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Irish Chocolate Cake
I have been meaning to post this question for a very long time. We have a favorite recipe in our family that I got out of one of those American regional cookbooks eons ago. Since it was the only recipe I used from that book, I xeroxed the recipe and gave the book away (for the life of me I can't remember the name of the book). The ingredients were listed in volume, ounces and grams. I got clever and transferred the recipe into my MacGourmet and threw away the paper copy, so I can't confirm all the numbers.
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Here is my issue. It used to come out just fine, but the last few times I've made the cake, it is fudgy and dense. It tastes good, the guys like it, but it's not the right texture. I know that the change I made had to do with the flour because I used to measure by volume, but then I started weighing everything. I think the recipe called for 2 cups of flour and I remembered that it was 8 ounces which never seemed like enough, so I have 8½ ounces in my recipe (see below). I have no idea what the grams were, so I don't know if the ounces were wrong. My question is what is the correct amount of flour for this recipe? I've always used King Arthur AP in it. By the way, it's called Irish Chocolate Cake because it has Irish whiskey in it.
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IRISH CHOCOLATE CAKE12 ounces semisweet or bittersweet chocolate chips
2 cups all purpose flour, 8 1/2 ounces
1 teaspoon baking soda
¼ teaspoon salt
1 ½ cups strong coffee, 12 fluid ounces
½ cup Irish whiskey (Jameson's), 4 fluid ounces
¾ cup Butter, softened, 6 ounces
1 ½ cups sugar, 12 ounces
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
3 eggs
powdered sugar for dusting, optionalPreheat oven to 325º. Melt the chocolate (on the stove or in the microwave). Set aside briefly to cool.
In a bowl, combine flour, baking soda, and salt; set aside. In a glass measuring cup combine the coffee and whiskey; set aside.
In a large bowl, beat the butter, sugar and vanilla until mixture is creamy. Add the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Add the melted chocolate beating until smooth. Add the flour mixture a cup at a time, alternating with the coffee mixture, stirring until smooth. The resulting mixture will be quite thin.
Pour the batter into a well-greased and floured bundt pan. Bake for 50 minutes to 1 hour or until toothpick inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean.
Cool the cake in the pan for 15 minutes. Remove carefully from the pan, then dust with powdered sugar, if desired, before slicing.
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Thanks!
posted by: cwcdesign on April 30, 2014 at 4:41 pm in Baking, desserts and sweetsreply by: Livingwell on April 30, 2014 at 5:27 pm
Cwc, I have no idea about the answer to your question, but will be watching closely to see what the others say so I can add this yummy looking recipe to my 'to try' file.reply by: Mike Nolan on April 30, 2014 at 6:35 pm
With 3 eggs and that much liquid, I'm thinking you would need somewhere between 3 and 4 cups of flour, but balancing cake recipes is not something I've had much experience with. And with that much coffee in it, I would have expected more baking soda to balance the pH.
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I did find these recipes:
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http://www.finecooking.com/recipes/chocolate-irish-whiskey-cake.aspx#
Both use 2 eggs, a lot less liquid and about 2 cups of flour.reply by: cwcdesign on April 30, 2014 at 7:45 pm
If I used 3-4 cups of flour in this recipe it would completely change the cake. I thought about just adding ½ cup but I wanted to see what others thought. I have made this with success and I know I didn't use that muchreply by: chiara on April 30, 2014 at 9:01 pm
Could it be the sugar volume to ounces conversion? I checked KAF recipes and see that they use 7 oz per cup sugar so for 1 1/2 cups sugar it would be 10 rather than 12 oz that you show.reply by: Mike Nolan on April 30, 2014 at 10:19 pm
Gee, I thought changing the texture from fudge to something more cake-like was what you had in mind. 🙂
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What texture are you after?
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What kind of regional cookbook was it? (I know, there are thousands of them.)reply by: Mike Nolan on April 30, 2014 at 10:21 pm
Here's another recipe, this one uses a similar amount of coffee and whiskey as in your recipe, but more sugar.
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http://leaandjay.wordpress.com/2012/03/09/irish-whiskey-cake-with-a-butt...reply by: cwcdesign on April 30, 2014 at 10:50 pm
Oh, it was always very moist - it's just that recently it had become super dense and would shrink after I took it out of the pan. I'm also wondering if I'm not mixing it properly - I always used a hand mixer until I got my KA Artisan about 5 years ago. It's so much more powerful than my hand mixer that I always think I don't need to mix as long. I'm just trying to get it less dense, not more cake-y. Does that make sense?
