LunaCafe » Chocolate

Warm-Spiced Molten Chocolate Cake

Susan S. Bradley — Wed, 22 Feb 2012 03:57:49 +0000

I know, I know! Molten Chocolate Cake, or Lava Cake, as it is sometimes called, is so YESTERDAY. I am almost perturbed today when I see one on a dessert menu.

I mean, really, can’t the pastry chef think of SOMETHING ELSE? Haven’t we moved beyond warm, fragrant, oozing, fudgy chocolate soufflé cakes and their requisite ice cream accompaniments?

At the esteemed Paley’s Place Bistro & Bar in Portland, Oregon, Chef Vitaly Paley told me that he does not dare remove his famous Warm Chocolate Soufflé Cake with Toasted Hazelnuts & Honey-Vanilla Ice Cream from the menu. There would be an uproar.

At the Heathman Restaurant & Bar, after several years at least, they still serve Chocolate Gourmandise, which is a flourless, molten, Guittard chocolate cake, accompanied by, that’s right, vanilla ice cream. I expect that it remains on the menu for the same reason that Chef Paley cited. Diners demand it.

There was a time in the recent past when nearly every trendy restaurant in Portland had a molten chocolate cake on the menu. In true Portlandia style (obsessive, compulsive, weird), I sampled most of them.

At Clarklewis, I devoured Flourless Milk Chocolate Cake with Cinnamon Ice Cream and Chestnut Honey.

At Clyde Common, I dove into Warm Chocolate Pudding Cake with Sherry Raisin Ice cream, Cocoa Fudge Sauce & Hazelnuts.

At Jo Bar, it was Wood Oven Baked Molten Chocolate Cake with Raspberry Sauce and Crème Anglaise.

At Oba!, Cinnamon-Chocolate Volcano Cake with Caramel Crème Fraîche Ice Cream.

At Paragon, Flourless Chocolate Cake with Vanilla Bean Anglaise, Blackberry Coulis, Whipped Cream, and Fresh Blackberries.

At Tabla, Chocolate Truffle Cake with White Chocolate Crème Anglais.

At Toro Bravo, simply Molten Chocolate Cake with Vanilla Ice Cream.

At Urban Farmer, Warm Chocolate Cake with Vanilla-Champagne Sorbet & Blood Orange.

At Giorgio’s, Warm Soft Chocolate Cake with Homemade Caramel Ice Cream.

At Fenouil (now sadly gone), Chocolate Soufflé Cake with Mint Ice Cream & Peppermint Cacao Lollipop.

At Sel Gris (also sadly gone), Chocolate Overdose: Fallen Chocolate Soufflé, Chocolate Rum Mousse, Chocolate Glaze & Cocoa Nibs

Come to think of it, I have every right to be a little perturbed by Molten Chocolate Cake. If it’s on the menu, I am simply unable to order any other dessert.

But you don’t have to hit the best restaurants in town to enjoy this wonderful cake. It’s super easy to make. When I originally developed this recipe, it came as a wonderful surprise to learn that the batter would hold in the frig for days. I baked two tiny cakes each evening until the batter was gone. How fantastic to have a hot, oozing chocolate dessert with virtually no effort. What a boon for a dinner party!

Warm-Spiced Molten Chocolate Cake

This is quite possibly the best molten chocolate cake in the world, or at least in Portland. The evocative spicing takes it over the top. You must of course use the best quality bar chocolate you can get, as the success of this simple desert depends on it.

To bake these cakes, you will need six, ½-cup capacity custard cups or similar-sized baking dishes. If you plan to unmold the cakes, they look best on the plate if they are slightly pyramidal in shape (wider at the base) when turned out.

I have purposely limited the size of these cakes. You want guests clamoring for more, not struggling to eat the last, incredibly rich, bite.

