Expresso Bourbon Chocolate Cake:

Expresso Bourbon Chocolate Cake;

Apprenticing to become a cook/chef takes years of theory and practice. Baking is one area that I only studied when time allowed back in college.
I was tutored by Conestoga’s Peter Basin an Olympic medal winning pastry chef. He taught me on how to prepare all the required items that being a resort/hotel chef would need to know.
I soon learned it was very demanding and tedious work to pipe fillings into thousands of bite size sweets for a buffet or decoration extraordinaire show pieces.
Making layered cakes, flavoured mousses, danishes, cream pies and french pastries took a lot of training. I’m not a bad baker it’s just that I feel better when someone else takes over making the desserts.
Over my career years I worked along side lots of pastry chefs creating baked delights as part of my crew and know that it takes a different kind of pup to become pastry chef or baker.
I also love to have dessert after dinner.
My aunt use to say “what kind of a person makes a dinner for friends and does not serve dessert?”
I have had to make lot of different styles of cake as a working chef. I’ve prepared wedding, birthday, anniversary an holiday themed cakes.
I must also confess that I personally have lost and gained enough weight eating cake that was the equivalent of another body living within.
I found that I have no will power when working with chocolate. Chocolate has a mystical element of control on my persona and I’m soon spiraling into a chocolate coma.

May I suggest that if you should master one great dessert it should be a good chocolate cake.

I have never ever had anyone turn down a piece of this chocolate cake. In the words of one chocolate lover, this cake is so good it can make you cry. This cake is a dark rich moist loaf that can be quickly mixed with a spoon in a sauce pot. No beater required. Sliced thickly it requires no icing just a dollop of vanilla flavoured whipped cream.

I found that dark 85% cocoa content chocolate is perfect for this dessert. The best chocolate is the one you like the best. Use a good natural vanilla extract and strong left over coffee.

Bourbon is best but rye whiskey will make an ok substitute.

You will need;

7 oz of unsweetened chocolate

6 oz of unsalted butter

1 ½ cups strong coffee

2 oz Bourbon

2 organic large eggs

1 tsp real vanilla extract

2 cups of cake flour [soft wheat]

[all purpose flour will not work]

1 ½ cups sugar

1 tsp baking soda [bicarbonate soda]

¼ tsp kosher salt

For the whipped topping

2 cups heavy cream

2 tsp of vanilla extract

Preheat the oven to 275 degrees. grease and flour two 81/2×41/2×21/2 loaf pans.

In a large thick bottom sauce pan with about a 4 litre capacity put in the butter, chocolate, coffee over low heat and constantly stir with a wooden spoon until the chocolate melts and then stir vigorously until the mixture is smooth an completely blended.

Set this a side to cool for about 10 minutes.

Now beat in the bourbon, eggs and vanilla.

Combine the flour, sugar, baking soda, salt and sift them together.

Add this to the chocolate mixture and beat well with the wooden spoon until its well blended and smooth. It should fall off the spoon like a ribbon.

Divide the batter evenly between the two prepared pans and bake on the middle rack for 45 to 55 minutes or until a wooden skewer inserted in the centre of the loaf comes out clean.

Remove from the oven and let cool for 15 minutes then turn them out onto a rack to cool completely.

Before serving, combine the cream and vanilla and whip it till it can barely stand in peaks.

It should be fluffy and thin enough to run down the sides of the cake when you place a spoonful on each serving on the cake .

Makes 2 loafs.
Now let me know if that’s not the best chocolate cake you have ever tasted.