What would a Holiday celebration be with out dessert……nothing 🙂
I think we have come to the conclusion that Tim and I are dessert eaters. We have dessert almost everyday……..which is why……..well for us, we are fat!!! But who trusts a skinny cook right?
I will take a little extra weight to be able to eat a cake like this! Irish Car Bomb Bundt Cake…….rich, moist, super dark chocolatey, Irish cream filling, and chocolate ganache, if you love dark chocolate this is your cake.Continue reading “Irish Car Bomb Bundt Cake”
In an effort to try and eat more fruit, I bought some plums………I thought Tim liked plums. Turns out he wasn’t sure he did…..oops. They sat in the fridge a few days and then I remembered a recipe from Epicurious.com……Almond Plum Buckle. A long time ago, when I first started to really get into cooking, someone gave me a bunch of plums. I wasn’t sure what to do with them, so I went on the search for a recipe.
Now, when I first started to…… surf the web…….does anyone say that anymore? Epicurious.com was my go to site for everything. I spent hours and hours searching the site for just the right recipe. Which is how I came across Almond Plum Buckle.
What is a buckle you ask………..time for a lesson ……..the term Buckle is a type of cake made in a single layer with fruit added to the batter. It is usually made with blueberries. The topping is similar to a streusel, which gives it a buckled or crumpled appearance.
This does not have the traditional streusel type topping, just almonds and sugar……….turbinado sugar. I love this stuff, it gives whatever you put it on a nice crunchy sugary crust. Adding the almonds…….well it just made it almondier………don’t judge , sometimes I just make up words!
The almonds and sugar are the only changes I made to the original recipe that was published in Bon Appetit in July of 2006. It reminds me of coffee cake but not quite as crumbly. I served it with ice cream , but a dollop of whipped cream would be awesome also.
If you love almonds, cake, and plums you will love this buckle. Plus it is so pretty to look at, it is a perfect show off dish. But your secret is, its easy to make.
When Tim was taking the pictures he commented on how nice it looked, and after he ate it he said it was “plum good”!
Position rack in center of oven and preheat to 350°F. Spray 9-inch-diameter cake pan with 2-inch-high sides with nonstick spray. Line bottom of pan with parchment paper round.
Finely grind almonds in processor. Transfer to medium bowl; whisk in flour, baking powder, and salt. Using electric mixer, beat butter in large bowl until fluffy. Add 1 cup sugar; beat until well blended. Add eggs 1 at a time, beating well after each addition. Beat in vanilla and almond extract, then flour mixture just until incorporated.
Transfer batter to prepared pan; spread evenly and smooth top with spatula. Gently press plum slices, flesh side down, into batter in spoke pattern around outer rim and center of cake, placing close together. Sprinkle slivered almond and turbinado sugar over plums.
Bake cake until tester inserted into center comes out clean, about 50 minutes. Cool cake in pan on rack 20 minutes. Run small knife between cake and pan sides to loosen. Invert cake onto platter; remove parchment paper. Place another platter atop cake. Using both hands, hold both platters firmly together and invert cake, plum side up. Cool cake completely. Cut into wedges.
Maybe my site should have been called What the “Forks” for Dessert?……..hmmmm. My renewed love of baking has me making desserts……ALOT!!!!!
After making Corned Beef Tacos and Rueben Pizza, I had one Guinness Stout beer left from all the corned beef I cooked………Just toss the corned beef into a cockpot and cover it with the beer……..no muss…….no fuss. Except for that extra beer. Tim and I are teetotalers, so what to do with that beer? Chocolate Stout Bundt Cake……… who would think a chocolate cake made with beer………..not me!
Pinterest is a wealth of information. I came across a recipe for a Chocolate Stout Cake. The original recipes was from Fine Cooking, but I tweaked it just a bit…….I really did not think a beer in a dessert would taste very good, what a surprise …….even the batter was yummy. I know, you are not suppose to eat stuff with raw eggs in it, but in my life time I have eaten copious amounts of raw batter dough, and lived to tell the tale.
But seriously, the elderly, infants, and those with impaired immune systems should not eat any foods with raw eggs in them due to the risk of Salmonella.
Back to my little cakes………..they came out moist and the beer must have made the chocolate………more chocolaty. I made mine in individual size, but you can make one big cake in a regular size bundt pan if you wish. A simple chocolate glaze makes the Chocolate Stout Bundt Cake an elegant looking, chocolate dessert fit for St Patty’s Day or anytime you want a fancy dessert.
1–1/4 cups stout, such as Guinness (don’t include the foam when measuring)
1/3 cup dark molasses
1 2/3 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 cup unsweetened natural cocoa powder (extra for dusting the pans)
1–1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoons baking soda
1/2 teaspoons salt
1 1/4 cups unsalted butter, softened at room temperature
1–1/2 cups packed light brown sugar
3 large eggs
6 oz. semisweet chocolate, very finely chopped
For the glaze:
3/4 cup heavy cream
6 oz. semisweet chocolate
Instructions
Pre-heat the oven to 350ºF. Spray a 10- or 12-cup bundt pan (or twelve 1-cup mini bundt pans) with cooking non stick cooking spray and then lightly coat with sifted cocoa powder. Tap out any excess cocoa.
In a small saucepan bring the stout and molasses to a simmer. Remove the pan from the heat and let stand while preparing the cake batter.
Sift together the flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, baking soda, and salt into a large bowl. Cream the butter in a large bowl on medium speed ( stand or hand mixer) until smooth, about 1 minute. Add the brown sugar and beat on medium speed until light and fluffy. Scraping the bowl as needed. Beat in the eggs one at a time. On low speed, alternate the flour and stout mixtures. Scraping the bowl as needed.Then beat at medium speed until the batter is smooth. Stir in the chopped chocolate.
Spoon the batter into the prepared pan (or pans), spreading evenly. Tap pan on table a few time to remove air bubbles. Bake until a wooden skewer inserted in the center comes out clean, 45 to 50 minutes (about 25 -30 minutes for mini cakes). Set the pan on a rack to cool for 20 minutes. Invert the cake onto the rack and remove the pan. Let cool.
Make the glaze:
Bring the cream to a boil in a small saucepan over high heat. Remove the pan from the heat and add the chocolate. Let stand for 1 minute and then whisk until the chocolate is melted and smooth. Let cool for 5 minutes.
