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Life has been C-R-A-Z-Y. Traveling every month. Going through some more of my late mom’s stuff. Paperwork. Oh, and major appliances breaking down and having to be replaced. You know, the usual old stuff. And finding out that your cholesterol is 260, and you don’t even eat meat!
Could the culprit be . . . BUTTER? CHOCOLATE? Perchance, EGGS? It’s not like I bake fattening things almost every week. Oh, wait. Yes, I do, I do, indeed. Never mind. In all honesty, though, I give away 90% of the sweet stuff that I make.
In an effort to lower my cholesterol (heh, heh), I baked another chocolate cake. This week, LyB of And Then I Do the Dishes, chose Chocolate Armagnac Cake – The Cake That Got Me Fired on pages 279-281 of Baking: From My Home to Yours.
This cake contains prunes. Now, I am a big fan of prunes. BIG. So I wasn’t worried that the cake would taste of prunes ( I knew it wouldn’t) because I love prunes. And one of my superpowers is that I am immune to their legendary side effects. I don’t like to brag, but I’ll make an exception just this once.
At any rate, I had chocolate, prunes, and Armagnac on hand (which I bought last year to make Prune Armagnac Ice Cream), so I didn’t have to make any special trips to the store. Flaming the prunes did not phase me. There’s something about setting booze aflame in the kitchen that I find delightful. I mixed milk (5 oz., Sirius 51% cacao) and bittersweet chocolate together (2 oz., Green & Black 70% cacao), and skipped the frosting. I also added 1/4 tsp. of espresso powder and 1/2 tsp. of vanilla extract. As for omitting the frosting . . . well, that was an effort to make this a lower calorie, lower cholesterol dessert. Ha, ha, ha!
I did have to bake the cake for about an hour, but the result was a moist, fudgy concoction that almost made me forget my cholesterol levels. Almost. Not too boozy. Basically, it’s a big ole brownie, so how can you go wrong with that?
Many bakers noted that their cake sank in the middle, but I think it’s supposed to do that, since it is more of a European style cake than a fluffy traditional American cake.
To see what the other TWD bakers have been up to, check out the blog roll!
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22 users responded in this post
I didn’t have any Armagnac, so I used French Brandy….which had so little alcohol fumes it wouldn’t even flame.
I was so disappointed.
My came out great, other than not folding in the egg whites enough. I ended up with little white chunks in my cake LOL
This cake was great! I had to deep six the booze and the prunes, though!
I went with whisky and no frosting. Practically diet food.
I’m so glad you liked it! I like prunes too, that’s one of the reasons I chose this cake. 🙂 Thanks for baking along with me this week!
To be honest, I think I may have liked this better without the frosting too! I ate around it! Not that it was bad, but the cake was riiiiich!
You’ve certainly had quite a start to the year -I hope things settle down for you soon!
I like prunes too. I think they suffer from a bad reputation. Too many grandmothers eating them or something. This cake was fun and delicious.
i used scotch in mine, but i may have to get some armagnac just to try the flavor! hope your life gets a little calmer soon! 🙂
i love prunes too! pity i swopped those out for raisins instead. It was all still good too!
You’re immuned from prune side affects? LMAO! I wish I had that super power. Maybe I’d eat, cook, bake with prunes more. Glad you enjoyed the cake.
Clara @ iheartfood4thought
This looks yummy!
260? What? Do you like oatmeal?! If you don’t like it hot, I heard making a low fat granola with lots of old fashion oats is just a good for you.
Your cake looks fab Madame Chow. I agree that the frosting was not strictly necessary – and those lower calories, LOL.
We love this cake! It’s been a while since I last made it and seeing all the TWDers’ make it, and yours, me want to do it again! Well done!
I’m sure prunes are good for lowering cholesterol . . . yes . . .
The cake looks grand.
The cake sure looks moist and chocolatey!
I really have to get this cake made soon. Especially if it tastes like a giant brownie. Mmmm.
I know you are glad to have your kitchen and coming back to TWD and Db. Both of those look just right. Absolutely delicious.
Wow, your year is off to a rough start! I hope things (starting with the cholesterol!) start to normalize for you soon. Your cake looks amazing. We loved it too — and yes, it IS just like a giant brownie!
Glad to see you’re back in business. Any food with fruit in it has to healthy, right? I guess I’d better go out on the prowl for some Armagnac now.
Your cake looks so wonderfully moist – Yum!! So glad to see that your beautiful new range is being put into good use.
You’ve been quite busy! Great job on the cake. I wish I’d skipped the glaze too. It was my least favorite part of the recipe.