#2 : Chocolate Cake

Chocolate cake. This takes many forms. The layered and moist ones, the thick and rich ones, dense with chocolatey goodness, the molten lava ones, oozing with melted chocolate. They’re all cake and all chocolate to me. If I could, I would have each and every one of them. Chocolate cake is almost a genre instead of a specific kind really.

The origins of this particular dessert vary for both the word and the confection. Some sources say that the word is rooted in the ancient greek “Plakous” a flat oat or corn cake sweetened with honey. Others say that it has a viking origin. The word “Kaka” describing a baked flour confection sweetened with sugar and honey. Though this is the origin of cake alone. Chocolate didn’t come into play until much later.

Chocolate goes back to around 1764 when Dr. James Baker made chocolate by grinding cacao beans. In 1828 Conrad Van Houten developed a method of extraction that would remove the fat from the cacao resulting in cacao butter, and the compacted solids that are used in making rock and powdered cacao. This made chocolate accessible to everyone as an inexpensive treat that could be had daily. Chocolate was not just for the rich any more.

It was not until 1879 when conching was invented. This process created a more silky texture for chocolate allowing it to be added readily and combine smoothly into batters. Up until the 1900′s most chocolate was used as a drink, or for drinking. Now it could be blended into cooking and baking.

METHOD

1. Preheat your grill to medium-low, 325°F.
2. In a mixing bowl, sift together the sugar, salt, and baking soda. Set aside.
3. Pour the coffee over the cut up chocolate and let it sit to melt. In a separate bowl, beat the eggs, add the oil, vanilla and sour cream. Beat well.
4. Whisk the chocolate and coffee together, when smooth, add it to the egg mixture and combine.
5. Fold the flour mixture slowly into the liquids until incorporated.
6. Cut off the top third of each orange, reserving the tops for garnish. Scrape out the fruit inside leaving the empty shell.
7. Fill each orange ¾ of the way full with the batter. Place each orange on an 8-inch square of aluminum foil and place directly onto the grill over the unlit side.
8. Grill-bake for 15 to 20 minutes or until a toothpick inserted comes out clean.

Orange Buttercream Icing

1. Put the leftover orange chunks into a strainer, (the wire mesh kind) and, using a spoon, mush out the juice from the orange bits. Set aside both juice and pulp.
2. In a small bowl, cream butter until light and fluffy then beat in the confectioners’ sugar, orange peel and vanilla.
3. Add enough orange juice to achieve frosting consistency. If you want a little extra zing to your orange buttercream, use the orange pulp instead of the peel and add a little extra pulp instead of juice until you get frosting consistency.

Happy Grilling!