(Gluten-Free) Coffee Chocolate Cake #TheCakeSliceBakers

Each month The Cake Slice Bakers are offered a selection of cakes from the current book we are baking through. This year it is The European Cake Cookbook by Tatyana Nesteruk*. We each choose one cake to bake, and then on the 20th - never before - we all post about our cake on our blogs. There are a few rules that we follow, but the most important ones are to have fun and enjoy baking & eating cakes! 

Follow our Facebook, Instagram, and Pinterest pages where you can find all of our cakes, as well as inspiration for many other cakes. You can also click on the links below to take you to each of our cakes. If you have a blog and are interested in joining The Cake Slice Bakers and baking along with us, please send an email to thecakeslicebakers at gmail dot com for more details. 

The Cake Slice Bakers also have a new Facebook group called The Cake Slice Bakers and Friends. This group is perfect for those who do not have a blog but want to join in the fun and bake through this book.

Our choices for October 2019 were ~

Prague Cake

• Amandie Bakes
• Sweet Sensations

Chocolate Mint Mousse Cake

• Karen's Kitchen Stories
• A Little Bit of All Right

Almond Pound Cake

• All That's Left Are The Crumbs
• Camille Cooks
• A Day in the Life on the Farm

Coffee Chocolate Cake

• Culinary Adventures with Camilla
• My Recipe Reviews

(Gluten-Free) Coffee Chocolate Cake

moderately adapted from Nesteruk's book

On the night I planned to make this, I had a full house of teenage boys. Well, four. But it sure sounded like a full house. And one of the boys has a gluten-sensitivity, so this had to be gluten-free. Then I failed to read the instructions carefully before I went to the store. So, instead of coffee custard, I made coffee caramel. Oh, well...this was a delicious departure. Also, I just used my fail-safe buttercream which is adapted from the Lemon Lavender Blackberry Cake that we made for the May Cake Slice Bakers event. Because this cake was such a hit, I might have to try it again with the recipe as written next time. Whoops.

Ingredients

Cake

• 3/4 C butter, softened
• 1 C organic granulated sugar
• 4 large eggs
• 2 T instant espresso or instant coffee
• 1 C milk, room temperature
• 1-3/4 C flour (I used a gluten-free flour for my guest)
• 1/4 C cocoa powder
• 3 t baking powder
• pinch of salt (I used vanilla salt)

Caramel

• 2 C organic granulated sugar
• 12 T butter, cubed
• 1 T instant coffee or espresso
• 1 C organic heavy cream
• 1 T fleur de sel (or any other flaky sea salt)

Chocolate-Coffee Buttercream

• 5 large egg yolks
• 1/3 C water
• 1 C organic granulated sugar
• 1 T organic corn syrup
• 2 C butter, softened
• 1/3 C unsweetened cocoa powder
• 1 t coffee extract (use vanilla if you don't have this)

Assembly

• chocolate chunks for garnish, optional

Procedure

Caramel

Place sugar in heavy saucepan that holds, at least, two quarts. Heat the sugar over medium-high heat, whisking as it begins to melt. The sugar will begin to form clumps. Keep whisking and they will melt back down.

Once all the sugar has melted, swirl the pan occasionally while the sugar continues to cook.

Cook until the sugar has reached a deep amber color. It should have a slightly nutty aroma and be almost a reddish brown. Using a candy thermometer, cook till it reaches 350 degrees F.

As soon as the caramel reaches 350 degrees F, add the butter cubes all at once. Be careful because the caramel will bubble up. Whisk the butter into the caramel until completely melted. Stir in the instant coffee.

Remove the pan from the heat and slowly pour the cream into the caramel. Again, take care because the mixture will bubble up again. Whisk until all of the cream has been incorporated and you have a smooth sauce. Add the fleur de sel. Whisk to incorporate.

You can use this sauce warm, but I let it cool until it was spoonable and held its shape. Then I used it to fill the cake.

Cake

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Butter pans and set aside.

In a large mixing bowl, cream together the butter and sugar. Add the eggs, one at a time, mixing well after each addition. Dissolve the instant espresso or coffee in milk, then add that to the batter.

In a separate mixing bowl, whisk together the flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, and salt. Add the dry ingredients to the batter and mix until just moistened.

Divide the batter between the two pans and place in the oven. Bake for 28 to 30 minutes. The top should spring back when pressed gently. Remove from oven and let the cakes cool completely before assembling the cake. You can use the layers as is or slice them in half for a four-layer cake! 

Chocolate Buttercream
Place egg yolks in a mixing bowl and beat on high until they are thick, pale, and ribbon off the whisks.

Combine water, sugar, and corn syrup in a small saucepan. You can attach a candy thermometer to the side; I just kept testing until it reached soft-ball stage. If you're using a thermometer, heat until it reaches 238 degrees F. For testing otherwise, dip a spoon into the syrup, then into ice cold water. The syrup should immediately set up into a soft ball. Mine took about 8 minutes to reach the correct consistency.

Once the syrup is ready, remove it from the heat. While one hand hold the mixer, use the other hand to pour the syrup into the yolks. When all of the syrup is added, turn the mixer up to high and beat until the yolks have doubled in size and have reached medium peak stage. The bowl should be cooled and just lukewarm to the touch. Mine took about 9 minutes.

Begin adding butter, one tablespoon at a time, mixing well after each addition. The more butter you add, the more firm the buttercream will be. Once your buttercream resembles what you think of as buttercream, add in the cocoa powder and extract. Beat until just combined.

Assembly
Once the cake layers have cooled completely, use a serrated knife to cut the layers flat. Spread a generous amount of buttercream and two dollops of softened caramel between the layers and place them on your serving platter.

Smooth the buttercream over the top and along the sides. Use a piping tip and bag to add decorative dollops to the top, then press a chocolate chunk into the drops. Refrigerate to let the buttercream harden.

Remove from the fridge at least 10 minutes before slicing and serving.

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