½ cup unsalted butter
6 ounces premium quality, bittersweet chocolate (70%-75% cacao solids), chopped

3 large eggs
2 large egg yolks
2 teaspoons vanilla extract

1½ cups powdered sugar, in a sifter

1 teaspoon ground coriander
1 teaspoon ground cardamom
½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
¼ teaspoon ground cloves
¼ teaspoon ground white pepper

½ cup all-purpose flour, in a sifter

Accompaniments, optional (and highly recommended)
powdered sugar, in a sifter
heavy cream, plain or softly whipped
-or-
premium quality ice cream

In a saucepan over very low heat, melt the butter and then stir in the chocolate until melted and smooth. Remove from the heat.
In a medium mixing bowl, whisk together the whole eggs, egg yolks, and vanilla.
Sift the powdered sugar over the top of the egg mixture, a bit at a time, whisking to incorporate each addition.
Add the melted chocolate mixture and whisk to combine.
Stir in the coriander, cardamom, cinnamon, cloves, and white pepper.
Sift the flour over the top a bit at a time, whisking to incorporate each addition. If you add the flour in a heap, without sifting it in slowly, you may get a few lumps.
Put the batter into a plastic container with a tight lid and refrigerate until ready to bake. This keeps for days this way, and you can bake off one individual serving at a time if you wish.
When you are ready to bake, butter individual custard cups heavily, pour the batter into the dishes, and arrange on a rimmed baking sheet.
Bake at 425° for 13-15 minutes if the batter is room temperature and a couple minutes longer if it is cold. Less baking time will yield a liquid center, while just a minute or two longer will yield more of the cake texture around the sides and a fudgy interior. Remove from the oven and let sit for 5 minutes.
To serve, set custard cups on dessert plates, or unmold cakes on dessert plates by putting the plate on top of the custard cup, and then inverting the dessert plate and custard cup together in one quick flipping motion. Lift the cup off the cake. Sift powdered sugar over each cake before serving.
If desired, accompany with a generous quantity of plain or softly whipped cream, or ice cream.

Makes six, ½-cup capacity cakes.

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Chocolate Ginger Chipotle Stout Cake

Susan S. Bradley — Tue, 14 Feb 2012 03:54:52 +0000

I have a confession to make. This is not a new cake. I created it at the tail end of LAST YEAR’S All Chocolate! All Month! celebration, and then in the excitement of planning a slew of new spring recipes, forgot to post it. In fact, I forgot it altogether. Until yesterday.

I was plowing through the LunaCafe Dessert Pictures folder and stumbled upon a folder marked Chocolate Ginger Cake. I opened the folder and voila, there it was. The memory of the aromatic intermingling of chocolate, ginger, smoked chile, and stout brought the pictures into focus.

I had chocolate and stout cake on my mind for some time before developing this recipe, as we kept encountering variations on the theme in Portland restaurants.

Maybe the fine folks at Kells Irish Pub started it with their Chocolate Guinness Stout Cake. On the other hand, I was also under the spell of the Oatmeal Stout Cake with Praline Hazelnuts at Higgins, Chocolate, Apple & Stout Cake at Aviary, Chocolate Guinness Beer Cupcake at Papa Haydn, Ginger Stout Cake with Praline Bacon at The Sugar Cube, and Chocolate Stout Brownie with Bailey’s Ice Cream & Whiskey Caramel at the now defunct Ten 01.

Every dessert chef in Portland is enamored with the concept. And why not? It’s a wonderful flavor pairing. It was inevitable that I would eventually create a chocolate stout cake of my own. And I did. Last year. Now, finally, here it is.

Chocolate Ginger Chipotle Stout Cake

This easy, oil-based cake has a moist and tender texture, which actually improves after a day or two, if well wrapped. The flavor is intriguing and surprisingly good, something like a chocolate gingerbread with a dark beer kick. It is wonderful plain, dusted only with powdered sugar, and divine when topped with Bittersweet Pecan Fudge Glaze.

vegetable spray, to line pan
1 tablespoon sugar, to line pan

1 cup King Arthur unbleached, all-purpose flour
½ cup unsweetened, premium-quality, natural-process cocoa
1 teaspoon ground ginger
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
½ teaspoon ground chipotle chile (or 1 teaspoon ground ancho chile if you prefer)
1 teaspoon baking powder
½ teaspoon baking soda
½ teaspoon fine sea salt

½ cup vegetable oil
1 large egg
2 egg yolks
½ cup sugar
½ cup firmly packed brown sugar
¼ cup unsulfured molasses
¼ cup Guinness stout or Rogue Chocolate Stout
2 teaspoons vanilla extract

