January 2010
As the icicles grew, I was eager to fire up the ol’ lovin’ oven. I sought the comfort of wintry tree sap and hot chai in a bundt formation.
Chocolate Chai Chocolate Chip Cake with Maple Glaze
Dry Ingredients
2 ½ cups whole-wheat pastry flour
½ cup + 2 Tbs Scharffen Berger all natural, unsweetened cocoa
2 Tbs pure cane sugar
1 Tbs potato starch
¾ tsp salt
¼ tsp baking soda
1 tsp cinnamon
½ tsp nutmeg
1 tsp ginger
Liquid Ingredients
½ curdled whipping cream
¾ cup Tazo chai concentrate
1 tsp organic vanilla extract
Creaming Ingredients
1 cup unsalted butter
1 cup pure cane sugar
½ cup local wildflower honey
½ cup organic Grade B maple syrup
5 large organic, free-range eggs
1 large organic, free-range egg yolk
Maple Glaze Ingredients
(Enough for two cakes)
1 ½ cups maple syrup
6 Tbs organic unsalted butter
2 Tbs whole milk
1 1/2 cups organic powdered sugar
Extra Touch
Organic chocolate chips
Directions
Preheat oven to 375°F
Mix the dry ingredients.
Mix the liquid ingredients in a separate bowl.
Cream the butter, sugar, honey and maple syrup in a food processor. Add the eggs and egg yolk, one at a time, mixing after each addition.
Alternate adding the dry and liquid ingredients to the creaming mixture, starting and stopping with the dry mixture. This should be about three pours each.
Add chocolate chips according to taste and mix.
Pour the batter into greased pans (suggestion: two 9-inch cake pans or one 9-inch cake pan and one 9-inch bundt pan)
Bake at 375°F for 35-40 minutes, until a toothpick inserted comes out clean
For the Maple Glaze
Combine first three ingredients in a sauce pan and bring to boil. Boil for two minutes.
Remove from heat. Stir in powdered sugar.
Allow the glaze to set slightly and then ice the cake. The glaze will harden.
