Speakeasy (SMS)

As I was sitting on our kitchen bar stool looking over this week's Sweet Melissa Sundays (SMS) recipe, I realized that I didn't have any 8x2-inch round cake pans for the cake.  Jeannette of The Whimsical Cupcake had chosen the Speakeasy - I'd never heard of a Speakeasy cake before. Apparently a speakeasy is an establishment that illegally sells alcoholic beverages (these establishments came into prominence during the Prohibition).  So this speakeasy is a chocolate cake with brandy mixed into the batter.  Most of it is baked off in the oven, but you can still get a hint of it in the finished product.  I suppose I could have just used my 9-inch springform pan but instead I used my 8x1-1/4" cake pan and then made 6 mini cakes in a muffin pan.


The cake came together easily enough but I seemed to have the same problem that Jeannette did with hers - it formed a thick crust on the top (kind of like a brownie does but thicker).  So, I guess I may have over whipped my egg whites? My cake didn't form a crater underneath the crust like Jeannette's did, so I simply scraped it off and proceeded as planned.  Plus, Melissa says you should flip the cake over to glaze it anyway.


The only change I made to this cake was to use semisweet chocolate instead of bittersweet, as I don't like bittersweet or dark chocolate.  How did it turn out? I loved this cake. It had a nice, dense crumb with just a hint of brandy. The cake was rich but not over the top rich like a flourless chocolate cake. You can taste the brandy in it, but really only if you know to look for that flavor.  I'll definitely be making it again; maybe next time I'll try it with some rum!


Thank you, Jeannette, for hosting this week. If you'd like the recipe, you can find it here. Make sure you check out the Sweet Melissa Sundays Blog Roll to see how everyone else enjoyed this boozey, chocolatey treat!

* Recipe notes:

- I used semisweet chocolate chips instead of bittersweet chocolate.
- The mini cakes I made in the muffin pan were done around 15 minutes.  My full size cake was done closer to around 60 minutes because it wasn't quite as thick as the one in the recipe.
- The cake will keep in a cake saver at room temperature for 2 days.  For longer storage, you can keep it in the refrigerator for up to 1 week.  I was able to wrap mine in plastic wrap (after the glaze had set) without really messing up the glaze.