Chocolate Espresso Cake with Cafe Latte Cream: a Happy Birthday Dad cake

A very happy cake slice.

Yesterday was my dad's birthday so I thought of making him a cake that he would really like. I asked him a few weeks back what flavor he likes to be in his cake; answers were obvious: coffee and liqueur. So I took upon myself to look for a luxurious cake (without breaking my budget) that uses coffee and liqueur; I found a few coffee cake recipes but none inspired me. Of course it was my dad's birthday and I wanted it to be special.

While searching, I came across a food blog titled: The Broke and Chic Project. For me that was a catchy blog name since I'm nearing broke but still wanting to be chic, lol! One of her recent posts was of her stab at Nigella Lawson's Chocolate Espresso Cake with Cafe Latte. I was immediately wanting to know more about it; me being a big fan of Nigella Lawson, I just couldn't let this pass by. Reading thru, I found it pretty easy but a bit unusual since it uses only half a cup of flour and 6 whole eggs. Is this a cake for real? I've researched on the cake more and found that it has all the same ingredients and sourced Nigella's cookbook Feast: Food to Celebrate Life. Once that was made sure of, there was no stopping me in becoming a wannabe domestic goddess. Uhmm... well, not really. :)

I did catch a few snags here and there. First dilemma I had were the highlight ingredients which were instant espresso powder and Tia Maria. I haven't really scoured all the supermarkets and specialty shops here in our city, so I don't have an idea where to get those. And by the looks of it online, it's a bit pricey. I checked on possible substitution and found a few. For the espresso powder, it said that one can use strong instant coffee powder but it would result a bit of sourness to the cake; I thought, the heck, a little sourness won't kill anyone. Then the Tia Maria, which I have never heard of before, turns out to be a rich Jamaican coffee liqueur. Uh oh, by the sound of that it's definitely expensive. Some recommended to use Bailey's Irish Creme with the cake, which is lighter on the pocket. So off I went to the grocery and went treasure hunting. Strange that Bailey's was sold out (I went to 3 liquor sections), so I figured I was destined with Kahlua, a Mexican coffee liqueur. It actually costs less than Bailey's and quite versatile! Another destiny: a lone bottle of Megdalia D'Oro instant espresso powder on a market shelf; it kinda stretched my budget, but it's all for the love of good quality food and my dad. And yes, I checked the expiration date.

The second dilemma was about the springform pan. I do not have a springform pan; my mom never even heard of such contraption (and all baking tools I used is hers, figure that). She only has a pie pan with a removable bottom. Fudge. I again researched on substitute pans but they were all risky to do with this cake being too soft. So I had to mall/shop hop to find a 9-inch springform pan. Getting close to the end of the day I was really tired when *insert heavenly sound effects* an image of what seems to be springform pan appeared before my eyes. It was such a magical moment for me. I was so happy... only to be doused with the detail that it's a 8-inch springform pan. Arrrgh! At this point my feet were already killing me and I was in no condition to reason, so I just bought the damn thing. Went home confused; what if the pan overflowed? I posted a question on the comments box of Sam (TheBrokeandChicProject) asking about by how much the batter filled the pan, how much it rose when baking, etc. She was so accommodating to my questions and even provided me option where to get a springform pan (THANKS SAM!).  My dad's birthday was coming up really close so I decided to just use the 8-inch pan and a couple of individual cupcake tins. 

NIGELLA'S CHOCOLATE ESPRESSO CAKE WITH CAFE LATTE CREAM

INGREDIENTS

Chocolate Espresso Cake:

5 oz (142 grams) semi-sweet chocolate, chopped

1 stick plus 3 tbsp butter, room temp

6 eggs, room temp

1 1/4 cup superfine sugar (used regular sugar and processed it in a grinder until fine)

1 tsp vanilla extract

1/2 cup all purpose flour

5 tsp instant espresso powder

1/4 cup coffee liqueur (used Kahlua)

Cafe Latte Cream:

3 oz (85 grams) white chocolate, chopped

1 1/2 cup heavy cream

2 tsp instant espresso powder

PROCEDURE

*Preheat oven to 350F. Line and prep a 9-inch springform pan.

1. Melt semi-sweet chocolate and butter using the double broiler technique or microwave for 1 minute. Mix well and set aside to cool.

2. In a large bowl, combine eggs, sugar and vanilla extract. Beat until pale yellow, mousy and doubled/tripled its original volume.

3. Sift in all purpose flour and espresso powder into the bowl and fold gently.

4. Slowly pour in melted chocolate + butter and fold again. Careful not to lose the volume created.

5. Bake for about 30-45 minutes until top is firm, but underneath is still gooey. 

6. Pour coffee liqueur immediately into the cake. Let cool or store in refrigerator to chill overnight to let flavors mingle. Do not fret when it sinks, it's meant to do that.

7. A few hours before serving the cake, prepare the Cafe Latte cream by melting the white chocolate using the double broiler technique or microwave for 1 minute. Let cool to room temp.

8. Fold in heavy cream and espresso powder. Optional: chill to achieve ideal consistency for frosting.

9. Serve in a bowl and dust powdered sugar/cocoa/espresso powder on cake. OR spread onto cake and drizzle with melted chocolate/dust with cocoa/espresso powder.

OMG!!! The cake was phenomenal! It was thick, rich and so flavorful. The cream was pure comfort. Though I must admit I got a bit overwhelmed with the Kahlua since I haven't had an alcoholic drink for over a year. My dad loved it! He said it was malinamnam which is Filipino for deliciously tasty. Me and my nephew (my lil' helper: who cracked the eggs and measured ingredients for me) got a thumbs up. Hoohah! :)

Of course, there was a child in the house who is off limits to coffee and liqueur; so I decided to make a separate batch just for my nephew. The halving the cake recipe, omitting espresso powder and liqueur. 

Gooey chocolate cups.

Of course, the cupcakes are going to be boring if by their lonesome... so I came up with this:

Chocolate cup base topped with vanilla ice cream + chocolate drizzle.

I've don't own a Nigella Lawson Feast cookbook; but after this, I'll have this on my wishlist. I heard there are are more recipes that are utterly sublime, for example: have your ever heard of a Chocolate Guinness Cake? Only Nigella can pull off such sinful delights with a sexy twist.