Hot chocolate crumb cake ~

Hot chocolate crumb cake ~

Oooooo…this was a hit with the Round Table Taste Testers. It’s a diverse group, I tell ya. A six year old is honest without awareness of manners and the twelve year has had an adult palette since he was a wee one. That ten year old, well, she’s silent in her opinion if she doesn’t love something, but there is no mistaking the results by the amount of food left on her plate. This was recipe got a score of Three Clean Plates. Hey. I like that. I’m going to use it again. Where can I find how to get make a rating gif/photo like that? Anyone?

The original recipe is attributed to a Woman’s Day holiday magazine edition. I cannot find the original online. I played with changes of pan size and leavening because I wanted a higher rise than the original, a white sugar instead of brown because I didn’t want the molasses to come through, a little more sugar, added instant espresso to kick up the chocolate flavor, my favorite streusel recipe and pecans, because I want ‘em.

Why did I name it Hot Chocolate Crumb Cake? Because we cut into it less than ten minutes out of the oven and it was melty-yummy. I knew it’s consistency would be soft, but not airy because of the warm temperature. It is dense and soft the next day, but served warm….definitely worth the timing to make this particular recipe to serve soon after it comes out of the oven.

Start with the streusel ~

4 T. butter, melted and cooled slightly
¼ c. flour
¼ c. sugar
¼ c. finely chopped pecans

Mix and set aside.

Hot chocolate crumb cake ~

4 oz. butter
1 c. chocolate chips, dark or semi-sweet
2/3 c. sugar
2 eggs
1 T. instant espresso
1 ¼ unbleached flour
1/8 tsp. baking soda
1/8 tsp. baking powder
½ tsp. salt

• Melt the butter and chocolate on low. Set aside to cool a bit.

• Prep an 8” springform pan with with a bottom round of parchment and sides greased.

• Mix flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt. Set aside.

• Mix the sugar, eggs and instant espresso until espresso is dissolved and starting to lighten. Slowly add chocolate and butter mixture.

• Mix in the flour mixture until just combined without lumps.

• Add a ½ c. of chocolate chips and ½ c. of chopped pecans.

• Put batter into pan. Bake @ 350 degrees for 40-55 minutes. Start checking at 40, remove when just barely any crumbs cling to the toothpick.

• Let sit about ten minutes, slide a knife around the edges and release from pan. Serve warm.

Toodles ~
xoxo