Lightly coat a six-cup capacity bundt pan or bread pan (8½ by 4½-inches) with vegetable spray. Sprinkle the sugar into the pan and tip the pan in all directions to coat evenly. Turn the pan upside down to remove any excess sugar that does not cling.
In a medium mixing bowl, sift together the flour, cocoa, ginger, chipotle, cinnamon, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Reserve.
In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the oil, egg, egg yolks, sugar, brown sugar, molasses, stout, and vanilla.
Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and mix just until combined. Don’t overdo it or the cake may be tough.
Pour the batter into the prepared pan.
Bake at 325°, on the middle rack of the oven, for about 30 minutes, until the top feels springy and a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean. Remove the cake from the oven BEFORE the edges begin to pull away from the sides of the pan. Over baking will produce a dry cake.
Cool the cake on the pan on a wire rack for 15 minutes or so. Turn out onto a wire rack to finish cooling.
To finish, simply dust with sifted powdered sugar or prepare Bittersweet Pecan Fudge Glaze and spoon over the cooled cake. Let the glaze set until dry to the touch.
To serve, slice the cake with a serrated knife.

Storage If well-wrapped to prevent moisture loss, this cake will keep at room temperature for several days; or longer in the freezer.

Makes one 7½-inch diameter bundt cake or one 8½- by 4½-inch loaf cake; about 8 servings.

Bittersweet Pecan Fudge Glaze

This lovely cake glaze remains shiny even after fully set and dry to the touch.

½ cup unsalted butter
½ cup premium-quality, unsweetened, natural-process cocoa powder
½ cup water
1 cup sifted powdered sugar
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
¼ teaspoon fine sea salt
1 cup lightly toasted, roughly chopped pecans or walnuts, optional

In a medium saucepan, melt the butter over low heat.
Whisk in the cocoa powder, water, powdered sugar, vanilla, and salt until smooth and creamy. Don’t let the glaze get too hot.
Remove from the heat and stir in the pecans.
While the glaze is still warm, set the cake on a wire rack set over an edged baking sheet (to catch the drips and then pour the glaze over the cake. Let the glaze set until it is dry to the touch.

Makes 1½ cups.

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Spicy Chocolate, Banana & Fresh Ginger Tea Loaf

Susan S. Bradley — Mon, 13 Feb 2012 00:33:16 +0000

It’s All Chocolate! All Month! in the LunaCafe OtherWorldly Kitchen. As usual during the Month of Love, I am covered in chocolate: milk chocolate, semi-sweet chocolate, bittersweet chocolate, white chocolate, and unsweetened cocoa powder. All in an effort to come up with the most delectable, memorable Valentine’s Day dessert ever.

This year, I want to create several homey, comforting chocolate desserts that are both out of the ordinary and easy to make. Nothing fancy that takes hours to make or breaks the bank. It has just been that kind of year.

Last week it was Mexicano Chocolate Ebelskivers with fragrant cardamom, ancho chile, cayenne, and Mexican vanilla. I pushed the whole adventure over the top by filling some of the ebelskivers with Burnt Caramel. But in essence, these are pancake balls, both fun to make and fun to eat.

This week I supervised a bunch of bananas over several days as the skins turned first a speckled brown and then eventually almost black. I feared I was letting them go too far near, but needed the peak of full banana flavor for this tea loaf. Otherwise, the dark chocolate would steal, rather than share, the limelight.

When I tasted the batter, it was lovely, deeply chocolate with the haunting essence of banana. But it needed an additional counterpoint. So in went a generous measure of freshly grated ginger, a hint of cardamom, and enough white pepper to leave a lingering heat on the palate after the last bite.

The result is exceedingly delicious, out of the ordinary, and, yes, memorable.

But the aspect of this tea loaf that surprises me most is its keeping quality. The texture, moistness, and flavor improved each day for nearly a week, right up until I ate the last comforting, chocolaty bite.

Chocolate, Banana & Fresh Ginger Tea Loaf

This is the most unusual banana bread I have ever created. I love the spicy heat from both the grated fresh ginger and the freshly ground white pepper. The hint of cardamom complements the chocolate exceedingly well.

vegetable spray
1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
1 cup plus 2 tablespoons King Arthur unbleached, all-purpose flour (5 ounces)
½ cup high quality, unsweetened, natural process cocoa powder (1.2 ounces) (tested with Scharffenberger cocoa)
1¼ teaspoon baking powder
¼ teaspoon baking soda
½ teaspoon fine sea salt

