Saturday, June 2, 2012

peas and carrots

Let me start by saying, this has nothing to do with peas and carrots. Nothing. I just couldn't think of a coupling less annoying than ying and yang. Maybe I should have gone with zig and zag?


Or maybe just chocolate and coffee.


First, lets talk about coffee and how much I love it and how I drink way too much of it. Way to much. I'd like to think of it not so much as a habit, but as a luxury I indulge, however somewhere along the line it's taken a turn (or shall we say zig) for the worse.  It would be too painful for all, you and me included, if I were to actually calculate how much I spend on coffee a week, or a month, or christ- in a whole year. I could probably buy a yacht, or at the very least a motorboat...


Here's the thing about me. Besides loving to bake, I don't cook anything. I mean anything.  Left to my own devices I usually eat vegetables and more often than not raw. Honestly, for all the coffee I drink I can't even make that great of a hot cup of joe at home.  This is not an exaggeration. I am slightly hopeless when it comes to my culinary prowess.  I get easily distracted. Usually, unless I am baking something delicious and sweet I forget what I'm doing. I start sauteing asparagus, or cooking rice, and the next thing you know I'm folding laundry or getting lost in a book and the kitchen is starting to smoke.  I should learn I know, I may even like it, but for now I'll take raw vegetables and lots and lots of dessert and cold brew coffee.


It's easy. Really easy. So easy I'm amazed it's taken me this long to do at home.


Step #1. Fill jar with 1.5 cups or more of ground coffee beans
Step #2. Fill with 9 cups of water, approximately.
Step #3. Refrigerate for 24 hours
Step #4. Strain
Step #5. Add ice and depending on how strong your beans were, cold water.
Step #6. Drink.


So that's the first part of this fantastic match.


The second. Chocolate. I think you know how I feel about cake, it's not as good as pie, and I just don't care for frosting of most varieties, but I do like powdered sugar and what I will now refer to as Monday cakes. They're your everyday kind of cake. No celebration needed. Except of course, the celebration of coffee and chocolate.


I first saw this recipe here, weeks ago. Honestly, I almost dropped what I was doing, ran to the store and bought buckwheat flour, but I didn't. That doesn't mean I haven't been thinking about it though...


So here it is.


Chocolate Buckwheat Cake.
What? Yes....


This cake fits so many bills.  First, it's chocolaty and buttery- an obvious yes for any everyday or any day cake. Second, in addition to being all about chocolate, it is more appropriately all about the eggs. As someone who went egg less for most of her life, there is nothing I appreciate more than the sight of pluming, billowing piles of eggs and sugar. Yes please.  And finally, due in most part to the fluffing of the eggs I used my beautiful kitchen aid, which as I've mention earlier, has sat unattended for far too long.


Monday Cake.



7 tablespoons unsalted butter
3 1/2 ounces bittersweet chocolate
Heavy pinch of salt
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/4 cup buckwheat flour
1/4 cup almond flour
1/2 cup sugar
4 eggs


Preheat oven to 350. Melt chocolate and butter in a double boiler. Set aside. Mix sugar, eggs, and salt together until fluffy and twice the volume.  Usually takes about 9 minutes. DO NOT skimp on this step. It's worth the wait.




Add in chocolate mixture and vanilla. Mix. Sprinkle almond and buckwheat flours into mixture, fold to combine. Pour into buttered and parchment papered cake pan. I would definitely suggest using parchment paper, I didn't and things got a little hairy.


Bake for approximately 20 minutes. Let cool. Sprinkle with powdered sugar and your choice of toppings. Whipped cream, berries, ice cream, or let me suggest-- coffee.






1 comment:

  1. Lovely, I will be sure to bake one of my own, thanks for sharing. Shall we call your iced coffee, a Toddy?

    ReplyDelete