Choko-Choko-La-La Chocolate Cake

One of the fondest memories for a young child of Haitian decent is waking up on a cold Saturday morning to a sweet smell whisping past their nose. My sisters and I would get so excited because we recognized the decadent scent. The richness of the aroma was undeniable. We’d hop out of bed and quickly make our way to the back room next to the kitchen, sit at the dining room table while swinging our legs back-and-forth with excitement. Our mom would be in the kitchen standing over a simmering pot while stirring ever so gently with one hand while the other hand rest on her hips. She’d looked over at us with her beautiful brown round face, chubby cheeks and say to us “Èske nou bwose dan nou” While giggling we’d quickly run to the bathroom, brush our teeth and rush back to the table. At the table we were greeted with a mug of piping hot delicious Haitian hot chocolate, thick slices of warm Haitian bread smeared with creamy salty butter. It was more like a treat. I’ve taken that wonderful , warm and decadent taste of Haitian hot chocolate and combined it with an American favorite “Chocolate Cake”. Enjoy the recipe for my “Choko-Choko-La-La Chocolate Cake", your family’s new favorite dessert Serves 10 Prep Time: 15 minutes Cook time: 33-35 minutes Frosting the cake: 5-10 minutes Ingredients: -2 cups of sugar -1 cup freshly ground pure Haitian Chocolate (to achieve one cup of Haitian cocoa powder you will need to grind roughly 3 round balls of pure Haitian Cocoa. You can grind your cocoa using a food processor or spice grinder. You may also use your blender) -1 stick of salted butter -2 cups all purpose flour -1 teaspoon baking powder -1 teaspoon baking soda -1 teaspoon salt -1 cup evaporated milk -1 teaspoon cider vinegar -2 large eggs -1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract -2 cups Nestlé semi sweet chocolate chips -1 & 1/2 cups sour cream at room temperature (it is very important that you allow the sour cream to come to room temperature so that when it is added to the melted semi sweet chocolate chips it does not turn into clumps) *Non-stick cooking spray for your baking pan 1. preheat your oven to 375° 2. In a sauce pan add your sugar, freshly grinded Haitian Chokola Rounds , butter and 1 & 1/4 cup of water. Place over medium heat while stirring occasionally until all of the ingredients are melted and well incorporated together smoothly. Allow mixture to come to a gentle boil for just 5-10 seconds, then remove from the heat immediately. Using a wire strainer, strain your hot chocolate into a bowl to remove any of the grit that is sometimes found in pure Haitian hot chocolate. Once you have strained the chocolate liquid set it aside to cool for 20 minutes. 3. Meanwell in a separate bowl sift together your flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt and set aside 4. In a separate small bowl stir together the milk and vinegar. 5. Once your chocolate liquid has cooled, whisk in the milk mixture and eggs. Then mix in your dry ingredients 1/2 cup at a time until the flour is well incorporated with the cocoa liquid. Once your mixture is smooth add your vanilla extract and gently whisk together. 6. Using your nonstick spray generously spray your cake pan or a Bundt pan. Pour your batter into the cake pan and bake on the middle rack until a skewer/knife inserted comes out clean 30- 35 min (Be sure to put either a baking sheet or foil paper on the rack below the cake rack to catch any batter that may spillover. 7. Once cake is done baking allow it to cool for 15 minutes, then carefully flip it onto the serving Pedestal/Platter. Allow the cake to continue cooling for at least another 45-50 minutes. You must allow the cake to cool completely before adding the frosting, a warm/hot cake may cause your frosting to slide off of the cake creating a mess. LET COOL COMPLETELY 8. While the cake is cooling let’s start on the sour cream chocolate frosting. In a medium bowl add your Nestlé semi sweet chocolate chips. We’re going to melt the chocolate chips using the microwave, but it is very important that you melt the chocolate in small increments to assure that the chocolate does not burn in the microwave. Melt the chocolate in the following increments while stirring in between increments.15 seconds, 15 seconds, 10 seconds, 10 seconds, 10 seconds, 5 seconds and lastly 5 more seconds .... be patient while melting the chocolate...you do not want to burn the chocolate. 9. Allow the chocolate to come to room temperature, it is very important that the chocolate AND the sour cream both be at room temperature. WARNING: if you add cold sour cream to the warm chocolate, your chocolate will seize up immediately and it will create clumps or a grainy texture. Be patient and allow both chocolate and sour cream to come to room temperature. (Test a small amount before completely adding your sour cream to the chocolate. Test a little bit in a small bowl by adding one spoon of chocolate and one spoon of sour cream and stir together, if it mixes smoothly, it’s ready) 10. Stir the sour cream 2 to 3 spoonfuls at a time into your milk chocolate until the mixture is smooth 11. When the cake has completely cool you may frost your cake using a piping bag with a decorative tip or use a butter knife to evenly spread the frosting on your cake. Serve And ENJOY. FYI (this cake taste even better the next day)