MY QUARANTINE CAKE

I've been trying to entertain myself while being off work for two weeks. Trying a new recipe each day is one of my goals. Yesterday,  I discovered a winning recipe for Sloppy Joes, which is a favorite dish in my home. I threw out all my other recipes for Sloppy Joes. Even Hubby was impressed and told me to keep the recipe.Check out page 160 of Valerie's Home Cooking if you're interested. Borrow it from a library if you don't want to buy it. Or get a used copy on Amazon Books.

Today I made a winning chocolate cake so moist that it doesn't need icing. It's called 86 Proof Chocolate Cake. The recipe is from Maida Heatter's cookbook, Happiness is Baking. I used vanilla rum for the booze that it called for. And I used melted coconut oil instead of butter because someone in the family is avoiding dairy products. The only thing to note with this recipe is that removing it from a bundt pan is not easy. I greased the pan generously with coconut oil and it still stuck fast. I would probably put it in a regular cake pan next time. And it was perfectly baked at one hour in a bundt pan. The recipe suggested one hour and fifteen minutes.

86 Proof Chocolate Cake

5 oz unsweetened chocolate
2 C sifted cake flour
1 tsp. baking soda
1/4 tsp.salt
1/4 C instant espresso or coffee powder
boiling water
cold water
1/2 C bourbon, rum, cognac or scotch whiskey
2 sticks unsalted butter at room temp.
1 tsp vanilla
2 C sugar
3 large eggs at room temp.

Preheat oven to 325. Butter a 9-inch bundt pan. Heat chocolate on low until melted. Cool slightly.
Sift dry ingredients, except for coffee and sugar. Dissolve coffee in a bit of boiling water (About 1/2 cup).
Add cold water to make 1 1/2 cups. Add bourbon, whiskey, or rum.
Cream butter. Add vanilla and sugar. Beat. Add eggs one at a time. Add chocolate, beat until smooth on low speed.  Alternately add dry ingredients in 3 additions and coffee mixture in two additions very gradually. Beat after each addition. Bake one hour or longer if using a bundt pan. Cake is done when it springs back with a quick finger touch.