Rich Chocolate Bourbon Pecan Cake Food

RICH CHOCOLATE-BOURBON PECAN CAKE

Steps:

• 1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease and flour 2 9-inch cake pans. NOTE: My pans were 2-inches deep. The cake rose very slightly over this level. No batter spilled over in the oven but I did cut a few little crusty pieces from the rim of the cake pans. And I enjoyed the little treat as well.
• 2. Sift flour, baking powder and salt; set aside.
• 3. Pour boiling water over cocoa; whisk until smooth. Add milk and vanilla; whisk to combine.
• 4. At a medium speed on electic mixer in a large bowl; beat butter until creamy. Gradually add brown sugar beat about 3 minutes until light and fluffy. Add eggs 1 at a time, beating well after each addition.
• 5. Reduce speed on mixer to low. Add dry ingredients alternately with cocoa mixture beginning and ending with the dry ingredients.
• 6. Pour batter evenly into prepared pans; bake for 40 to 45 minutes or until wooden pick or cake tester inserted in center comes out clean. Remove from oven and allow to cool in pans on a wire rack for 10 minutes. Remove cake from pans and cool completely on wire racks for about 1 hour. NOTE: When cooling this cake I made the mistake of flipping one layer top side down on the rack. This layer wanted to crumble a little because it stuck to the wire rack while the other layer I flipped bottom side down did perfect. Take a few seconds to flip the layers so that they are bottom side down on the wire racks.
• 7. Next you will split the layers so that you will have 4 layers. I know of 2 ways of accomplishing this: 1. Use a Cake Slicer/Leveler to slice each layer in half horizontally. This is the method I used. OR 2. Once layers have cooled completely; wrap and freeze each layer for about 1 hour. Using a serrated knife, slice cake layers in half horizontally.
• 8. Brush both sides of each of the 4 layers with bourbon. Place 1st layer on plate; spread pecan frosting between each of 3 layers. Do not spread on top of the 4th layer. Spread top and sides with chocolate frosting. Garnish if desired with more chopped pecans. For best flavor, allow cake to set for 24 hours at room temperature.
• 9. FROSTING AND FILLING: You will be splitting this frosting in half. You will add pecans to one half for the filling and cocoa to the other half for the outer frosting.
• 10. Beat butter at medium speed with an electric mixer until creamy, reduce speed to low and add 2 cups of the powdered sugar, beating until well blended. Add 1/2 cup cream and the vanilla; beat until blended.
• 11. Gradually add remaining sugar, beating until smooth. Remove 1/2 of this mixture to another bowl. To one bowl stir in the nuts and 1 Tbsp of cream. This bowl is your filling. To the other bowl add the cocoa, the remaining 1 Tbsp cream and the melted chocolate chips; beat until well blended. This bowl is your frosting.
• 12. NOTES: If frosting mixture seems too dry add a little more cream, if too wet; add a little more powdered sugar. I find when spreading frosting or filling that if you dip the spatula in water before spreading either the frosting or filling it will spread easier without lifting the cake crumbs.

CHOCOLATE BOURBON PECAN CAKE - PAULA DEEN

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 325ºF.
• Grease and flour a 9-inch springform pan.
• Melt the chocolate and butter in a small bowl over a double boiler.
• Remove from heat, and set pot aside leaving the bowl on top of pot.
• Whisk egg yolks and 1/2 of the sugar in a metal mixing bowl.
• Place bowl over slightly simmering water, and whisk until yolks reach 140ºF.
• Remove bowl from heat and beat egg and sugar mixture with an electric mixer to a ribbon stage.
• Add the Bourbon to the chocolate mixture, then fold the yolk and sugar mixture into the chocolate mixture.
• Mix flour with pecans and fold into chocolate mixture.
• Using an electric mixer, beat egg whites and the remaining sugar to form soft peaks, then fold into chocolate mixture.
• Pour batter into prepared pan and bake for 20 to 25 minutes.
• Allow cake to cool in pan and then place in the freezer for at least 2 hours.
• Once it's frozen, remove sides of springform pan.
• Invert cake onto a wire rack and remove bottom of springform pan.
• Prepare ganache by bringing heavy cream to a boil and pouring cream over chocolate chips in a bowl.
• Whisk until completely smooth.
• Set wire rack with cake on top of sheetpan.
• Pour warm lukewarm ganache over cake, coating cake completely, recoating if necessary.
• Gently jiggle wire rack to help drain excess ganache.
• Remove cake from wire rack with spatula and place on a serving plate.

BOURBON-PECAN CAKE

Steps:

• In medium size bowl, mix cherries, raisins and bourbon.
• Cover and refrigerate for 8-24 hour.
• Grease and flour 12 cup fluted tube pan.
• Heat oven to 325 degrees.
• Drain fruits, reserving bourbon.
• In small bowl, toss ¼ flour and pecans.
• In medium size bowl, mix remaining 2 ¼ cups flour with nutmeg, baking powder and salt.
• In large bowl with electric mixer at high speed, beat butter until light and fluffy.
• Add sugar, ½ cup at a time, beating well after each addition.
• Add eggyolks, one at a time, beating well after each addition.
• Beat in 1 cup flour mixture.
• With mixer at medium speed, add ¼ cup reserved bourbon alternately with remaining 2 cups flour mixture, beating well each addition.
• Batter will be thick.
• In another large bowl with mixer at high speed, beat egg whites until stiff peaks form when beaters are lifted.
• Stir about ¼ beaten egg whites into batter and fold in remaining egg whites.
• Fold in cherries, raisins and nuts.
• Turn batter into prepared pan and bake about 1 ½ hours or until toothpick inserted comes out clean.
• Remove cake from pan and brush remaining reserved bourbon.
• Drizzle glaze down sides.
• Cut candied cherries and pecans into quarters and garnish cake.
• NOTE: For stronger bourbon flavor, saturate piece of cheesecloth with additional bourbon.
• Wrap cake in cheesecloth then with foil or plastic wrap.
• Store in refrigerator in tightly covered container for 2-3 weeks.
• Unwrap cake, place on serving platter.
• Drizzle with glaze and garnish as desired.
• CONFECTIONER’S SUGAR GLAZE: In a small bowl, beat 1 cup confectioner’s sugar, 4 tsp milk and ¼ tsp vanilla extract until smooth.

CHOCOLATE PECAN CAKE

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350°F. Oil or butter a 9- by 2-inch round springform pan and line bottom with a round of parchment paper or foil.
• In a double boiler or a bowl set over a saucepan of barely simmering water melt chocolates and butter, stirring until smooth. Remove top of double boiler or bowl from heat and stir in bourbon or rum.
• In a food processor pulse pecans with 3/4 cup sugar until finely ground. Transfer mixture to a bowl and stir in flour.
• In another bowl with an electric mixer beat whites with salt at medium speed until white, opaque, and beginning to hold their shape. Gradually add remaining 3/4 cup sugar, beating at high speed until whites hold soft (not stiff), slightly glossy peaks. Stir in pecan mixture with a spatula until well blended and fold in chocolate mixture until no streaks remain (batter will deflate).
• Pour batter into pan and smooth top. Bake cake in middle of oven 50 minutes, or until a tester inserted into center comes out clean. Run a thin knife around edge of cake to loosen and invert cake onto a rack to cool completely.
• Remove parchment or foil and transfer cake to a platter. Cake may be wrapped in plastic wrap and chilled 1 week or frozen 1 month. Bring cake to room temperature before serving.
• Just before serving, dust cake with confectioners' sugar.