(Steamed) Dark Chocolate Cake

Steamed Dark Chocolate Cake with Coconut Whipped Cream Filling and Chocolate Ganache with Berries

  

It's been two days and two months since I last posted--What happened?! Well quite a few things--which might slightly account for my lack of activity. First was a two week long trip with the family out to Europe--France, Switzerland, Geneva, Liechtenstein (the 6th smallest country in the world...), and of course Britain. The trip was thoroughly enjoyable--lots of good food, good art, good sights. Ironically, despite the indulgent meals, we returned to the States a few pounds (lb., not £) lighter due to the extensive walking (read: our entire family is severely directionally challenged). 

Post vacation was all MCAT studying--with a therapeutic daily dose of cooking--for a test date just days before the start of school. After the test was two straight days of running errands that had accumulated over the summer. Unfortunately, updating the blog was not one of them. Just before moving in to a cute duplex near campus, I got to celebrate my 20th birthday. I have to say, it feels a bit odd--cathartic perhaps--to no longer be a 'teenager,' that stage of life people look back upon as chock-full of awkward social situations, acne, and angst. Anyway, enough reflection, and on to the cake, the star of this post. 

A bit of a back story to the cake: whenever my family members have birthdays, I'm the one who makes the cake--but when it comes my turn, historically my parents have relied on Asian bakeries to do the job. However, in light of recent events and the shunning of all things baked in our household, my mom proposed steaming rectangular slabs of taro and piling on fruit. I had a difficult time consolidating her description with my mental schema of 'cake.' Ultimately, I convinced her to let me make my own cake,  compliant with Chen family standards. 

Aside from not using wheat or the oven, I pretty much had free reign from there. Post-MCAT, I was definitely craving chocolate. Browsing the web, I couldn't find any steamed oat flour dark chocolate cake recipe--in retrospect, I really shouldn't have expected to find one. So, I took a leap of faith and fiddled around with a basic dark chocolate cake recipe, plopped the batter in the steamer, and waited. The result? Rich, moist, and chocolatey.

   

Why describe it when a picture is worth a thousand words?

Once I had both my cake layers steamed and set to cool in the fridge, I started preparing for the cake assembly. I had envisioned in my mind's eye a two-layer chocolate cake with a filling of coconut whipped cream and blueberries, covered in a chocolate ganache and topped with raspberries. Almost everything went as planned. The can of coconut milk I was using to make the whipped cream hadn't been left in the fridge long enough, leaving whipped cream that was a bit too runny. Hoping to thicken it up, I added a bit of Greek yogurt, which helped a little, but made the filling too sweet. To tone it down I added cocoa powder. The filling aside, everything else went according to plan. The chocolate ganache, made with just chocolate chips and some extra coconut milk, was super smooth and shiny--this will probably be my go-to ganache recipe from now on. 

So shiny....

As you might have noticed, the quality of the pictures this time are not up to par--largely because it was getting late, which didn't leave much time for me to dawdle with picture-taking. I'd also like to think that the yumminess of the cake itself had something to do with it. 

Somehow managed to fit all 20 candles on the cake....

I guess I'm not getting my wish this time around--3 breaths later and I still hadn't blown all the candles out...

And finally, it was time to dig in! The picture below doesn't look too appetizing due to my poor cake-cutting skills; it definitely tasted a lot better than it looked! Try the recipe below and see for yourself :) Note: this is definitely good for any occasion, not just birthdays, which happen only once a year. Why not make it for an unbirthday? There's 364 (sometimes 365) of those every year!

Too eager to eat to bother with pictures...

Steamed Dark Chocolate Cake--serves 12
 ~Adapted from Allrecipes
Ingredients:

For the cake~

• 1½ cup oat flour*
• 4 Tb. tapioca starch
• ¾ cup sugar, preferably brown
• 1 cup cocoa powder
• 2 tsp. baking soda
• 1½ tsp. baking powder
• ½ tsp. salt
• 2 eggs
• 1 cup coffee, chilled
• 1 cup coconut milk 
• ½ cup coconut oil
• 2 tsp. vinegar

 For the filling~

• 1 can of full fat coconut milk (13-14 fl. oz.), placed upside down in fridge for two days before use
• ½ tsp. vanilla
• 1 cup fresh blueberries, washed and dried

For the ganache/topping~
~Adapted from about.food

• 8 oz. chocolate chips**
• ½ cup coconut milk
• 1-2 6oz. packages of fresh raspberries, washed and dried

 *You can easily make your own oat flour--I used quick cooking steel cut oats. Simply place the desired amount in a blender/food processor and blend/process until you obtain a fine flour consistency. 

**I had intended to use dark chocolate chips, but the store was out, so I stuck with 55%, which wasn't too sweet. 

Directions:

Cake

1. Grease and dust two 9-inch round cake pans with cocoa powder. Begin boiling water to prepare steamer (A covered large pot/pan with a rack or criss-crossed serving spoons will also work). 

2. Sift together flour, starch, sugar, cocoa, baking soda, baking powder, and salt in a large bowl. Make sure the dry ingredients are thoroughly combined to ensure even distribution of the rising agents. 

3. In a separate bowl, combine eggs, coffee, milk, oil, and vinegar. Make a well in the dry ingredients and pour wet ingredients in. Mix until smooth. 

4. Divide batter between the two pans and steam for 30 minutes. When placing on the lid, check that no part of it is touching the pan. Also check to make sure that the cake pan is level. While steaming, some water droplets will land on the cake, but they will evaporate once the cake is taken out and left to cool. Check periodically to make sure there is still water in the steamer. 

5. Let cakes cool for 10-15 minutes before transferring to a plate. Cover loosely and continue to cool in fridge.   

Filling

1. Take can of coconut milk from fridge, gently turn right-side up, and open. 

2. Pour off the top layer of mostly clear coconut water. You should find a soft solid layer of coconut meat at the bottom of the can. Scoop this out and place into a large bowl.

3. Using an electric mixer, beat the coconut on medium-high speed for 3-5 minutes, or until it resembles whipped cream. 

4. Optional: add in 1-2 Tb. of sugar to taste. 

5. Set aside in fridge.  

Ganache 

1. Place chocolate chips in a medium heat-proof bowl. 

2. Heat coconut milk over medium heat while stirring until steaming and bubbling from edges. Pour coconut milk over chocolate chips and let stand for 5 minutes. After 5 minutes, stir gently until mixture becomes smooth and glossy, a few minutes. The ganache should have the consistency of thick pudding, not runny.

Assembly 

1. Place bottom layer of chocolate cake on serving platter, and top with whipped cream. Follow with an even distribution of blueberries. 

2. Gently top with second layer of chocolate cake.

3. Using a spatula, pour ganache on top of cake. Then with a bent icing knife, spread the ganache evenly over the top and sides of the cake. 

4. Arrange raspberries on top, along with any other garnishes (i.e. chocolate curls). 

5. Cut into generous slices and enjoy!