Tuesday, December 28, 2010
Rich Chocolate Mud Cake
Now with the kids fast asleep and the husband not expected back home for at least another hour, she could finally start baking.
But just as took the whisky bottle out of the liquor cabinet, she heard the key turn in the lock. The husband was back earlier than expected. On any other day she would have been thrilled but today she felt a small pang of disappointment. "There goes my baking," she thought to herself.
"Having a drink all alone, are you? he smiled as he walked in. "Pour me one as well, I'll take a quick shower and join you."
"I wasn't drinking. You know I never have a drink alone! I was just about to bake a cake but you've put paid to all my plans now by coming back earlier," she smiled.
"Cake with whisky in it....now that sounds intriguing. Never heard of one before."
"I'm sure it is going to be yum. I can just feel it."
"Tell you what - let's have a quick drink and have dinner and then we can bake that cake together!" He had never quite understood her passion for baking - he wondered why she bothered putting in so much effort when there were very good gourmet cakes available all over the city. But over the years, he had learnt better than to dissuade he from baking and deprive her of the pleasure she derived from baking.
"Sounds like a great plan," she beamed.
An hour later, he was ready to bake.
"Now?, she said, looking at the clock. It was a quarter past ten. "Too late for that now. The cake takes an hour and a half to bake. I am just too sleepy - the whisky has made me way too drowsy, no way I can sit up and wait for it to bake! I'll bake in the morning. Clear the kitchen, will you please? I can barely keep my eyes open."
"Sure thing."
He started putting away the measuring cups and the cake pan and happened to glance at the recipe that she had printed out. Whisky in a cake? With chocolate and coffee? Somehow, it just didn't sound right to him. Rum and chocolate and coffee was a great combination, but whisky? It just didn't appeal to him!
As he put the whisky back into the liquor cabinet, his eyes fell on the bottle of Kahlua. That was it....Kahlua, and not whisky, was perfect for the cake.
Suddenly, he was in the grip of an overpowering urge to bake the cake right away, all by himself. Soon, he was in the kitchen, melting and mixing the ingredients, getting intoxicated by the combined aromas of coffee, chocolate and Kahlua.
Two and a half hours later, he had not just baked the cake but had also set in on a platter on the table and secured with a ribbon - as a surprise for her - his face radiating the pleasure of someone who had just discovered the urge, the joy and the satisfaction of baking from scratch.
This food fiction is off to Jaya of Spice and Curry who is hosting Of Chalks and Chopsticks - 6.
Rich Chocolate Mud Cake (adapted from from Australian Women's Weekly).
Ingredients:
(A)
Butter: 250 gms
Sugar: 1 and 3/4 cup
Dark Chocolate: 200 gms
Kahlua: 1/3 cup or 80 ml
Instant coffee granules: 1 tbsp
Warm water: 250 ml or 1 cup
(B)
Plain Flour: 1.5 cups or 225 gms
Self Raising Flour: 1/4 cup or 35 gms
Cocoa Powder: 1/4 cup or 25 gms
Eggs: 2
Method:
In a saucepan, mix together all the ingredients listed under (A). Stir on a low heat until the chocolate melts. Cool it to room temperature.
Whisk together all the dry ingredients listed under (B). Add the cooled chocolate mixture to the dry ingredients and mix until you get a smooth batter.
Lightly beat the eggs and add it to the batter.
Grease and line a (deep) 20 cm or 8" cake pan and transfer the batter into the pan. Bake at 160 deg C for 90 mins or until a skewer inserted comes out clean.
Notes:
1. I pre-heat the oven for this recipe for just about 15 minutes.
2. I halved the recipe and baked it in a 6" square tray; it took me just under an hour to bake my cake.
3. I thought that the water was a bit too much, so I plan to reduce it to 225 ml the next time.
This is a dense and intensely chocolatety cake with a whiff of coffee and Kahlua. I served this cake with some raspberry coulis and vanilla ice cream - sinfully delicious!
Sending this cake off to Ria who is hosting Meeta's Monthly Mingle, the theme this time is Chocolate Extravaganza.
wow, looks superb !!! Drool-worthy !!!
