Dark chocolate, Coffee and Illusionist Gin Cake with Whipped Vanilla Bean Icing

I’m back and i’m back with a bang! This is no ordinary double decker cake, no ordinary black and white cake and certainly no ordinary chocolate cake either. It contains a trio that seems to be unbeatable and is perfect for any season, using staple ingredients that are accessible year round. This recipe is to be marked as “adults only” because it includes a little evening cheers. We will be taking your evening spritz on the rocks to new levels. Taking it to an edible delight.

The Gin

Now if you’ve missed the memo, take a look at my Illusionist Gin infused with White Peach and Basil for the perfect weekend cocktail inspo as well as a little sneak peak into the world of Illusionist Gin and their philosophy. Like this cake, Illusionist Gin is no ordinary gin. No, I don’t say that just because it’s a great key marketing device but because I really mean it. Here’s why.

Illusionist Gin seeks to draw attention to the flavours within their gin and the sourcing of such ingredients. Do you know where the star anise or lavender or rosemary or any other ingredient within your last drink, came from? Was it bio, organic, ingredients sourced from a local farmer surrounding the distillery or ones rooted within the soils half a world away? With every 16 flavours that pass through the Illusionist Gin product, each and everyone has been systematically and fanatically sourced, noted, traced and shared. Their purpose in doing this generates and allows for greater knowledge and connection to what goes into bottles and thus, the mouths of the consumers. This product shares the aim of Illusionist Gin and the root of their philosophy; to draw the world of beverages or liquor with the fine aspects of the culinary scene. There will always be an element of excitement in tasting their gin because it is solely reliant on the individual and also the individual’s state of mind, mood and palate to draw out different elements within the product.

I explain more in my previous article on them - available here - and boy is it interesting to understand their motives, not only to produce excellent quality gin but also to better integrate the rather isolated world of beverages into the ever growing and culturally prominent art of dining (and eating of course).

The Cake

Cake. Sorry, yes back to this cake. Have you ever heard those societal rumours about the acceptance of dark chocolate because it is supposedly good for you? Believe it. It is much lower in fat, high in antioxidants, loaded with minerals and contains a higher amount of soluble fibre.

In 100 grams of dark chocolate with a minimum of 70% plus cacao, it contains;

• 11 grams of fiber

• 67% of the RDI for iron

• 58% of the RDI for magnesium

• 89% of the RDI for copper

• 98% of the RDI for manganese

• It also has plenty of potassium, phosphorus, zinc and selenium

When you use dark chocolate, you will find the taste rather bitter so I have used a thick vanilla buttercream to add a contrast to such a strong flavour. The icing is truely delicious. It’s very sweet yes, but when layered between thick sponge, there is an even balance that occurs with the two opposite flavour components.

If you wish to take it one step further, you can add a herby element which then provides a woody element, and thus bringing together 4 different sensual components in one dish - bitter, sweet, earthy and tangy. I would recommend using dried thyme or dried oregano. These two lend themselves better to merging with other flavours and not becoming the dominant aspect in the cake.

The Coffee

When you pair dark chocolate with coffee, they are known to be a fighting duo that holds and stimulates a few essential flavour categories and thus the senses - bitter, sweet, salty and sour. There are many debates about the benefits of coffee, but in moderation, coffee can positively effect;

• the heart; strokes, heart disease, cholesterol, lowers risk of dementia

• the body as a whole; burns fat to loose weight

• the brain; keeps one awake and focused

You can have a variety of different flavours within coffee itself. I would try to avoid the slightly sweeter coffee strains as this may over sweeten the cake. Rather, try to use a more sour or tangy strain of coffee. These flavours can be found from single origin coffee from Rwanda and some particular Columbian strains as well. The best thing to do is ask your local coffee shop who source and roast their own coffee. They will know exactly which one to recommend and if it isn’t a single origin coffee, then they maybe able to mix a unique blend for you to work with exactly what you need.

At the end of the day, if you cannot get or do not personally like slightly more sour coffee blends, then go for what you prefer or have in your household. You will need to drink the remaining brew afterwards anyway… perks of blending coffee into cooking.

The Storing

Storing cakes can be a little difficult. It isn’t impossible to cut and stow away cake slices if you don’t have the mouth to feed and use it all at once. I wouldn’t let that stop you whipping this baby up, just make sure you have very good quality zip lock bags or freeze safe bags. A great company to use is Pely as they have great quality goods but are also environmentally friendly in their sourcing and producing of their products.

Simply cut slices, place a small sheet of parchment paper or baking paper to the size of the cake and place in the bag, repeat until the cake has been sliced and lined. Make sure every side of the cake has a lining covering it so the cake doesn’t stick together but rather the paper layers are what divides the slices up.

Place in the freezer and when you want to defrost, make sure to remove from the freezer at least 6 hours before needing. Cake cannot be microwaved for a quick defrost. If you only need one or two slices, simply remove the number you need by dragging the parchment paper out. This is the exact reason for its use as otherwise the cake would all mush together and individual slices would no longer be a thing.

Enjoy lovelies

xx

Dark chocolate, Coffee and Illusionist Gin Cake with Whipped Vanilla Bean Icing

Ingredients 

For the cake

• 150 grams unsalted butter, room temperature 

• 2 cups caster sugar

• 3 cups all purpose flour

• 2 tsp baking powder 

• 1 tsp salt 

• 2 eggs

• 200 grams dark chocolate (70%)

• 1/4 cup coco powder

• 1 cup hot coffee

• 3 tbsp Illusionist Gin

• 2 cups sour cream

For the Icing

• 150 grams unsalted butter, room temperature 

• 300 grams icing sugar

• 1/2 tsp salt

• 1 vanilla bean, seeded

Method

For the Cake

• Line two 6 inch round cake tins with butter, then flour to prevent sticking. Preheat the oven to 200℃.

• In a small bowl, mix together the dark chocolate, coco powder and hot coffee. The coffee needs to be hot to allow the chocolate to melt and coco powder too emulsify into the chocolate. Once the mixture is cooled, add the gin and set aside

• Sift together the flour, baking powder and salt 

• In the stand of an electric mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, beat together the butter and sugar for around 5-7 minutes or until pale in colour and fluffy

• Add one egg at a time, beating in between until incorporated 

• Alternate the flour mixture along with the sour cream, mixing between each, in 3 parts - start with the flour.

• Once the flour and sour cream has been incorporated, add the chocolate/gin mixture and gentle stir to combine

• Place into the two floured cake tins and even the surface. Bake for 40-50 minutes or until a cake tester comes out clean.

• Remove from the oven, wait 5 minutes before releasing and removing the supporting tin shell and bottom tray

For the Icing

• cut the risen part of both cakes so you have an even level surface. Enjoy a little pre-tester of the cake

• In an electric mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, beat the butter until fluffy. 

• Add the icing sugar and salt and beat for 6-8 minutes or until the icing in fluffy but no longer runny or too soft. It should have a little firmness to it (this means height to the cake and not icing that will run off)

• Place one cake, bottom side down, on a serving plate or parchment paper.

• Cover the first cake with about 1 cup of icing and evenly spread to all edges

• Add the second cake, bottom side down again, on top of the icing and then use the remaining icing the cover the surface and edges. You need either an icing knife or a very long, flat butter knife to smooth around the cake.

• Sprinkle with extra coco powder and enjoy