Monday, March 2, 2009

TWD: Chocolate Armagnac Cake

This week’s Tuesdays With Dorie recipe was Chocolate Armagnac Cake – The Cake That Got Me Fired. Dorie has a fun story on page 278 of Baking about how she was fired from a job for changing the whisky-raisin combination in the original iteration of this cake to prune-armagnac. She does say you can use Armagnac, cognac, brandy, or scotch whisky, so I used brandy, since I had some leftover from a previous baking endeavor.



I think I would be more excited about this cake if I hadn’t baked and consumed so many chocolate desserts recently. It is the perfect cake to eat if you have a serious chocolate craving, as it is almost flourless, and therefore very dense with chocolate flavor. I also think that the mild fruit and alcohol flavor in the cake would lend well to being served with a glass of port at a dinner party.



Since I don’t have a lot to say about this cake right now, I will do a short equipment review. Pictured below is a small saucepan. It kind of looks like something that would be found in a pre-schooler’s “My First Kitchen” set, but it is actually a single-serving egg poacher. My brother gave it to me for Christmas since he knows I like poached eggs, and said I could use it for other things, too. I was skeptical of the pan’s utility, but now that I make mini desserts for Tuesdays with Dorie, I use it constantly. I would say it is my current favorite kitchen gadget.



I gave this recipe an 8 for Deliciousness and a 4 for Effort, giving it an EDR of 2. Many thanks to Lyb of And Then I Do The Dishes for choosing this decadent dessert and for giving me the opportunity to both flambe and use my new cake stand for the first time. You can find the recipe on Lyb’s site and you can see what the other bakers thought of this cake via the TWD blogroll.

12 comments:

chocolatechic said...

Your pot is just to cute!

I think this cake tasted great, and that you can never have to much chocolate.

Megan said...

I have a tiny All Clad saucier, and I use it all the time - I love it.

I agree with chocolatechic, you can never have too much chocolate. But I know some people feel that way.....

Pamela said...

Cute pan! Nice job on the cake, we thought it was quite yummy. And the cup cakes below look fabulous, too!

Amber Marie said...

I love the cake stand! The color is nice. :) I also got a small pan for Christmas that I have been using for almost every TWD recipe! It's great. :)

Lillian said...

I wasn't a big fan of the cake, but I love both your little egg poacher and your cake stand!

Melissa said...

That's the smallest pot I've ever seen - it's so cute! I bet that really comes in handy when you're making mini versions of things. Your cake looks great!

Jessica said...

Your cake looks so high and pretty, I can tell you did a fantastic job folding in your egg whites. Love the pot too. I secretly long to own a perfect little butter melting pan but for now my tiny kitchen prevents me from acting on that!

AmyRuth said...

I would love to have some right now. Loved the cake.
Glad you got to make it.
AmyRuth

Unknown said...

Your cake looks great! This wasn't my favorite recipe either. I'm ready for something chocolate free!

Linda said...

I would definitely agree that we've had an onslaught of chocolate cake desserts...still, i think this is my favorite. Fantastic job on your cake!

TeaLady said...

Just cute. Love that little cake stand. And cake looks good.

LyB said...

What a way to "inaugurate" your cake stand! :) Your cake looks great. I'm so glad you liked it. Thanks for baking along with me!