Chocolate Absinthe Cake...
Posted on
01/15/2013
by aduial_eternal
- Tags:cakes, chocolate, chocolate cake, liquors, other spices, vegetarian
- Location:AK
- Mood:sleepy
- Music:Saosin, You're Not Alone
Absinthe recently became legal in the US, and having been very curious about it for years, I just had to buy a bottle and try it.
And I love it.
So naturally I just had to see what it tastes like in a cake.
I spent a couple days searching the web for an absinthe cake recipe, and only found two. Neither of them appealed to me, so I decided to use a rum cake recipe and substitute the absinthe for the rum. I've gotta say, I think it turned out pretty great.
1 cup butter, softened
Combine flour and next 5 ingredients; add to sugar mixture alternately with hot water, beginning and ending with flour mixture. Beat at low speed until blended after each addition; stir in flavorings.
Pour batter into greased and floured cake pan.
Bake at 350° for 27 minutes (cake will not test quite done). Cool in pan on a wire rack 10 minutes; remove from pan, and cool completely on wire racks.
Frost top and sides of cake if you want. Garnish. Cover and chill 8 hours. Store in refrigerator.
The cake isn't super sweet, which I like. It is pretty rich though. Most of the absinthe bakes off the in the oven, so you're left with this lovely flavor that blends perfectly with the chocolate.
Funny story time: I made this cake again for a get-together. This time I poured the batter into bread pans and made loaves.
My mother, wonderful woman that she is, left them sitting on the edge of her counter, and one of her dogs- a 100 pound chocolate lab/chessie if you're interested- took the opportunity to eat part of one.
I was tempted to throw the whole damn thing away, but instead I cut off the parts that he had nibbled on, spread some chocolate syrup over what was left, sprinkled on some powdered sugar to pretty it up, and went on my merry way.
I should probably add that the dog is fine, no adverse reaction to the chocolate or the alcohol. And since the get-together was for a bunch of dog rescue folks, no one cared that he had "sampled" the cake.
And I love it.
So naturally I just had to see what it tastes like in a cake.
I spent a couple days searching the web for an absinthe cake recipe, and only found two. Neither of them appealed to me, so I decided to use a rum cake recipe and substitute the absinthe for the rum. I've gotta say, I think it turned out pretty great.
1 cup butter, softened
2 cups sugar
4 large eggs
1/2 cup absinthe
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 cup unsweetened cocoa
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon ground aniseed or fennel seed
1 cup hot water
1 teaspoon almond extract
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Optional: Garnish w/ chocolate shavings
Beat butter at medium speed with an electric mixer until fluffy; gradually add sugar, beating well. Add eggs, 1 at a time, beating until blended after each addition. Add absinthe; beat until blended.Combine flour and next 5 ingredients; add to sugar mixture alternately with hot water, beginning and ending with flour mixture. Beat at low speed until blended after each addition; stir in flavorings.
Pour batter into greased and floured cake pan.
Bake at 350° for 27 minutes (cake will not test quite done). Cool in pan on a wire rack 10 minutes; remove from pan, and cool completely on wire racks.
Frost top and sides of cake if you want. Garnish. Cover and chill 8 hours. Store in refrigerator.
Note: You should plan to refrigerate it overnight before serving to allow the flavors to mellow.
---
I didn't bother with frosting or a glaze. I thought about it, but after tasting it, I decided that it didn't need anything else.---
The cake isn't super sweet, which I like. It is pretty rich though. Most of the absinthe bakes off the in the oven, so you're left with this lovely flavor that blends perfectly with the chocolate.
Funny story time: I made this cake again for a get-together. This time I poured the batter into bread pans and made loaves.
My mother, wonderful woman that she is, left them sitting on the edge of her counter, and one of her dogs- a 100 pound chocolate lab/chessie if you're interested- took the opportunity to eat part of one.
I was tempted to throw the whole damn thing away, but instead I cut off the parts that he had nibbled on, spread some chocolate syrup over what was left, sprinkled on some powdered sugar to pretty it up, and went on my merry way.
I should probably add that the dog is fine, no adverse reaction to the chocolate or the alcohol. And since the get-together was for a bunch of dog rescue folks, no one cared that he had "sampled" the cake.
The first time I heard about it, I was in Las Vegas. I really wanted to try some, but the only place that had it was a nightclub.
While I'm loathe to use an expensive German bottle of absinthe for baking purposes, I'd definitely give this a go with a cheaper kind! I love aniseed flavoured anything!
Funny story about the dog, though. Glad you saved the cake!
Edited at 2013-01-17 01:37 am (UTC)
I own quite an extensive collection of absinthes with varying thujone levels.
Most modern absinthes contain about 15mg of thujone, compared to the antiquated varieties that had upwards of 35mg (max allowance of thujone in the EU). It was never technically illegal in Canada, but the thujone restrictions were down to about 5mg, so, most commercial absinthes were in effect 'banned' up until about somewhere between 5-8 years ago.
It's funny because thujone doesn't actually affect the intoxication quality/kind of intoxication you get from absinthe.
Now, I thought that wormwood (and that is where the thujone comes from, right?) makes you hallucinate. Are you saying that that is not the case?
If you stop by this thread again I'd love to hear your insight on the topic.
What is known based on research on mice, is that when thujone is consumed in excessive amounts it may cause severe convulsions. So before absinthe can be sold, thujone levels have to be quantified and recorded at levels no higher than the upper limit of 10 ppm (10mg/L). Absinthe with levels higher than this can't be sold or imported, at least here in the US. I have heard these levels can legally be higher elsewhere so it may or may not be different where you live. Absinthe that doesn't contain wormwood at all is considered a pastis.
To answer your other question, yes, thujone comes from wormwood oil extract.
I was mostly glad that he was ok though. :-)