Chocolate Coffee Cake

This all started with some coffee, some leftover ingredients, and shear boredom. It culminated into a new tradition. One which I hope to pass on to guests, to friends, and of course, to family. Many of my compatriots already know both my passions for fine specialty coffees as well as my love of cuisine and the culinary arts. It is my desire that, through this piece, you the reader might also become acquainted with how I have melded the two together and ended up with a new tradition.

Alongside my love for cooking and coffee I also indulge in, and perhaps to too great a degree, a love for chocolate. These three passions lead me to a new after-dinner treat; one that pleases the senses as well as sharpens the home chef’s culinary skills. And this is exactly what I look for in new foods: something simple and yet challenging; something that, when shared with others, makes for a wonderful experience for the chef as well as the guests.

Simply, it is a light chocolate and egg white cake dipped into espresso. The two tastes compliment each other as they combine the simplicity of the two to make a simplicity of one. One act that can only be had from two distinctive parts. There is much joy found at the end of a wonderful meal, where an individual can sit and relax, and partake of two of the most common after-meal traditions: coffee and dessert.

From My Family to Yours

And like all traditions, it has the leeway to evolve into more, if you so desire. Traditions tend to have a greater significance when coupled with particular event. For my household, this new tradition is perfect for those times when close, personal friends are over, because they know how much I love coffee, and how I much I enjoy baking. They share in the taste and the significance to the host. It doesn’t need to stop there. As it is a very easy tradition to learn from, it becomes all that much easier to pass it along to the guest. Imparting them with the tradition, for them to take to their homes and for thier own personal enjoyment. And, hopefully, that they might pass their version along to others.

The Coffee

To start, we need coffee. While I could wax poetically about the proper brew, grind, and tamp I need only reinforce that one can not truly live this experience without a good coffee. Does this mean that you must go out and buy a fancy new home espresso/cappuccino machine? No. Can you get by with a wonderfully strong pot of drip/pour-over coffee? I wouldn’t suggest it. Instead, I stress the importance of Italian espresso from a stove top espresso machine.