Tuesday, September 13, 2011

Book Club Bounty - September

September's Book Club was hosted by my sister and since I only had to provide one dish for the meeting, I decided it would be an extra chocolatey dessert. This cake made a beautiful presentation and all of the ladies seemed to enjoy it. Next time I make this cake I will be sure to serve it with some vanilla ice cream or a dollop of fresh whip cream. It was very rich and crumbly and could have used a little something to balance the texture.

As for our book, we read "Heaven is for Real" by Todd Burpo. Meh. I wasn't in love with this book at all, our discussion wasn't nearly as compelling as the month before and I think we learned one very important book club lesson - no non-fiction.

Chocolate Sour Cream Bundt Cake
Adapted from William Sonoma

Ingredients:

For the cake:

  • 2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
  • 1 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
  • 2 tsp. baking powder
  • 3/4 tsp. baking soda
  • 1/4 tsp. salt
  • 16 Tbs. (2 sticks) unsalted butter
  • 1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
  • 4 eggs, lightly beaten
  • 1 tsp. vanilla extract
  • 1 1/2 cups sour cream
  • 6 oz. bittersweet chocolate, melted and cooled slightly
For the Glaze:
  • 1 cup granulated sugar
  • 1/2 cup water
  • 1 Tbs. chocolate liqueur
Directions:

Have all the ingredients at room temperature.

Position a rack in the center of an oven and preheat to 325°F. Grease and flour a decorative 10-cup Bundt® pan.

To make the cake, over a sheet of waxed paper, sift together the flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, baking soda and salt; repeat until well blended. Set aside.

In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the flat beater, beat the butter on medium speed until smooth and creamy, 30 to 45 seconds. Reduce the speed to low and gradually add the granulated sugar, beating until blended. Increase the speed to medium-high and continue beating, occasionally scraping down the sides of the bowl, until the mixture is light and fluffy, 3 to 5 minutes. Add the eggs a little at a time, beating each addition until incorporated before adding more, until the mixture is thick and creamy, 1 to 2 minutes; stop mixer occasionally and scrape down the sides of the bowl.

Beat in the vanilla.

Reduce the speed to low and fold in the flour mixture in three additions, alternating with the sour cream and beginning and ending with the flour,

until just blended and no lumps of flour remain. Then gently fold in the chocolate.

Pour the batter into the prepared pan, spreading the batter so the sides are about 1 inch higher than the center.
Bake until a toothpick inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean, about 1 hour. Transfer to a wire rack and cool the cake upright in the pan for 10 minutes.

Meanwhile, make the glaze: In a small saucepan over low heat, combine the granulated sugar and water and stir until the sugar is dissolved. Remove from the heat and stir in the chocolate liqueur.

Set the rack over a sheet of waxed paper, invert the pan onto the rack and lift off the pan. Generously brush the warm cake with the glaze.

Slice and Serve.

Click Here for My Adapted Printable Recipe

3 comments:

Alice said...

I just bought that on iBooks!!

teresa said...

what a gorgeous cake!

Cheryl Francis said...

Hi Elizabeth!

This will be one of my Christmas desserts, it looks great! Hope all is well