½ cup unsalted butter, melted
½ cup sugar
½ cup firmly packed brown sugar
2 large eggs, cool room temperature, lightly beaten
2 teaspoons vanilla

1½ cups mashed, very ripe bananas (about 3 bananas)
2 tablespoons peeled, finely grated fresh ginger (1 ounce prepared)
1 teaspoon freshly ground white pepper (or less if you don’t want the heat)
½ teaspoon ground cardamom

Set an oven rack in the middle of the oven with plenty of room above it and preheat the oven to 350°.
Coat an 8½- by 4½-inch (5-6 cup capacity) loaf pan with vegetable spray and then a light layer of flour, tapping out any excess flour that does not cling to the pan.
In a large mixing bowl, sift together the flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.
In another large mixing bowl, using a large whisk, whisk together the melted butter, sugar, brown sugar, eggs, and vanilla until creamy and smooth, about 2 minutes.
Stir the mashed banana, grated ginger, white pepper, and cardamom into the batter.
Add the flour mixture to the batter, and with a large spatula, combine gently but well. No flour should remain visible in the batter.
Spoon the batter immediately into the prepared pan, and set in the center of a preheated 350° oven.
Bake for 45-50 minutes. If the loaf is pulling away from the edges of the pan, immediately pull it from the oven. Hopefully you will catch it before this point. Over baking this bread makes it dry.
Let the loaf cool on a wire rack for 15 minutes before turning it out of the pan to cool completely. Cut into slices to serve.
To store, wrap well in two layers of plastic wrap, and store in a cool dry place.

Makes one 8½- by 4½-inch loaf.

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Mexicano Chocolate Ebelskivers (Aebleskivers)

Susan S. Bradley — Wed, 08 Feb 2012 03:50:19 +0000

The first time I bit into the airy pillow of dough known as ebelskiver (pronounced ay bil skee ver), I could not quite categorize it. Was it donut, beignet, popover? Or something else entirely? The only thing I knew for sure was that I loved them—whatever they were.

As it turns out, ebelskivers are nothing more exotic than pancake balls. That’s right: pancakes shaped into balls–although this does not adequately describe the distinctive taste and texture. And for this shaping feat, only an odd-looking pan, manual dexterity, and a little initial patience are required.

Although there is a lot of speculation about the origins of ebelskivers, the consensus seems to be that they originated in Denmark around the time of the Vikings. The first pan used to make ebelskivers may have been the dented shield of a tired, hungry Viking warrior. They were most certainly not the festive versions we see today, stuffed with chocolate, caramel, sautéed apples, mascarpone, peanut butter, and Nutella.

This is not to say that they are not a celebrated treat in Denmark to this day, most often enjoyed in December.

But it’s February in Portland, Oregon, and I’ve got Valentine’s Day and chocolate on my mind. So when it came to giving my new ebelskiver pan its first test drive (it’s been staring at me relentlessly since Christmas), there was no hesitation. I just had to make Chocolate Ebelskivers. Then, after a few moments deliberation, I decided that my Chocolate Ebelskiverswere going first to Denmark and then to Mexico. In went a nice hit of fragrant cardamom, then ancho chile powder, cayenne chile powder, and Mexican vanilla.

To push the whole adventure over the top, I filled some of the ebelskivers with Burnt Caramel and others with thick Peanut Butter Caramel Sauce—turning the idea of a festive breakfast into a memorable dessert.

But whether to go simple or fancy is up to you. Just be sure to review these tips and tricks and watch the videos before diving in.

