a.k.a Italian Chocolate Cake with Perfect Whipped Cream!
This week we got to have our good friends Mike and Sam and family over to celebrate Mike's birthday! (Yep, this is the very same Michael that our little Bjorn Mikael was named after... we just changed the spelling a little!)
We of course had one of his favorite meals - Fettucini Alfredo with lots of garlic bread and salad. For dessert, I wanted to stick with the Italian theme, and make sure it was something chocolate... and this recipe is what I found!
It's a super quick and easy recipe that is so different... olive oil, balsamic vinegar, NO eggs... I just HAD to try it! And it was good... You would never know it was so weird!
Our sweet little Berlin was watching her daddy blow out all his candles! Notice the cloud of smoke? :o) How's that for making someone seem old?? And we didn't even have all the candles on the cake! Sorry Michael... ;o)
Oh, and the whipped cream is pretty great too... different than most, sturdier, a little tangy, but not too much. yummmmm...
Italian Chocolate Cake with Perfect Whipped Cream Recipe
(this is NOT my recipe... I forgot the name of the book, but will update this soon!)
cake:
1/3 cup (+3 Tablespoons) Dutch process cocoa powder, divided
1 1/2 cups sifted cake flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 cup sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup brewed espresso (or strong dark coffee)
5 Tablespoons olive oil
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 Tablespoon balsamic vinegar
cream:
1 cup whipping cream
2 Tablespoons sour cream
2 Tablespoons sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1. Preheat the oven to 400degrees F. Grease a 9-inch shiny round aluminum cake pan, and dust it lightly with the 3 Tablespooons of cocoa powder. Gently tap out any excess.
2. Whisk the flour, remaining 1/3 cup cocoa powder, soda, sugar and salt together in a large bowl. In a separate bowl, stir together the coffee, oil, vanilla and vinegar. Whisk the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients, blending just until it's lump free.
3. Pour the batter into the prepared pan and bake until the top springs back at the touch, and a wooden toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean, 20 to 25 minutes.
4. Cool the cake in the pan on a rack. Turn it out onto a cake plate. Serve with dollops of Perfect Whipped Cream and drizzle with caramel sauce.
Perfect Whipped Cream: Combine the whipping cream, sour cream, sugar and vanilla and whip until soft peaks form. Refrigerate, covered, up to 5 days (yep, I said 5 DAYS!)
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Bjorn had fun in the kitchen while I baked... hanging out with his grandma, when he wasn't lounging around! :o) Isn't he CUTE?
