 

Bittersweet Chocolate Cake with Bourbon Crème Fraîche
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Recipe type: Dessert
Author:
Serves: 8
Ingredients
Cake
  • 15 tablespoons unsalted butter, plus more to grease the pan
  • 7 ounces good-quality bittersweet chocolate (60% to 70%), broken into pieces
  • 1 cup granulated sugar
  • 5 large eggs, lightly beaten
  • 1 teaspoon coarse sea salt
  • ¼ cup all-purpose flour, plus more to flour the pan (see Notes)
Bourbon Crème Fraîche
  • ⅓ cup heavy cream
  • 2 tablespoons granulated sugar
  • 2 tablespoons bourbon
  • ½ teaspoon pure vanilla extract
  • 8 ounces crème fraîche
Instructions
Make Cake:
  1. Preheat the oven to 350°F. Butter and flour an 8-inch springform pan.
  2. Place a large heatproof bowl over a pot of simmering water, making sure the water doesn't touch the bowl. Place butter and chocolate in the bowl, stirring occasionally, until chocolate melts. Take the bowl off the heat; set aside.
  3. Whisk sugar into chocolate mixture, then whisk in eggs, espresso powder and salt until combined and smooth.
  4. Sprinkle flour over mixture. Fold it in with a rubber spatula until flour is incorporated.
  5. Pour batter into the prepared pan and place it on a sheet pan. Bake 30 to 40 minutes, until the top puffs and cracks and cake doesn't wobble when you jiggle the pan. (A toothpick inserted in the cake will not come out clean). Since not all pans are the same, start checking the cake at 25 minutes.
  6. Cool completely on a wire rack. The cake will deflate as it cools. Run a small knife around edge of cake and remove sides of springform pan. Transfer cake to a serving plate.
Make Bourbon Crème Fraîche:
  1. While cake is baking, place heavy cream, sugar, bourbon and vanilla in the bowl of an electric mixer. Beat at medium speed until the cream is thick (it will not form peaks).
  2. Add the crème fraîche and continue to beat for a few seconds at slow speed until just incorporated.
  3. Transfer to a container and refrigerate until ready to serve. Keeps for 3 days.
  4. Cut cake into wedges and serve warm or at room temperature with Bourbon Crème Fraîche.
Notes
* I used all-purpose flour for this cake. Given that it’s a small amount of flour, you could substitute a gluten-free flour (such as Cup4Cup Multipurpose Flour) and I believe you’d have good results (I haven’t tried it).
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Source:  Adapted from Ina Garten’s Modern Comfort Food (2020)