I'm sneaking the Dressy Chocolate Loaf Cake in a week late - it was almost ready to make for last Tuesday, that is, the dry ingredients were sifted and sitting in a bowl on the kitchen table. But I ended up coming home late so I did easy shortbread cookies instead. Now is my chance to catch up.
I have the ambition to make small cakes like the stunning presentations that one sees in shops like Citarella - little comma cakes with mirror glazes, small cylindrical opera cakes, and so on. I just stand at the counter and gaze at the beauty; fortunately the staff are used to me and don't seem to mind if I don't purchase a cake. I'm a long way off from reaching my goal but as long as I enjoy myself along the way I guess that's good. Today's cake is a half-size - I used a 5x5x3 inch square pan that I purchased at New York Cake..
I was very worried at first as the cake looked as if it would be permanently sunk in the middle; however, after 45 mins. at 325 F it rose beautifully. I was advised to use 325 F for chocolate cakes generally (my Baking 911 club)and it seems to have worked very well.
Cream Cheese frosting from "More from Magnolia" on top and some cherry jam in the middle are the dressy components of this lovely chocolate cake recipe.
The recipe is on Amyruthbakes.