ReplyDeleteGosh that was quick! Thanks a ton Priya :)
ReplyDeleteWow that looks absolutely stunning.. I am simply drooling.
ReplyDeletebeautiful cake. love mud cake with ice cream. yum.
ReplyDeleteHI
ReplyDeleteComing here after many days.
Lovely cake and who will not wish to have a sweet husband like him.
Sweet and simple story.
Looks very rich, very fudgy. Love chocolate and coffee combo. This one is also bookmarked along with your other cake recipes.
ReplyDeleteWow....looking at the ingredients, this must be the perfect cake for me...moist, chocolatey and delicious....mmmm. I love it! Thanks very much for sharing.
ReplyDeleteCake looks absolutely divine,marvellous and yumm!
ReplyDeletehey..love that cake and the story.
ReplyDeleteHappy new year
Looks so so so tempting and delicious.. thanks for the awesome recipe :)
ReplyDeleteIndian Cuisine
Love the flavor of chocolate,coffee and whisky..yum!! I recently made a similar cake too,but without the whisky,now you gave me a reason to bake this!!
ReplyDeleteAwesome to the core.. love the writeup and the pictures are no less exciting.. brilliant post and I am seriously drooling here :)
ReplyDeleteAqua,
ReplyDeleteOh! thats just the kind of chocolate mud cake one would expect from a loving spouse I guess..Pictures are drool-worthy..Thanks for your lovely story as well :-)..will post the round-up soon ..hugs and smiles
Cute story! Dark and handsome cake!
ReplyDeleteDelicious!! Love the chocolate cake!!
ReplyDeletecake looks too good,..aweosme writeup,..;-)
ReplyDeletean absolute mouth watering looking cake....i'd drool over this everytime i see it. great photos and a wonderful recipe! seen on Riya's chocolate extravaganza roundup
ReplyDeleteWhat lovely pictures Aqua! You made the cake look exotic and gorgeous. Like the recipe, some of the ingredients seems to be unusual. Try to find out.
ReplyDeletehappy 2011 to you, Aqua!
A very Happy new year to you n ur family , loved going thru ur wonderful blog !!!
ReplyDelete- Smita
www.littlefoodjunction.blogspot.com
(fun foods for little eaters
Hi....first time here.....absolutely loved the story as well as the Rich Chocolate Mud Cake..the clicks r amazing..and like the rest..i m drooling too...
ReplyDeleteHappy New Year......
I m following ur blog...looking fwd to many more lovely recipes
http://theworldaccordingtorujuta.blogspot.com/
Another cute story behind this pretty cake!
ReplyDeleteWishing u A very Happy New Year!
love ur space. a very well baked tempting cake.
ReplyDeleteur follower now :)
http://www.relishdelish.blogspot.com
What a delightful story! Thanks for sharing it with us!
ReplyDeleteLove the rolls and cake both! :)
Have a great year Aqua!
Absolutely perfect; just what i feel like having this minute!
ReplyDeleteMy 11 yr old daughter made the cake on my husband's birthday and it was absolutely delicious. We enjoyed the cake thoroughly. Thank you so much for your recipe.
ReplyDeleteI can't tell you how many white/dark choc mudcakes I have made this year. None were any good. Outside okay but not cooked in middle. I have a fan oven so thought that was the problem.
ReplyDeleteI have just made this cake purely to test the coffee liqueur out and it's the best I've made so far.
I baked in an 8" square tin and it has only risen to 1 and quarter inches high. I may have overcooked it slightly but that's because previous m/cakes have taken double the time to get anywhere.
can anyone tell me if I am going in the right direction here.
All tips will be welcome.
Anonymous, thank you for trying and liking the recipe. This cake is very dense and does not rise too much, so I guess you are in the right direction.
ReplyDeleteYippee!
ReplyDeleteLooks delicious......can we substitute Kahlua with Baileys Irish cream??!?
ReplyDeleteVinitha, I have not used Bailey's in this cake, but I think it would be a great substitute. Let me know if you use it, so I can substitute it too, the next time.
ReplyDelete