Black Chocolate Party Cake

Last weekend, I made a jaunt up to the Seattle area to visit some friends. My first stop was to see a high school buddy and his hilarious wife. I was also visiting the lovely Raiuchka, and was hoping to share cake with everybody. Alas for poor Raiuchka and her family, the cake I brought up didn't make it past Port Orchard.

I wanted a simple, easy cake that could live without refrigeration and last for several days. Out of the cakes left, I chose the Black Party Chocolate cake. It has party in the title--it has to be good, right?

October 20, 2011
Name of Cake: It Has Party in the Title!
Occasion: HCB, and hostess gift
Constituents: one chocolate-walnut bundt, syruped with cocoa-kahlua syrup and served with vanilla ice cream and rum sauce

I have ONE photo of this cake, so I will try to keep my blog post brief.

The cake is a butter-sour cream bundt with toasted walnuts replacing some of the flour. It is quick to mix and bakes for almost an hour. While the cake bakes, a cocoa syrup is made by bringing cocoa powder, sugar and hot water to a boil over low heat. Once it comes to a boil, the syrup is removed from the heat and left to cool a bit before the vanilla extract and Kahlua are added in. Then it needs to stay hot until it is brushed on the cake.

My cake tested done at the lowest bake time, so I pulled it out, immediately poked the cake with a skewer and brushed on a third of the syrup. The cake immediately sighed a huge sigh and sunk at least two inches. I hoped that was normal. After letting the cake set up for ten minutes in the pan, it is turned out onto a bunch of plastic wrap on a cardboard cake round. The rest of the syrup is brushed over the cake, the plastic sides pulled up to squoosh any wayward syrup back into the cake, and the cake is left to cool completely.

My bundt was so short and stubby, and when we cut it open we could see that the cake's texture was dense and in places, gummy. I don't know if it needed a few more minutes to bake, or if I did something to weaken the structure. Despite being dense, the cake was still soft and tender and very chocolaty. The cocoa syrup didn't penetrate the cake much at all, so I'm not sure if it really contributes much flavor, but it did seal the sides in nicely. I liked the toasted walnuts with the chocolate--they were a nice pair. This cake goes really well with ice cream, but then Beck had the sudden inspiration to make a rum sauce to go with the cake. Best idea ever.