I innocently began baking this intensely flavored chocolate cake for my work colleagues as a homemade way of thanking them for being such a wonderful team to work with…so the night before returning to the bank after the Christmas holiday, I lined up all the ingredients for Hersey’s “Especially Dark Chocolate Cake” recipe, found on the back of the Hersey’s Special Dark 100% Cacao Cocoa can…a recipe that I’ve been using successfully, and deliciously for many a year…although with a few fine touches of my own.  Then I frosted it with a rich, whipped chocolate ganache reinforced with a little Kahlua.

When I presented it next day at work and left it for everyone to snack on, Shirley immediately dubbed it “Death By Chocolate”!!!  And when Nikki later asked me for the recipe of my “Death By Chocolate” cake, I had no idea what she was talking about until the rest of my colleagues laughingly explained Shirley’s nickname for my cake.  Of course Nancy feels that I’m purposely thwarting her efforts to remain svelte, and Nipa, who broke the ice and tasted the first piece of cake, pronounced it ‘very good’….while Sandi walked around with a huge grin on her face after she tasted it.  Needless to say, we are all chocoholics!

True to form, and not wanting to disappoint my boss, Tony who has a sweet tooth and firmly believes in Marie Antoinette’s saying “let them eat cake”, (although I don’t think she meant for breakfast, Tony) who thinks that I bake everything with some form of alcohol…I not only added expresso, but Kahlua liqueur to the Hersey cake recipe…after all, it was the holidays and this cake was for a special occasion… for very wonderful people in my life!  Let me tell you just how special the addition of Kahlua makes this rich, intensely flavored, moist chocolate cake.  It tastes so sinfully decadent that you’d never know just how easy and quick it is to bake!  Although you taste the Kahlua, you don’t taste the expresso….it just adds that perfect umami-like touch which enhances the chocolate!

So, a very special thank you to each and everyone of my friends in the Chelmsford Branch for making Enterprise Bank such a wonderful place to work everyday!  You each have your own special talents and skills…which all work to make a very effective, productive, successful team into a warm, caring family!  This cake and it’s recipe is dedicated to you all…I hope we get to enjoy many more delicious treats such as this one!

Death By Chocolate

Ingredients:

• 2 cups sugar
• 1 3/4 cups cake flour
• 3/4 cup Hersey’s cocoa
• 1 1/2 tsp baking powder
• 1 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 1 tsp salt
• 2 eggs
• 3/4 cup milk
• 1/4 cup Kahlua liqueur (if desired or just use 1 cup milk)
• 1/2 cup vegetable oil
• 2 tsp vanilla extract
• 1 cup boiling water
• 1 Tbls expresso powder
• additional 1/4 cup Kahlua liqueur for sprinkling over hot cake if desired

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Since I use non-stick pans, I actually lower my oven temperature to 325 degrees.  Butter two non-stick loaf pans, or two cake pans. If using regular aluminum pans, you will have to butter and flour, or use parchment on the bottoms.

Measure out the sugar, flour, cocoa, baking powder, baking soda and salt into a large mixing bowl.  Add eggs, milk, oil, Kahlua, vanilla and beat on medium speed 2 minutes.  Meanwhile, boil 1 cup of water and dissolve the expresso powder in it.  Turn off mixer and stir in the hot boiling water.  The batter will be thin.  Immediately, pour into the cake or loaf pans.  Bake 30-40 minutes, until a wooden toothpick inserted into the middle comes out clean.   Sprinkle an additional 1/4 cup of Kahlua all over the hot cakes to be absorbed. Cool for 10 minutes in the pans. Remove from the pans and cool on a wire rack.  Frost with Kahlua Chocolate Ganache.

Kahlua Chocolate Ganache

• 12 oz semisweet chocolate chips (I use Ghirardelli)
• 2 cups heavy cream
• 1/4 cup Kahlua liqueur

In small saucepan, on low heat, melt the cream and chocolate chips together, stirring until smooth.  Add the Kahlua.  Remove from heat and pour into a mixing bowl.  Allow to stand at room temperature until cool, stirring every few minutes to prevent a skin from forming on the stop. (do not try to speed things up by refrigerating, as the ganache will solidify and you will have to start over with warming and cooling it….or you can use it in it’s solid form to make chocolate Kahlua melt-in-your-mouth truffles by scooping the refrigerated mixture into little balls with a melon baller and rolling each truffle in chopped pistachios, or cocoa powder, or coconut, or any chopped nut of your choice)

When cake is completely cooled and all the liqueur has been absorbed, whip the room temperature ganache at medium speed until light and the consistency of whipped butter.  Do not overbeat or it will look curdled and you will have to begin the warming/cooling cycle all over again.  This recipe is very forgiving, and any leftover frosting can be stored for a couple weeks in the refrigerator, warmed and cooled and whipped all over again.  Simple, versatile, forgiving and soooooo decadently delicious!