Bake Along #132 – Brown Butter Chocolate Chip Cake

Brown butter was in my check list for almost a year. I was waiting for the perfect time to get my hands on it. I had my own insight about it and I was trying to feel and taste it virtually all these days. Nothing short of it, because it makes sense to trust our instincts

The brown butter cake predominantly has a nutty flavor shifting the whole experience from being a basic pound cake to a deeper and sensational flavor. I wanted to incorporate chocolate chips into the batter and again cover the cake with chocolate ganache and deck it up with whole lot of chocolate chips. Because this is one other avatar of what was in my check list from years back.

This cake will be close to my heart, because this will be recreated to reach my brother on the day of Raksha Bandhan, but well he is many many miles away from me

Recipe inspired – Bonjoursucre

Ingredients:

Butter – 115 gms
Eggs – 4
Sugar – 250 gms
Vanilla extract – 1 teaspoon
Dairy cream – 1/3 cup
All-purpose flour – 240 gms
Baking powder – 1 1/2 teaspoon
Salt – 1/4 teaspoon
Chocolate chips – 1 cup

Ganache –

Dark chocolate – 100 gms
Dairy cream – 100 gms

Topping –

Chocolate chips – 2 cups

Method:

1. Pre-heat oven to 160 degree C. Line up an 8 inch round cake pan ( I have used 9 inch) with butter paper. Butter the sides of the pan and also on top of the butter paper.

2. Sift together all-purpose flour, baking powder and salt. Set aside

3. Add butter in a heavy bottomed sauce pan.

4. Bring butter on medium flame and let it melt gently. Keep stirring.

5. Continue to stir and keep it on medium flame. The bubbles may rise up and then settle down. While it is settling down, bring down flame to low and continue to stir. Watch the colour of the butter change to deep honey. Switch off stove and let it cool. Do not let it burn.

6. Add the eggs in the bowl of your electric beater. Beat on medium high speed for 1 minute until the eggs become pale in colour.

7. Let the beater run and add the sugar in a slow stream into the eggs.

8. Continue to beat on medium high speed for about 5 minutes until the mixture becomes thick and pale with a ribbon consistency

9. Add vanilla extract and beat for about 1 minute until its well incorporated.

10. Add the dairy cream and beat on medium high speed for about 1 minute

11. Add the flour mixture in 2 parts and beat on slow speed just until incorporated. Do not over beat.

12. Add about a cup of the prepared batter into the browned butter.

13. Mix the cup of batter and brown butter thoroughly.

14. Add the mixture back into the rest of the batter. Cut and fold gently and incorporate everything together without deflating the batter.

15. Add the chocolate chips and again cut and fold until its incorporated evenly

16. Transfer batter into the prepared cake pan and tap it gently once or twice. Bake in pre-heated oven for 35 to 40 minutes at 160 degree C or until the top is golden brown and a tooth pick inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean.

17. Cool on wire rack for 15 minutes. Invert cake pan and remove the cake and let it cool on the wire rack and let it come down to the room temperature.

18. Add chocolate and cream in a microwave safe bowl for making the ganache.

19. Microwave for 1 minute and gently stir until chocolate melts completely and combines with the cream. Let it cool down for few minutes, but still has a flowy consistency

20. Add the chocolate ganache on top of the cooled cake.

21. Spread out the ganache to the edge of the cake and also let it drip a bit on the sides. (The swirl on top, what I have done, makes no sense through )

22. Add the 2 cups of chocolate chips on top of the ganache and press it down to make it look even

You can set this in fridge for about 1 hour, but they need to be thawed down to room temperature before serving. You can also add your variations with toasted chopped nuts, zest of citrus fruits etc. You can also top the cake with pralines to add to the crunchiness.