Chocolate Midnight

Chocolate Midnight

This is a cake from Dorie Greenspan, and it appears in her Sweet Times book as Chocolate Midnight and also in Baking From My Home to Yours as Dressy Chocolate Loaf Cake. I was very taken with the name chocolate midnight, so that’s what I’m going with! It's so poetic. A soft, moist chocolate cake sandwiched with cherry jam and coated with chocolate icing, mmmm.

It’s a chocolate loaf cake that is cut into three horizontal layers and sandwiched with cherry jam. I found a very good Fairtrade one made with morello cherries and it was sweet / sour so it went with the chocolate cake perfectly, the icing is a simple chocolate one that was also not too sweet. I’m actually quite surprised that I liked it because I usually like things to be really sweet, but like it I did! I served it with some slightly sweetened whipped cream and next time I’m going to add a cherry compote to the plate too as I think that would have made a perfect pairing (trio?). I decorated it with crystalised rose petals, because I found them again recently when making the Daring Bakers gateau – and I couldn’t help myself I need my pretty decoration fix! I used a 2lb UK loaf tin, and a bit spilled over the top when baking, and this is ok by me as that counts as a cooks perk! Next time though I might use my 3lb tin instead.

I won’t type out the recipe, as Baking is a well owned book – but if you don’t have it and you’d like to try this cake please say in the comments and I’ll add it for you. Edit: Here it is!

Chocolate Midnight

Cake
1 ½ cups all purpose flour
½ cup cocoa
1 tsp baking powder
¼ tsp baking soda
1 cup ( 2 sticks) 8 oz unsalted butter, a room temp
1 1/3 cup cugar
2 large eggs
1 cup (8 fl oz) sour cream

Filling
1/3 cup raspberry jam (I used cherry)

The Frosting
5 oz high quality bittersweet chocolate
½ cup sour cream
Crystalised Rose Petals (my adition and optional)

The cake: Preheat oven to 350. Butter a 10 x 5" loaf pan and dust the inside with flour, tapping out the excess. Sift together the flour, baking powder and baking soda onto a large sheet of waxed paper, reserve.
In an electric mixer, using the paddle attachment, cream the butter and sugar together on a medium speed until very light and fluffy, about 5 mins, stopping and scraping down the sides of the bowl a few times. Add the eggs, one at a time, beating after each addition. Reduce the speed to low and add the sour cream, then the sifted dry ingredients. Give the batter a last stir with a rubber spatula. Scrape into the prepared pan, push down the middle a bit so that the edges nearest the pan are higher and bake for 55 – 65 mins – or until a toothpick inserted in the centre of the cake comes out clean. Turn out of the pan after 5 minutes and cool upside down on a wire rack.
The filling: Bring the jam and 1 tsp water to a boil, stirring. Cut the cooled cake in three horizontally and spread the jam between the two inside layers.
The Frosting: Melt the chocolate in a bowl over a pan with barely simmering water. Still over hot water stir in the sour cream. Remove the bowl from the heat and use to ice the cake.