Wednesday, November 24, 2010

Traditions



It's official....I broke out the Christmas music. As I type to my loyal readers I am listening to my all time favorite, Michael Buble!!

I've been working on home-made knitted gifts today and cooking desserts at my parents home for upcoming visitors tomorrow. It got me thinking about my all-time favorite Turkey day treats. My personal favorite is corn pudding. I know it may sound gross but if your from the south you know this side all too well. The sweet corn, combined with more sugar.....I can't get enough. My mother on the other hand loves collards and it is the ONLY side she refuses to make herself. We have a local BBQ restaurant that makes the best collards. She loads up early in November and freezes them, they are wonderful. My dad would be fine with a plate of turkey. My husband likes to have new and fun things at Thanksgiving like the year we did a pork roast instead of a turkey.

This year I am contributing a cake. Not just any cake, Nigella Lawson's Quadruple Chocolate Loaf Cake. I have been so excited about this cake for about 3 weeks now, I may just forgo turkey all together to save room for this mouth-watering chocolate pleasure. Below is the recipe....it may be too late to add to your Thanksgiving menu but maybe try it for Christmas!!



Ingredients
Cake:
1 2/3 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 cup cocoa
1 1/3 cups sugar
1 1/2 sticks soft unsalted butter
2 eggs
1 tablespoon good-quality vanilla extract
1/3 cup sour cream
1/2 cup boiling water
1 cup semisweet chocolate chips or morsels
Syrup:
1 teaspoon cocoa
1/2 cup water
1/2 cup sugar
1-ounce dark chocolate (from a thick bar if possible), cut into splinters of varying thickness, for garnish
Special equipment: 2-pound loaf tin (approximately 9 1/2 by 4 1/2 by 3 inches deep), lined with greased foil, pressed into the corners and with some overhang at the top. Alternatively, substitute a silicon loaf tin, no foil lining necessary.
Directions
Take whatever you need out of the refrigerator so that all ingredients can come room temperature.

Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F, putting in a baking sheet as you do so.

Put the flour, baking soda, cocoa, sugar, butter, eggs, vanilla, and sour cream into the processor and blitz until a smooth, satiny brown batter. Scrape down with a rubber spatula and process again while pouring the boiling water down the funnel. Switch it off, then remove the lid and the well-scraped double-bladed knife and, still using your rubber spatula, stir in the chocolate chips or morsels.

Scrape and pour the batter into the prepared loaf tin and put into the oven, cooking for about 1 hour. When ready, the loaf will be risen and split down the middle and a cake-tester will pretty well come out clean.

Not long before the cake is due out of the oven (when it has had about 45 to 50 minutes), put the syrup ingredients of cocoa, water and sugar into a small saucepan and boil for about 5 minutes, to give a thick syrup.

Take the ceake out of the oven and sit it on a cooling rack, still in the tin, and pierce here and there with a cake tester. Pour the syrup over the cake.

Let the cake become completely cold and then slip out of its tin, removing the foil as you do so. Sit on an oblong or other plate. Sprinkle the chocolate splinters over the top of the sticky surface of the cake

1 Comments:

Blogger Jenn said...

Woah. That cake looks amazing! And, I'm sure tasted just as good as it looks! Hope you have a great thanksgiving! :)

November 29, 2010 at 2:13 PM  

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