Ebelskiver Tips & Tricks

Regardless of how you spell ebelskiver/aebleskiver, the pronunciation is ay bil skee ver: like this.
To get the round shape and avoid batter sticking to the pan, use a nonstick or very well-seasoned, heavy, cast iron ebelskiver pan. You will get good results with Williams-Sonoma Nordic Ware Ebelskiver Pan.
Everyone has his or her favorite tools for flipping ebelskiver. I like to use thin metal knitting needles or wooden skewers, although I couldn’t resist buying Williams-Sonoma official flipping sticks.
Before you make your first batch of ebelskivers, check out the video, How To Make Filled Pancakes – Ebelskivers , for a tutorial on the one-turn method, or Cooking Aebleskivers for a tutorial on the four-turn method.
Your ebelskiver batter should be similar to pancake batter in consistency. You must be able to pour the batter into the wells.
Almost any pancake batter can be used to make ebelskivers, as long as it is the correct consistency.
Before you begin to cook your ebelskivers, melt 2 tablespoons unsalted butter and put it in a small bowl next to the stovetop. Put a silicon pastry brush next to it.
For each batch of ebelskivers, brush the indents with the melted butter.
Fill ebelskiver wells almost to the top.
For round, rather than oval ebelskivers, make four quarter-turns, rather than only one half-turn.
For the one-turn method, regulate the heat so that the first side takes about 2 minutes to set and brown. It should take about 4 minutes total to cook the ebelskivers.
Ebelskivers are ready for the first turn when the bottoms are set and bubbles appear on top of the batter.
Before turning, run a skewer around the edge of each ebelskiver to ensure it is not sticking.
If you choose the four quarter-turn method and all of the batter sets before your final turn, no worries. Simply serve the ebelskivers with the hollow side up and fill them with something yummy, such as whipped cream, mascarpone, or sautéed apples. And be proud; there are restaurants that make them this way on purpose.
Ebelskivers are fairly lean, so you don’t need to feel guilty if it occurs to you to roll them in melted butter and then in cinnamon sugar. You put butter on your pancakes, right?
Do a practice batch or two of ebelskivers before inviting over a dozen of your most critical friends for breakfast or brunch. My first batch of ebelskivers looked like a sorry mess of misshapen blobs. It takes a little practice to get the timing and the rhythm of turning just right. After you get the hang of turning the ebelskiver, you will find the process quite easy.
On the other hand, ebelskivers don’t have to be pretty to taste great, so no matter what they look like, congratulate yourself, dust them with powdered sugar, and dive in.

Mexicano Chocolate Ebelskivers

As much as I love traditional ebelskivers for breakfast or as an afternoon snack, chocolate takes them to another, more dessert-like, dimension.

EQUIPMENT NOTE An ebelskiver pan is required to get the customary oval or round shape.

TECHNIQUE NOTE There are two options here for incorporating the eggs: incorporate the whole eggs; or separate the egg yolks from the egg whites, incorporate the egg yolks, and then incorporate the whipped egg whites. The first method is super easy. The second method produces a slightly lighter ebelskiver.

1 cup King Arthur unbleached, all-purpose flour
¼ cup natural process, unsweetened cocoa powder 2 teaspoons baking powder
¾ teaspoon ground cardamom
½ teaspoon ancho chile powder
½ teaspoon fine sea salt
¼ teaspoon cayenne chile powder (or ¾ teaspoon if you can handle the heat)

2 large eggs, lightly beaten (or 2 large egg yolks, lightly beaten and 2 large egg whites, whipped to soft peaks)
¼ cup sugar

1 cup milk (whole or 2%)
2 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
1 teaspoon vanilla extract (Mexican or Tahitian vanilla if available)

2 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted (for cooking)

Filling Option
Burnt Caramel, cool (about the texture of peanut butter)

Garnish Options powdered sugar in a shaker
Burnt Caramel, warmed and then thinned with a little water

In a large mixing bowl, sift together the flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, and salt.
In a small mixing bowl lightly whisk together the whole eggs (or egg yolks only) and sugar. Then whisk in the milk, melted butter, and vanilla.
If using egg yolks only in Step 2, put the remaining egg whites into a mixing bowl and using a large whisk, whip until soft peaks form. Reserve.
Pour the wet ingredients over the dry ingredients and fold just to incorporate.
If you whipped the egg whites, using a rubber spatula, gently fold the whites into the batter in two additions.
Coat each well of an ebelskiver pan with melted butter.
Over medium heat, fill each well with batter to almost half full if using a filling or almost to the top if not.
If using a filling, spoon a small dollop on top of the uncooked batter and then fill each well with batter almost to the top.
Cook for 1-2 minutes, depending on how many turns you plan to use (less time for more turns).
Using two long wooden skewers, on opposite sides of the ebelskiver, turn each ebelskiver over (either 1 full turn or 3-4 partial turns), allowing the uncooked batter to flow out.
Lift the cooked ebelskivers from the pan with two forks and arrange on a serving platter.
Repeat with the remaining batter.
When all ebelskivers are cooked, dust with powdered sugar and, if desired, serve with caramel sauce.

Makes 18-20, 2¼-inch diameter, ebelskivers.

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