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Anyway, DH loved the change and didn't have a problem with the cake - I just don't like that it's denser and shrinks. I really don't want a dry cake. Besides I love the recipe - the flavors are well balanced and I used to take it to potlucks and it was always a hit.
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Let's see - the book was a larger size one, I think it might have been one of those remainder type specials - lots of pictures and divided into regional sections - Midwest, Northwest, New England (or Northeast), South/Southwest - you get the picture. This recipe was actually in the Midwest section, probably why my Chicago-born DH liked it 🙂 There were a couple of other recipes that I thought about trying - like a potato and cheese thing from the Northwest. I probably gave this book away 10 years ago.reply by: bakeraunt on April 30, 2014 at 10:53 pm
Maybe it is not that you are mixing too long but that you are mixing at too high of a speed? As you say, the new mixers are more powerful; even the hand mixers of today are more powerful than those of twenty years ago.reply by: Mike Nolan on April 30, 2014 at 10:54 pm
Have you tried gently folding in the flour by hand just before pouring it in the pan? It's awfully easy to over-mix a cake batter in a stand mixer.reply by: frick on May 01, 2014 at 2:58 am
Carol, why don't you measure by volume the next time you make it? Also, have you measured two cups of flour in the same fashion that you used originally, then weighed to see how many ounces resulted? I bet it was more than 8.5 ounces.
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Another option would be to add must 2 tablespoons more flour the next time & see if it is getting closer to the original texture. If so, more flour would be the answer.reply by: rottiedogs on May 01, 2014 at 7:51 am
I think it is possible your recipe is an adaptation of the below Maida Heatter recipe from the NY Times. It calls for less melted chocolate and more sugar and slightly more butter than yours does. Instead of already brewed coffee it uses espresso powder and water to equal the 1 1/2 cups liquid. I need to find an excuse to make this wonderful sounding cake!
http://www.nytimes.com/recipes/1560/maida-heatters-86-proof-chocolate-ca...reply by: dachshundlady on May 01, 2014 at 8:04 am
I want to keep track of this thread. One question, can you taste the booze?reply by: PaddyL on May 01, 2014 at 9:33 am
I think Mike is right about folding in the flour. I've been watching a lot of Rachel Allen's cake recipes on TV lately, and she says always to mix or fold the flour into the cake batter by hand rather than using the mixer; it's supposed to give a lighter texture.reply by: cwcdesign on May 01, 2014 at 9:50 am
rottiedogs, sometimes I'll make instant espresso instead of coffee (I'm not a coffee drinker so we don't always have it in the house) - I've actually been known to stop at Starbucks for plain coffee on my way home on occasion . . .
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DLady, There is a nice mellow flavor, but I wouldn't necessarily say it "tastes" like booze. I've made it with Mount Gay rum too (then we call it Barbados Chocolate Cake), but I didn't like it as well - I thought it was too sweet and didn't have the depth.
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Thanks for that Paddy. I loved watching Rachel Allen on RTE. She has so much energy.reply by: dachshundlady on May 02, 2014 at 8:22 am
I printed out the last recipe link Mike posted: the leaandjay one. I like it because it uses cocoa (and thus has more butter), you bake it in glass jars (I'll use canning jars) and then top with a butter whiskey glaze. I will do a caramel glaze instead. Bet it's better than sex . . .reply by: cwcdesign on May 07, 2014 at 8:13 am
It worked! (well, almost - that later).
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I added ¼ ounce flour (8 3/4 ounces total). I also used KAF's weight for 1½ cups sugar (10½ ounces as opposed to 12 ounces that the recipe suggested). And, I discovered that I've been beating my batter way too hard. I couldn't fold in the flour because it was a recipe where you added the flour and liquid alternately, ending with liquid, but I did use speed 1 on the KA. It held its height and the cake was richly moist all the way through, no deep pocket of fudge-like consistency. And, that was yesterday afternoon and a third of the cake is already gone! (I had one small piece). And DL, Will said he could taste the Jameson's, but it's not a boozy taste.
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So what didn't work was my pan grease! And I've used it before even in this pan and I thought there was plenty, but that lovely outside edge and a small chunk stuck. Not sure what that was all about, but next time I might go back to the melted butter and cocoa powder.reply by: Mike Nolan on May 07, 2014 at 12:10 pm
I assume you were using the standard pan grease. We don't hear of many failures when using it even on the most convoluted shapes of pans, but I don't generally use it for cakes, I prefer to heavily butter the pan and then coat the butter with granulated sugar instead of flour (an old professional baker's trick.)
