Chocolate Whiskey Cake

Imagine ordering yourself a strong coffee – no, make it a mocha – and since you’re feeling festive and all, you pour a nip of whiskey in there. Now put those elements in cake form and that’s what we’ve got here. Deeply flavored with rich cocoa + coffee notes, the cake is infused with the warm essence of whiskey.

I love a boozy cake this time of year and this one didn’t disappoint. The method is unique too as no mixer is required. Instead, coffee, butter, whiskey and sugar are combined in a saucepan and warmed through. The other ingredients are stirred in by hand and before you know it, the cake is in the oven.

I used my cathedral cake pan I got from Williams Sonoma years ago. I have a love/hate relationship with it. When the cake comes out clean, gothic and beautiful things are good. When pieces of cake remain in the pan and the rest of it pours out like a devastating cake avalanche, well, things are not so good. I liberally sprayed the interior with cooking spray and then dusted it with cocoa powder. Once it cooled in the pan for about 15 minutes, I flipped it onto the wire rack with no dramas whatsoever. A dusting of powdered sugar finished off my little cathedral snow scene.

This recipe came from Gourmet and I didn’t change a thing. The link is here and really, I can’t recommend it enough. Warm wishes this holiday season. I hope all of you are participating in much merriment.