I do enjoy a rooftop garden party! And thanks to a friend in my neighbourhood, I was able to spend a gorgeous evening with friends, watching the sun set while embracing a stunning view of the rooftops of Amsterdam.
A few days ago, I posted the recipe for Conchiglietti with Everything. Well, at this same dinner, I happened to bring a dessert that my friend, Jessie, recently introduced to me. Say’s Yellow Cake with Warm Chocolate Glaze is from Sara Foster’s Fresh Every Day cookbook. This is Jessie’s go-to for reliable and delicious dishes and I can see why he likes it so much. This cake is flavourful, moist (apologies if you don’t like that word, but in the world of baking, it describes!) and spongy when you dig into it. The icing on top – WOW – full of chocolate and sweetness. It’s a perfect topper. The unique thing about this cake, is, you serve it warm. This was new to me. Sure, I eat cookies off the sheet, and brownies often make it to my plate before they’ve had their full cooling time, but cakes…? Aside from a Sticky Toffee Pudding, I had not tried many a warm cake before; if you haven’t, I strongly invite you to do so!
I tried a new technique with this cake: instead of buttering and flouring the pan, I buttered and sugared the pan. I had recently read about this and decided to give it a go. I like the results. The edges are just crispy enough and you don’t get any annoying raw flour bits as can sometimes happen when you grease and flour a pan. Two thumbs up for this kitchen tip – I’ll use it again! Thank you, Margot, for hosting, and Jessie for sharing this delicious recipe. Both the sunset and the cake, were a perfect ending to another delightful day in beautiful Amsterdam.
And now, the recipe.
For the cake, you will need:
- 6 Tbsp unsalted butter, softened
- 3/4 cup sugar, plus 2 Tbsp for prepping the pan
- 2 eggs
- 1 tsp vanilla
- 1 cup flour
- 1/2 tsp baking powder
- 1/4 tsp baking soda
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 1/2 cup buttermilk
For the chocolate glaze:
- 150 grams 72% dark chocolate
- 2 Tbsp unsalted butter
- 1/3 cup sugar
- 1/4 cup milk
Directions
1. Preheat the oven to 180C. Prepare a 9 inch round, or 9 x 9 inch square baking pan with parchment, and then butter and sugar the pan.
2. Cream the butter and sugar together in a large bowl with an electric mixer on high, until fluffy. Add the eggs, one at a time, mixing well and scraping down the sides of the bowl with each addition.
3. In a separate large bowl, combine the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt and stir to mix. Stir the buttermilk and vanilla together in a small bowl.
4. Add a third of the four mixture to the bowl with the butter, sugar, eggs mixture and stir until incorporated. Stir in one third of the buttermilk mixture. Continue this process, alternating between the flour mixture and the buttermilk mixture until all of the ingredients are combined and no flour is visible.
5. Pour the butter mixture into the prepared pan and bake for 25-30 minutes, until a wooden skewer inserted into the center of the cake, comes out clean.
6. While the cake is baking, to prepare the glaze, stir the milk, chocolate, and sugar together in a small, heavy-bottomed saucepan over medium-low heat to melt the chocolate. Continue to cook and stir at a low boil until the sauce thicken slightly, about 3 minutes. Remove from the heat, add the butter, and stir until the butter melts. If the glaze cools before the cake is out of the oven, warm it over medium heat, stirring constantly.
7. Use a skewer, or the tines of a fork to poke several holes in the top of the cake. While it is still in the pan, pour the glaze over the cake and let it sit in the pan for 5 to 10 minutes so it has time to seep into the cake. Slice the cake and serve warm.
