This week’s Sweet Melissa Sundays was selected by my buddy Jeannette of Whimsical Cupcake: speakeasy. It’s a fitting name given that the recipe is essentially a chocolate souffle cake that includes a healthy dose of brandy – 2/3 of a cup, in fact! Confession time – after checking out the recipe I almost decided to sit this one out. I’ve made enough of these chocolate souffle cakes (minus the alcohol) to know that I almost always feel like they’re too rich for me. Also, I generally don’t like to mix huge amounts of alcohol in with my baked goods; often I find that the alcohol overwhelms the other flavors. Neither of these reasons would be a big deal if I had someone to share the cake with, but I’m currently house sitting for Shane’s parents while they’re on vacation so I either need to freeze things or eat them myself for the next week.
All that said, we’re nearing the end of our time with SMS so I’m trying to make as many of the recipes as possible. Luckily, this one scales pretty easily, which allowed me to quarter the recipe and bake my little cake in a 4.5-inch springform pan (versus the 8-inch pan called for). The batter consists of melted chocolate, butter, brandy, egg yolks, sugar, flour, cinnamon and salt, which is lightened by folding in egg whites and sugar that have been whipped to stiff peaks. Having done the math to scale back the recipe, I knew I couldn’t quite fit all of the batter in my pan, so I had a bit of leftover, which would have worked well in a ramekin had I been that motivated.
The baking time was somewhat tricky, as the recipe calls for baking the full size cake for 80-90 minutes, but not checking it until 70 minutes in, so you don’t risk deflating the batter. I didn’t know what the total baking time would be for my mini, and I had even less idea how long I had to wait to avoid deflating the batter. I wound up testing for the first time when the cake looked sufficiently risen and appeared to have a firm surface, about 20-22 minutes after I put it in the oven. The toothpick I inserted came out clean immediately so I pulled the cake, slightly worried I might have overbaked it.
I skipped the chocolate glaze in the recipe, figuring the cake would be plenty rich for me without it. The verdict? The cake surprised me, in a good way. It wasn’t overly rich and though I could detect the brandy in the recipe, it wasn’t overpowering. The chocolate and alcohol actually complemented one another nicely. It’s still probably not the first dessert I’d choose in a line-up, but I won’t have any problem eating my mini. Many thanks to Jeannette for hosting this week. You can find the recipe for the speakeasy cake on her blog or on pages 201-203 of The Sweet Melissa Baking Book.
Yours looks fantastic.
I want to try it with the apricot filling.
Your mini is adorable and looks delicious! I’m not sure if I’m going to make this one as French Fridays with Dorie just made a chocolate mousse cake this past Friday and this looks awful similiar.
Yum. I feel the same way about boozy desserts…a little flavor is OK but sometimes it overwhelms the other ingredients. Looks great.
Looks delicious, Tracey. I love the “pacman” picture at the end. =)
Looks great, even if it wouldn’t be your first choice. I am one of those people who NEVER thinks anything is too rich! 😉
We’re all about chocolate in this house so this sounds fabulous!!!
Minis are always a good choice. Whether baking for one or not sure if will actually LIKE the cake. So I am glad you liked it.
Don’t use much alcohol in baking either, but have found it often enhances rather than overpowering taste of cake. Sort of like coffee.
Mini is soooo cute.
looks great…
I’m usually with you on these cakes being too rich, but your description sounds great!
I’m glad you wound up liking it. It looks nice without the glaze on it!
Um…. yeah. Booze and chocolate – love it! Looks like I’m getting that book off the shelf – hopefully today! Yes, these things are rich, but small slices, small slices! Looks wonderfully puffy too – beautiful! Happy Housesitting!
Lovely job on this. I want a slice. 😉
I enjoyed this one, too. did not find it too rich at all. like you I checked mine and was then worried I had overbaked mine but it was ok!
What a cute and soft cake.. 🙂
Your cake is beautiful. I love it with the powdered sugar. I had some challenges with mine but posted anyway 🙂
Yours looks really good, I almost left mine without the icing but then changed my mind. It was really good and I am glad that I was able to be a part this week.
Your mini cake is adorable. I’m always impressed you are able to 1/4 a recipe. I’m only brave enough to half it….which is usually a challenge to my math skills. LOL. Glad to hear you liked it with the brandy. I was too nervous to try that out so I used triple sec instead.
Wow… That cake looks absolutely adorable! I am imagining how perfect it would be for Valentine’s Day!