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.
One Year Ago: Cranberry-Almond Linzer Hearts
October 24 2010 11:32 pm | cake
sara on 25 Oct 2010 at 12:32 am #
OMG, this cake looks amazing! Super delicious.
Julia on 25 Oct 2010 at 5:37 am #
That cake looks yummy. But getting to the Harrow Fair Cookbook…I also come from where the one author Beth is from. (I also went to school with her) It’s one of those fairs as kids you just have to go to. Hurray for these girls for authoring a cookbook about it!!
Avery on 25 Oct 2010 at 8:27 am #
Just keep thinking…. NYC, NYC, NYC!! That looks like an awesome cake! I should bookmark this cake for next Canada Day and make Double-Double Cupcakes!
Damaris on 25 Oct 2010 at 8:54 am #
My son keeps saying “yum, yum, yum”
~Shannon~ on 25 Oct 2010 at 8:59 am #
Oh yum!! This looks fabulous. Cant wait to try it!
Elaine on 25 Oct 2010 at 2:29 pm #
Oh my sweet lord, this cake is out of control! Today’s my birthday–and my husband’s–and I’ve already eaten enough cake to see me through until next October, but I might have to make an exception for this one…
Cathy on 25 Oct 2010 at 5:14 pm #
Looks Amazing!!
I have that cookbook(along with 100′s of others) and it is terrific.
Just bought Bonnie Stern’s Friday Night Dinners and it is also a must-have.
Betty on 25 Oct 2010 at 5:36 pm #
Happy Birthday(s) to you and yours. The number really doesn’t matter and the older you get the more you look forward to them – it always beats the alternative!
The cake also looks very yummy!
Jan (Family Bites) on 25 Oct 2010 at 5:53 pm #
That is the best! I know many people who would love that cake.
Moira Sanders on 25 Oct 2010 at 6:52 pm #
Thanks for the write up on the “double-double chocolate cake” – it looks delicious! So glad you tried it! I just had to leave a comment – it’s my birthday today, too – I love October!!! I didn’t make myself a cake this year – does creme brulee count?
JulieVR on 25 Oct 2010 at 7:19 pm #
Moira – happy birthday!! Creme brulee?? You’re brilliant! I may do the same for mine! And by the way? I have TONS of cookbooks, and I love yours. Love it!!
sharon on 26 Oct 2010 at 3:03 am #
Really?! You’re 30? Congratulations.
What a great idea to use Tim’s Double Double for this cake. Love it, but won’t be baking the cake. Elastic is so brilliant don’t you think? Whoever invented it deserves a Nobel, but even elastic has its limits.
Chocolate Shavings on 26 Oct 2010 at 6:08 am #
Now that’s a chocolate cake! Seems like the perfect way to celebrate a birthday!
Lana in South Mountain (ON) on 26 Oct 2010 at 7:33 am #
Husband’s bday is in early December and I am planning a dinner party. Double-double cake it is! What a cute idea!
(talk soon- xox)
kickpleat on 26 Oct 2010 at 3:28 pm #
I’m all for anything with coffee and chocolate combined. This cake is ideal for a birthday and I’ll be bookmarking this for sure.
Jess on 26 Oct 2010 at 7:49 pm #
That cake is hilarious, Julie. A number that ends with a zero? I assume you’re talking about the big 3-0, right? Obviously. Happy birthday, friend.
Robyn in Mountain (Ontario that is) on 26 Oct 2010 at 7:58 pm #
Sounds insane . . . I love it! First Double Double Chocolate cake and then double lemon pound cake. You’re a Scorpio, now I know why we would get along.
Happy Birthday, Julie!
I’m guessing with the 0 there is a 4 in front of it. And yes, it is a tough one. Six years into it and I am still in denial. Things could be worse :-0
Robyn in Mountain (Ontario that is) on 26 Oct 2010 at 8:00 pm #
Oops! Just read a few more entries. If you are only 30, congratulations! If you are 40, you rock!! I am such a bad judge of age. Forgive me!
JulieVR on 26 Oct 2010 at 8:03 pm #
I think everyone has been trying to be nice… or not. But 40 is the new 30, right? (And 20 is the new 10?)
Alison on 26 Oct 2010 at 10:25 pm #
20 must be the new 10 – otherwise why would my 12 year old know everything already?
And Julie’s birthday (yes, 40) is on Saturday, so feel free to deluge her with compliments that day – I’m pretty sure 39 of those years have been in service of everyone but herself…
I, for one, couldn’t live without her.
Alison on 26 Oct 2010 at 10:27 pm #
…and the cake was every bit as good as it sounds. Totally worth six months of planning.
Cherine on 27 Oct 2010 at 12:09 am #
This cake is divine!
Manon from ONtario on 27 Oct 2010 at 7:11 am #
Alison, you are soo lucky to have Julie as a sister and neighbor…however I would weigh over 300 pounds if it were me!
All the best Julie, you do indeed deserve it
Love,
Manon
Rebecca on 27 Oct 2010 at 7:44 am #
Well, Happy Birthday, from one Scorpio to another. In a couple of weeks, I’m going to be 40, too. But I’m trying not to think about too much. Thanks for the great birthday cake recipe. Yummy!
Beverley M on 27 Oct 2010 at 11:34 am #
Hey weird, my comment is gone. But I swear I said happy birthday! And I assumed you’re 30, too — I don’t believe 40! You must have miscalculated. Go check your math
Nurse Jenn on 27 Oct 2010 at 11:48 am #
You just saved the day with this recipe. I needed a cake for my co-workers and since we are nurses and drink coffee like it is going out of style, this was perfect. Thanks for the inspiration. I love this blog
BTW – Happy birthday … personally, I would say you were 10. Then you have permission to wear a festive hat, eat far too much sugar and go to bed with frosting still on your face.
Lorraine T on 27 Oct 2010 at 1:05 pm #
What an awesome cake! I’ll have to make it for my brother when he visits from Wpg next year, he lives on TH!
Happy birthday dear. Number, shumber! I stopped counting at 40 and as was previously mentioned here, another birthday is always better than the alternative. Every day is a gift, enjoy!
Have a great time in NY, and hope Mike makes it ok too!
Kristy on 27 Oct 2010 at 2:39 pm #
happy happy happy birthday. don’t work about age it is all in how you live your life. your blog is great and although i am a terrible baker i am temped to make this for my boyfriends upcoming birthday as he is also a double double fanatic.
best wishes for your year ahead.
Barb on 27 Oct 2010 at 7:40 pm #
That cake looks marvelous! Julie, the day after you will realize that it is just a number. Remember, life begins at _0. It’s true.
Cathryn on 27 Oct 2010 at 10:57 pm #
Happy Birthday to you both, A & J! You make the world better.
Cxo
Carol SB on 30 Oct 2010 at 2:49 pm #
Happy, happy birthday Julie.
You are a bright place in my world, and I always look forward to your positive, pick-me-up posts (yes, even if you should be venting, which is just another chance for me to talk to my computer and say, “gad, I know what you mean! That drives me nuts too!” etc…).
I said to hubby this year, “Gee, if I’d known how great 48 would be, I would’ve done it long ago!”
Enjoy this year. (and next year, I’ll recommend the same).
-CSB