No Clever Title, Just Good Cake

I made a cake today! No, it wasn't this one. I made this cake three weeks ago before Hayden was born. I was pretty exhausted and didn't think I'd have time to make it, but my mom offered to help so we did this together. I'm pretty sure she was only interested because it was full of booze! haha! Either way, I appreciated her help because she cleaned up after me and took over when I had to sit and take breaks, which was often. It's amazing how much energy a baby can suck out of you! :-) Thank you Momma for helping me complete this month's Cake Slice cake!

This is the last month we are baking from Cake Keeper Cakes by Lauren Chattman so rather than everyone making the same cake, we all got to choose which one we wanted to bake. It was tough narrowing down the list because there were many I was drooling over. But in the end I settled on Mississippi Mud Cake with a Bourbon Espresso Glaze. Despite it being one of the only cakes Mr. H wanted, it was loaded with flavor and full of chocolate, espresso, and booze. It really was a no-brainer.

Before I set off to make this, I remembered that my dear friend Debby from A Feast For The Eyes also made this cake. So I went back to read her post and she mentioned that while it was good it could have been more moist so I made a subtle change and added some sour cream to the batter. It was the perfect addition to this cake. It was dense, the espresso was obvious but not too strong- really it just intensified the chocolate flavor and the Bourbon shone through in the cake and in the glaze, but it wasn't overpowering. It was the perfect trifecta- like a kicked up after dinner coffee drink. Debby suggested pouring some of that glaze over some ice cream and that's just what I did. Great idea.

Mississippi Mud Cake with Espresso Bourbon Glaze adapted from Cake keeper Cakes

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Cake:

• 2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
• 2 teaspoons baking soda
• 2 teaspoons instant espresso powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup unsalted butter, cut into pieces
• 6 ounces unsweetened chocolate, finely chopped
• 1/2 cup brewed espresso
• 1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
• 1/2 cup bourbon
• 4 large eggs
• 1 cup sour cream
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 3/4 cup mini chocolate chips
• 3/4 cup chopped pecans or walnuts

Glaze:

• 6 Tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into pieces
• 6 Tablespoons packed light brown sugar
• 2 teaspoons instant espresso powder
• 6 Tablespoons heavy cream
• 1 1/2 cups powdered sugar
• 2 Tablespoons bourbon

For The Cake: Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease a 12-cup Bundt and dust with flour. Combine the flour, baking soda, espresso powder, and salt in a medium mixing bowl.

Combine the butter, chocolate, and espresso in a medium saucepan. Heat over medium, stirring until the butter and chocolate are melted. Remove from the heat and stir in the granulated sugar and bourbon.

Place the eggs, sour cream and vanilla in a large mixing bowl and beat with an electric mixer on low to break up the eggs. Beat in the chocolate mixture. Add the flour mixture and stir until just combined. Stir in the chocolate chips and pecans (if using).

Scrape the batter into the prepared pan and smooth the top with a spatula. Bake until a toothpick inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean, about 45 minutes. Let the cake cool in the pan for 5 minutes and then invert it onto a wire rack to cool completely.

For The Glaze: Stir the butter, brown sugar, and espresso powder together in a small saucepan over medium heat until the butter is melted. Whisk in the cream and bring to a simmer. Cook for 1 minute, remove from the heat, and whisk in the powdered sugar until smooth. Mix in the bourbon. Let cool for 10 minutes.

Place the cake, still on the wire rack, over a baking sheet (or parchment paper). Slowly drizzle the glaze over the cake, letting it run down the sides of the cake and covering as much of the cake as possible. Let stand until the glaze is set, about 1/2 an hour. Slice and serve.

Store uneaten cake on a cake keeper or wrap in plastic and store at room temperature for up to 3 days.