Tuesday 1 April 2008

TWD - A revelation!



Well, Tuesday has come around again awfully quickly! This week's Tuesdays With Dorie assignment was the very easy Gooey Chocolate Cakes. The recipe this week was chosen by Leigh of Lemon Tarlet. Many Thanks for an easy recipe this week during the mother of all cake weeks...More to come in future post.

The recipe didn't use too many products and it was nice to bake a recipe that didn't leave me thinking we were going to eat cake ALL week (not that that would be such a bad thing!). We were asked to use bittersweet chocolate (which I presume is Dark Chocolate over here? I have to admit I was too bone idle to find out as I had a bag of pelletts from Thorntons designed for use in chocolate fountains that I wanted to try - I think they worked just fine and it saved having to break up a load of choc)


The book didn't have a picture so I had to guess what size muffin tin Dorie was talking about - We have so many different varieties here in the UK - I went with bigger than a fairy cake but smaller than a Starbucks Muffin - I managed to fill 11 of the tins which in hindsight should have meant cooking them for a lot less than 13 minutes.

So what were the thoughts...? I luckily had a few willing helpers to taste test so I didn't have to eat all the cakes on my own...

Auntie Janet...Very nice but not that gooey.

Dearest Husband...Yeh...nice! (Man of few words! - Sometimes!) But he had 2 portions so I think he really enjoyed them!

Youngest Sister Rachel...Mmmmm - I think she liked them!


Me? - Yep, a really nice recipe - Perhaps not as gooey as they could have been, easy to make but...AND THIS IS THE REVELATION!!!!...I don't think I like Chocolate Cake!!!! I have been thinking this for a while now but not wanting to admit it as it sounds really wierd but I would much rather have other cakes than chocolate. Having said that I could tell that if you were a chocolate cake fan this would be a fab recipe for you.

Would I make again? - Yes probable to see if I could get them more gooey - I also would love to try a choc orange version or better still Baileys version...Hmmn I wonder if there is any of that Thornton's chocolate left?

Score for this week?...
Ease of Baking...9 out of 10
Ingredients needed...9 out of 10
Taste (and Gooeyness!)...8 out of 10



Here is the Recipe...
*Gooey Chocolate Cake *
Makes 6

1/3 cup all-purpose flour
3 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder
¼ teaspoon salt
5 ounces bittersweet chocolate,
4 ounces coarsely chopped,
1 ounce very finely chopped
1 stick (8 tablespoons) unsalted butter, cut into 8 pieces
2 large eggs, at room temperature
1 large egg yolk, at room temperature
6 tablespoons of sugar

Getting ready: Center a rack in the oven and preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. butter (or spray – it’s easier) 6 cups of a regular-size muffin pan, preferably a disposable aluminum foil pan, dust the insides with flour and tap out the excess. Put the muffin pan on a baking sheet.

Sift the flour, cocoa and salt together.

Set a heatproof bowl over a saucepan of gently simmering water, put the coarsely chopped chocolate and the butter in the bowl and stir occasionally over the simmering water just until they are melted – you don’t want them to get so hot that the butter separates. Remove the bowl from the pan of water.

In a large bowl, whisk the eggs and yolk until homogenous. Add the sugar and whisk until well blended, about 2 minutes. Add the dry ingredients and, still using the whisk, stir (don’t beat) them into the eggs. Little by little, and using a light hand, stir in the melted chocolate and butter. Divide the batter evenly among the muffin cups and sprinkle the finely chopped chocolate over the batter.

Bake the cakes for 13 minutes. Transfer them, still on the baking sheet, to a rack to cool for 3 minutes. (There is no way to test that these cakes are properly baked, because the inside remains liquid.)

Line a cutting board with a silicone baking mat or parchment or wax paper, and, after the 3-minute rest, unmold the cakes onto the board. Use a wide metal spatula to lift the cakes onto dessert plates.

Next week...The Most Extraordinary French Lemon Cream Tart..(or may be Orange!_

11 comments:

LyB said...

Your cakes look delicious! I agree that tweaking the recipe and adding something to change the taste a bit might be fun. Endless possibilities!

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Gretchen Noelle said...

Yum...chocolate orange or chocolate baileys...they both sound delicious to me!

Mary said...

glad you got such positive feedback on your cakes....makes it worth it! they look yummy!

Donna said...

Sorry they weren't as gooey as you wished for. Mine weren't either. The Baileys idea sounds like it would kick some serious butt!
Donna

Anonymous said...

A Bailey's version sounds amazing! What a great idea. My reaction after my first bite was much like your sister's-mmmmmm! I didn't even think I liked chocolate cake that much, but I guess I do.

noskos said...

Great looking cakes!!

Rebecca of "Ezra Pound Cake" said...

Chocolate cake does hit the spot sometimes. Mmmmm. Yummy photos!

Rebecca
http://www.ezrapoundcake.com

Cecilia said...

hahaha...I liked your revelation. Good thing that this recipe didn't end up with an indecent amount of cake.

Mine didn't turn out gooey either, but I agree that they were good despite that.

Dolores said...

Bigger than a fairy cake but smaller than a Starbucks muffin sounds about right from here. My ramekins were about 6 ounces, and I got "gooey".

And a useful revelation, indeed.

Jaime said...

sorry your cakes weren't so gooey - definitely cut back on the baking time if you're making them smaller. they look great regardless!