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I find that melted butter doesn't stick to the pan as well as room-temperature soft butter does.
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For a chocolate cake I've been known to use a combination of superfine granulated (not powdered!) sugar and cocoa.reply by: Livingwell on May 07, 2014 at 1:08 pm
Mike, besides making the batter not stick to the pan, what's the advantage of using sugar instead of flour to dust the pan?reply by: cwcdesign on May 07, 2014 at 1:31 pm
Mike, the melted butter is mixed with the cocoa powder 1:1 and then brushed on like pan grease. I've even mixed the butter with flour for a white or yellow cake. I've never had a problem with that combination. And my pan grease is equal parts oil/shortening/flour so I was surprised since everyone else has had such success in bundt pans.
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I'll have to try the cocoa/sugar sometime - what are the proportions? And, to echo livingwell, what's the advantage?reply by: Mike Nolan on May 07, 2014 at 4:07 pm
I suspect using sugar makes for a slightly sweeter and crisper outside edge to the cake, it may also have something to do with avoiding having the taste of raw (unhyhdrated) flour on the outside of the cake.
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I only know that several professionally trained bakers (including some who post here) use that technique. (I've also seen it done on some cooking show, back in the days when cooking shows were about cooking.)
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I haven't done it for a while, I think I used 2-3 parts of superfine sugar to 1 part cocoa. You want enough cocoa that the outside edge stays chocolate-colored, avoiding white spots is also why you use super-fine sugar. (And having some sugar also avoids having a unsweetened cocoa taste on the outside. I'm not terribly fond of chocolate truffles because they're coated with raw cocoa powder and I find that a bit too bitter.)
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I may try it with melted butter some time.reply by: cwcdesign on May 07, 2014 at 4:21 pm
The melted butter/cocoa mix also turns it into a one-step process. We all know how messy it is to butter and then flour a bundt pan.reply by: Mike Nolan on May 07, 2014 at 5:40 pm
To me it just changes where the mess is, and probably makes for one more bowl to clean, plus a brush. 🙂
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I keep soft butter on the counter when baking, to grease a pan I take a paper towel, grab a tablespoon or so of butter, and when I'm done the pan is greased and the paper towel is in the trash. If I'm flouring or sugaring the greased pan, I shake it over the sink.reply by: Livingwell on May 07, 2014 at 6:30 pm
Thanks for the explanation about dusting cake pans with sugar, Mike. I'm all for sweeter, but I don't like crispy cake edges.reply by: Mrs Cindy on April 04, 2015 at 5:34 am
I made this cake this week. I contacted Cwcdesign for her tweaks and changes and was very happy with the result. This is my review of her Irish Chocolate Cake:
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Oh, my, this cake is so wonderful! When she said it was moist I didn't really know what she meant. It is moist to the point of ALMOST being 'wet'. It's the strangest thing. I've never had a cake like this. It doesn't look wet or soggy. It looks perfectly normal when you slice it, but it's when you put it in your mouth that you realize how moist it really is. It almost melts into nothing on the tongue. Very different, very nice, like a small sip of scotch whisky. How delightful!
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I didn't weigh anything, just used measuring cups and scooped and leveled (easier for me at this point), so may have had more flour and/or sugar than if I had weighed. I don't think it made any difference. I added about 1 tsp of espresso powder to the 1 1/2 cups of hot coffee. It made the coffee really strong, but didn't affect the taste of the cake that I could tell. I didn't have any Jameson's (imagine that!), so used a 20 year old Glenlivet.
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In the end I didn't do anything else to the cake. No powdered sugar, glaze or sauce. I wanted to see what it tasted like before I topped it with anything. I think it would be very nice with a whiskey sauce, but it doesn't need it for moistness which is the reason for many sauces. I might just leave it alone. It sure is a nice little after dinner drink of cake.
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I asked The Saint what he thought about a glaze using powdered sugar and a few drops of Glenlivet. His response, "Don't touch it. The glaze would be overkill." So, I'll leave it alone.
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If you get a chance to make this cake, and you enjoy the taste of scotch whiskey, you really need to try it. Cwcdesign says it will stay moist, without doing anything special just covering it with plastic wrap, for several days. I'm not sure if mine will last long enough to test that.
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One other thing I forgot to mention. This isn't a heavy cake. Surprisingly enough, you can eat a really large slice and not feel stuffed. It is very light cake. I'm quite pleased with it. Thank you for posting the recipe and your encouragement to try it. It has made my week! ?
