Double Double Chocolate Cake with Double Double Ice Cream
Yesterday was day 1 of Birthday Week. This week holds 6 birthdays of Scorpios I Know including a sister, a nephew, Mike, and yes – myself. The week wraps up with a big one that ends with a zero.
I don’t want to talk about it.
I planned for about 6 months, since seeing it in this book, to make this cake for my sister for her birthday. One guess which coffee chain she’s addicted to.
To be honest, I wanted to mess with this recipe right off the bat. I didn’t (much) and I’m glad – it was a mighty spectacular cake. I didn’t have buttermilk so used plain yogurt thinned with milk – and I’m certain you could swap any cold coffee for the double double. (Use instant, stirred into water, if you’re not in the habit of keeping cold coffee around.)
I did ditch the icing recipe, figuring the frosting is as good a vehicle for more coffee than anything. I used 1/2 cup of soft butter and a 1 lb bag of icing sugar, and added enough cold double double to make a spreadable frosting. (About halfway through it became clear that it wouldn’t do enough to spike the frosting on its own, and so I stirred another spoonful of instant coffee into the cup before adding more to the bowl.)
To go with – double double ice cream: pick up a large double double and chill it. Pour it into the ice cream maker, fill the cup with whipping cream, pour it in, and turn the machine on. No need for more sweetness or flavourings or a custard base. It turned out icy-slushy, like an ice cap.
Double-Double Chocolate Cake
Double chocolate. Double layer. And a cupful of “double-double”: Canada’s most popular preparation of Tim Horton’s coffee, boasting double the cream, double the sugar. This recipe makes a fabulous cake that’s worthy of the double ribbons Moira won at the Harrow Fair. Reprinted with permission from The Harrow Fair Cookbook, by Moira Sanders, Lori Elstone and Beth Goslin Maloney (Whitecap).
2 oz (60 g) bittersweet chocolate, chopped
2 cups (500 mL) all-purpose flour
1 1/4 cups (310 mL) granulated sugar
1/2 cup (125 mL) cocoa powder
2 tsp (10 mL) baking soda
1 tsp (5 mL) baking powder
1 tsp (5 mL) fine sea salt
1 cup (250 mL) buttermilk
1/2 cup (125 mL) vegetable oil
2 large eggs
1 tsp (5 mL) pure vanilla extract
1 cup (250 mL) double-double coffeeMelt the chocolate in a double boiler or a small saucepan set on low heat. Stir constantly until the mixture is smooth. Set aside to cool.
Preheat the oven to 350°F. Butter and flour two 8-inch round cake pans.
Sift together the flour, sugar, cocoa, baking soda, baking powder, and salt in a large bowl.
Mix together the buttermilk, oil, eggs, and vanilla in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment.
Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients with the mixer on low speed. Add the melted chocolate and the double-double coffee and mix just until combined.
Pour the batter into the pans, spreading evenly. Bake for 35 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the centre of a cake comes out clean.
Cool the cakes in the pans until they are easy to handle. Invert onto a cake plate and spread with icing once completely cooled.
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