Monday, April 14, 2014

Happy Disasters



So I planned to bake an Easter bread today. I found a recipe that my mom had stashed away. According to her note (are we the only ones who write on recipes?) she baked it for Easter 2003. I can't say that I have any recollection of it. But it sounded good.

I knew I had a problem when I was mixing the dough. Uh oh. I pondered tinkering with it but I have a long history of making things worse, so I stuck with the recipe. It was a bear to knead. That was the second bad sign. But I forged ahead and let it rise for two hours. Before rolling it out, I followed the instructions to grease a Bundt pan, chop chocolate chips into tiny bits, blend with chocolate powder and pour into the greased pan.

Okay. I was ready for the bread. I punched it down. And that was the end of its cooperation. It did not want to be kneaded. It did not want to be rolled out. It didn't want to be pulled or pummeled or stretched. I tried making little balls out of it. Nope, nope, nope.

I know when I'm beat. That bread wasn't going to happen. But now I had a greased Bundt pan with loads of chocolate in it! Hmm, throw it out or forge ahead? Throw out chocolate?

Consequently, I'm calling this a Disaster Rescue Cake, but it's really a Double Chocolate Mocha Bundt Cake. It turned out better than I expected. Rich and chocolatey with a strong kick of coffee. Actually something I would bake again! It sounds like it uses huge quantities of ingredients but it makes a big cake.

The chocolate mixture in the recipe that went into the greased Bundt pan was a bust, though. It didn't want to come out of the pan. (Hello? Who thought this was a good idea? Chocolate melts!) I find it hard to believe that it works any better on top of bread. I'll give you the mixture anyway in case you want to try but honestly, I think it would be less work to just pour a nice ganache over the cake. Or sprinkle with powdered sugar. Or leave plain!

If you want to try the chocolate, here's the scoop.

3/4 cup chocolate chips
1/8 cup unsweetened chocolate powder

Thoroughly grease a Bundt cake pan. Combine the chocolate chips and 1/8 cup cocoa powder in a food processor. Pulse until it looks like rough meal. Pour into the greased pan. Shake around to coat the pan, most will settle in the bottom.


Disaster Rescue Cake
Double Chocolate Mocha Bundt Cake


1/8 cup unsweetened chocolate powder
3 cups flour
3 cups sugar
3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder (use a high quality powder)
1 tablespoon baking powder
3/4 teaspoon baking soda
1 1/2 sticks butter (3/4 cup) plus extra for greasing
3 eggs
6 tablespoons instant coffee or espresso powder
2 1/4 cups milk (I used nonfat)
2 tablespoons vanilla
1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips


Preheat oven to 350. Thoroughly grease a Bundt cake pan. Use the 1/8 cup cocoa powder as you would flour, turning the pan to coat the butter.

In a large bowl, combine flour, sugar, 3/4 cup cocoa powder, baking powder and baking soda. Set aside. Stir the coffee or espresso powder into the milk until it dissolves. Set aside. Cream the butter. Add about 1 cup of the flour mixture and beat. Beat in each egg. Add a portion of the flour mixture and 1/2 cup or so of the coffee and beat. Continue adding in small portions until completely combined. Beat in the vanilla. Add the chocolate chips and stir. Pour into prepared Bundt pan and bake 60 minutes or until a cake tester comes out clean.





A few of the chocolate chips didn't want to be chopped.

Before baking.

The grainy stuff on top is the chopped chocolate that wasn't a bright idea.

Coming in June!

12 comments:

  1. My first cake disaster I buried in the back yard ;) & my first yeast bread disaster...the chickens pecked it, but it was so hard it should have been a door stop. Your cake looks good! How do you think it would be with Roma instead of instant coffee?

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    1. Hi Helena Georgette! LOL! I know just what you mean. I made bread once that the squirrels wouldn't touch.

      I think Roma should work fine. It's just for flavor so it won't impact the texture.

      ~Krista

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  2. Looks pretty darn good for a disaster, Krista. And I so agree about not wasting chocolate. You have a responsibility to the rainforest, right?

    Looking forward to saying hello to some of you in person at Malice!

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  3. Karen, be sure to come up and introduce yourself. Malice can be such a whirlwind that it's easy to walk right by people I'd love to meet. I promptly froze part of this cake so that everyone at home can nosh on it while I'm at Malice.

    ~Krista

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  4. The topping may have been less than you desired, but it did save those ingredients!
    It looks delicious.
    What was the original cake meant to be with yeast?

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    1. It wasn't meant to be a cake. It was supposed to be a chocolate babka. I have a feeling my mom only made it one year because it was such an annoying dough. I wrote a big note on the recipe. However, after the cake baked, I went ahead and stuck the grouchy bread dough in the oven and baked it. It tastes great, even without chocolate. It's definitely not a real babka, but with some tweaking, it might be a good sweet bread.

      ~Krista

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  5. It looks like it would taste great, Krista. I love disaster stories, especially when there's a daring and dramatic rescue.

    I'll have a slice or two, please!

    XO

    MJ

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    1. Coming right up. Coffee or milk, Mary Jane?

      ~Krista

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  6. that's an amazing save Krista--even the chocolate on top looks good:)

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    1. The chocolate on top tasted okay, it just would have been easier to pour over the cake after it baked. Would have worked much better that way. But, at least I didn't waste the chocolate!

      ~Krista

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  7. Hysterical post. Love it. We have all had disasters in the kitchen, but luckily this one involved chocolate.

    Hugs Daryl / Avery

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    1. I was glad I didn't have to throw away the chocolate. But seriously, what else can you do with chocolate in a bundt pan? ; )

      ~Krista

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