Chocolate-Praline Cake in a Jar |
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Prep Time: 0 Minutes Cook Time: 0 Minutes |
Ready In: 0 Minutes Servings: 10 |
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For a few years now I've been a judge at the Whirlpool Accubake Unique Cake Contest, which is similar to the Pillsbury Bake-Off. A chocolate cake with a pecan and butterscotch toffee topping called Chocolate Coffee Toffee Cake by Elizabeth Kirsch from Pennsylvania won first place in 2002 and the $10,000 prize, which she donated to Heifer International. Elizabeth told me she made her cakes in glass canning jars and would tuck one into her husband's business trip luggage so he wouldn't miss his favorite cake while he was out of town. This simplified version of her cake would be perfect to take to a picnic or even a backyard barbecue Ingredients:
8 tablespoons (1 stick) unsalted butter, softened |
1 1/2 cups packed light brown sugar |
2 large eggs |
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract |
6 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder |
1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda |
1/4 teaspoon salt |
1 1/2 cups sifted cake flour |
2/3 cup sour cream |
2/3 cup brewed coffee (i just use the morning's leftover coffee) |
2 tablespoons unsalted butter |
3/4 cup firmly packed light brown sugar |
1/2 cup water |
1 cup powdered sugar |
1/2 cup pecan halves or pieces |
Directions:
1. Preheat the oven to 350°F. Place 10 to 12 1/2-pint glass canning jars on a rimmed baking sheet, evenly arranged with space between them. (If you have a Silpat liner, place it under the jars to prevent them from sliding around.)
2. To make the cakes, in a mixer fitted with a whisk attachment, beat the butter until smooth. Add the brown sugar and eggs and mix until fluffy, about 2 minutes. Add the vanilla, cocoa, baking soda, and salt and mix until combined. Add half of the flour, then half of the sour cream, and mix until combined. Repeat with the remaining flour and sour cream. Drizzle in the coffee and mix until smooth. The batter will be thin, like heavy cream.
3. Pour the batter into the jars, filling them halfway. Bake until the tops of the cakes are firm to the touch, about 25 minutes.*
4. To make the topping, melt the butter in a medium saucepan over medium heat, then add the brown sugar and 1?2 cup water and stir with a wooden spoon until the sugar is dissolved, 2 to 3 minutes. Remove the pan from the heat and stir in the powdered sugar until combined, then return to the heat and bring to a boil. Stir in the nuts.
5. Pour the praline topping over the cakes to cover, working quickly, because the praline hardens quickly as it cools. Let the cakes cool completely if they aren't already, before screwing on jar lids.**
6. Do-Aheads
7. *The cakes can be made ahead, cooled, covered, and kept at room temperature for 2 days or in the refrigerator for up to 4 days.
8. **The finished cakes will keep for up to 4 days at room temperature.
9. Per serving: 470.0 calories, 140.0 calories from fat, 16.0g total fat, 7.0g saturated fat, 60.0mg cholesterol, 290.0mg sodium, 81.0g total carbs, 2.0g dietary fiber, 60.0g sugars, 5.0g protein Nutritional analysis provided by TasteBook, using the USDA Nutrition Database Chocolate and Vanilla by Gale Gand and Lisa Weiss. Copyright © 2006 by Gale Gand and Lisa Weiss. Published by Crown Publishing Group.All Rights Reserved. Rick Tramoto is the executive chef/partner of Tru in Chicago, one of Condé Nast Traveler's Top 50 Best Restaurants in the World in 2000. He is the 2002 James Beard Award winner for Best Chef in the Midwest. With culinary partner Gale Gand, he coauthored American Brasserie and Butter Sugar Flour Eggs. He is the author of Amuse-Bouche. Tramonto lives outside Chicago with his wife and their three sons. Gale Gand is the executive pastry chef/partner at Tru. In 2001 she received the James Beard Award for Outstanding Pastry Chef and was named top pastry chef of the year by Bon App¿t. She is also the host of the Food Network's Sweet Dreams. With culinary partner Rick Tramonto, Gand coauthored American Brasserie and Butter Sugar Flour Eggs. She is the author of Gale Gand's Just a Bite and Gale Gand's Short and Sweet. Gand lives outside Chicago with her husband and her son. Tim Turner is a nationally acclaimed food and tabletop photographer. He has been nominated five years in a row for the James Beard Award for Best Food Photography, winning in 1999 for Charlie Trotter's Desserts. His previous projects include books in the Charlie Trotter's series, The Inn at Little Washington, Jacques Pepin's Kitchen, and Amuse-Bouche. Turner lives in Chicago with his wife and three exuberant daughters. Mary Goodbody is a nationally known food writer and editor. Her most recent credits include Amuse-Bouche and Taste: Pure and Simple. She has contributed significantly to Back to the Table, The Naked Chef, How to Be a Domestic Goddess, and Alfred Portale's Twelve Seasons Cookbook, among other books. The editor of the IACP Food Forum Quarterly, she lives outside New York with her daughter.
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