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~Cindyreply by: cwcdesign on April 04, 2015 at 11:29 am
Just a quick note. I always make this with Jameson's (Irish whiskey for the uninitiated). I have made it with Mount Gay rum, but I don't think it has the depth of flavor and is a bit too sweet. I probably won't be trying Cindy's Scotch Chocolate cake as I am not a fan of Scotch 🙂 I'm sure you could use bourbon if you're a bourbon lover.reply by: frick on April 04, 2015 at 4:33 pm
Well, after THAT, I am going to have to figure out how to make this cake without the whiskey or coffee. Why bother, you might ask? The textural description, of course. Extra moist, yet not heavy sounds like a winner. Maybe mine will be rum, after all. Or maybe half orange juice and half water. We don't even have bourbon in the house any more. My poor father is probably turning over in his grave. No bourbon? A CRIME!reply by: cwcdesign on April 04, 2015 at 9:16 pm
Frick, you really can't taste the coffee. It just enhances the chocolate. FWIW, I'm not a coffee drinker.reply by: Mrs Cindy on April 05, 2015 at 4:55 am
I agree with Carol, you cannot taste the coffee at all. But what it does to the chocolate flavor is amazing.
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I honestly don't know what role the booze plays in this cake. I don't know if it contributes to the overall texture and moistness or exactly what it does. It might be interesting to see if the cake ends up the same without the booze of some sort.
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~Cindyreply by: cwcdesign on April 05, 2015 at 8:28 am
I'm sure the booze has something to do with this cakes' keeping ability. And, it does impart some flavor even though you can't specify it. It was definitely a different flavor with the rum, but it didn't taste like a rum cake.reply by: Mrs Cindy on April 05, 2015 at 4:18 pm
I agree, I think the booze is integral to the cake, both in texture and keepability.
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~Cindyreply by: Mrs Cindy on April 07, 2015 at 6:19 am
I've changed the name of the cake in my recipe files to 'Scotch Chocolate Cake'. I've always thought scotch and whiskey were pretty much the same thing. Are they not? I know bourbon and scotch are vastly different, but I had always heard whiskey and scotch used interchangeably.
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That said, TS is a bourbon drinker, so..........next time.........a Bourbon Chocolate Cake is on the boards.......
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~Cindyreply by: cwcdesign on April 07, 2015 at 8:37 am
From my bartender son's notes on various liquors (paraphrased) all whiskey is made from grain.
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Irish - most is distilled 3 times. peat is rarely used in distilling process - "has a smoother finish as opposed to the smoky, earthy overtones common to some Scotches." Jameson's, for example, is produced form a mixture of malted and un-malted ("green") barley which is dried in a closed kiln now fired by natural gas - formerly anthracite coal.
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Scotch - malt or grain whiskey made in Scotland in a manner specified by law. Originally made from malted barley, distilleries began introducing Scotch made from wheat and rye in late 18th century. There are 5 categories and all must be aged in oak barrels at least 5 years. The traditional method used for drying in production of Scotch uses peat for firing the kiln.
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Bourbon - an American whiskey that is made from a fermented mash of cereal that consists of at least 51% corn (maize). It must be distilled to no more than 80% proof and barreled at no more than 125 proof and aged in new charred-oak containers. Tennessee whiskey (i.e., Jack Daniel's) is essentially bourbon, but is different in that it is filtered through charcoal.
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Of course his notes and information go on for pages and pages with specifics on different brands, but I think this will help a little.reply by: dachshundlady on April 17, 2015 at 6:47 pm
DH and I can attest to the flavor and moistness of this cake. Carol made one for my birthday when we were visiting her area last week. We kept it in the microwave of the motor home and continually chipped away at it. And really the last piece was as good as the first, several days before.reply by: frick on April 17, 2015 at 7:47 pm
Cindy, I always called my dad a bourbon drinker, but he drank only Canadian Club.
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Carol, can you get your son to explain the difference? I'm a dummy when it comes to liquor. Though in college, everyone drank mostly beer, I would (only occasionally, being under age) drink a Cuba Libre, or CC and coke, or a Black Russian. Yes, coffee-ish. I can't believe I drank that stuff!reply by: chiara on April 17, 2015 at 8:25 pm
Looks delicious. Thanks for sharing!reply by: cwcdesign on April 17, 2015 at 9:16 pm
frick, from doing my research online, Canadian Club is (surprise) Canadian whiskey. I can't seem to find what grain they use but it is malted. Bourbon, of course, is American whiskey and has corn it - to varying degrees. Does this help?
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You're welcome chiara
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