Chocolate Jack Cake from Little Everyday Cakes should really be called Chocolate Whiskey Cake.
It has three tablespoons of whiskey in it, but I didn’t use Jack Daniels as noted. Instead, I used another (cheaper) brand. Whiskey is whiskey to me unless you have it on the rocks with a spritz of water. Then you’ll want the good stuff.
The whiskey smells pretty strong when you put it in the cake, but it blends so nicely and give it a unique flavor, along with the touch of black pepper in the batter. You’ll probably not know the whiskey is in there and you can leave it out if you prefer.
I love the ingredients in this easy, but complex-flavored cake. The whiskey, the black pepper, black coffee and a good amount of brown sugar come together with the usual ingredients to make a rich, deeply chocolate cake sprinkled with chocolate chips.
The top of the cake will crack a bit when it’s done and then sink in the middle just a touch.
When you cut it, you’ll find a dense-crumbed cake with almost a fudgy layer on top. It’s wonderful warmed up just a bit and topped with a lightly sweetened whipped cream.
This Chocolate Jack Cake is another easy-to-throw-together cake by Candace Floyd. It doesn’t dirty up many baking utensils and I like that!
It’s only one layer, so it won’t be around your house for very long. I can’t get over how deep the chocolate flavor is and how delicious it is.
My husband prefers cake with frosting, which you can do if you’d like, but I think it’s outstanding without frosting. Use your favorite frosting (I recommended vanilla buttercream) if your family insists.
If you’re looking for more outstanding chocolate cake recipes, you may also like Siren’s Chocolate Cake (also by Candace Floyd and amazing).
Or you might want to try my all-time favorite chocolate cake – the good old faithful Grandmother’s Cake-In-The-Pan (lousy photos from when I first started my blog, but an incredible cake and icing).
Chocolate Jack Cake
Rich, dense chocolate cake with a whisper of whiskey flavor.
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 C all-purpose flour
- 1 tsp baking soda
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1/4 tsp black pepper
- 1/2 C strong-brewed coffee, cooled
- 3 tbsp whiskey (such as Jack Daniel's)
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1/2 C granulated sugar
- 1 C packed brown sugar
- 1/2 C unsweetened cocoa powder
- 7 tbsp butter, softened
- 2 eggs, room temperature
- 1/2 C mini-semisweet chocolate chips
- Sweetened Whipped Cream (if desired):
- 1 C heavy whipping cream
- 2 tbsp powdered sugar
- 1/2 tsp vanilla
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350°. Spray an 8-inch round cake pan. Line it with parchment paper and also spray the parchment paper. Dust the pan with cocoa, tapping out the extra.
- In a medium bowl, sift together the flour, baking soda, salt, and black pepper.
- In a measuring cup, stir together the coffee, whiskey, and vanilla.
- In a small bowl, combine the granulated sugar, brown sugar and cocoa.
- Place the butter in a mixing bowl using the stand mixer or hand mixer, beat it on medium-high until creamy . Reduce the speed to low and carefully add the sugar/cocoa mixture. Beat until smooth, 2-3 minutes, increasing the speed to medium until the mixture comes together.
- Add the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Reduce the speed to low and alternate adding the flour mixture and whisky mixture, starting with the flour and ending with the flour. Beat until just combined, scraping the sides of the bowl if needed.
- Fold in the chocolate chips with a spatula and stir a couple of times with the spatula, making sure there's nothing at the bottom of the bowl that needs to be mixed in. Pour the batter into the prepared pan.
- Bake the cake 28-35 minutes, until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out almost clean (will be moist). The top will be slightly cracked.
- Remove the pan from the oven and let sit in the pan for about 10 minutes. Remove cake from pan and let cool on a rack. It will fall slightly in the middle - that's OK.
- Serve warm with a dollop of lightly sweetened whipped cream.
- For the Whipped Cream: Pour the cream into a cold medium metal bowl and mix with an electric mixer until soft peaks (peaks will fold over when you hold up the beaters). Gradually add the powdered sugar while beating, then add the vanilla and beat just until blended.
Notes
If you want to leave the whiskey out, it will still be a terrific chocolate cake. Just use 3 more tablespoons of coffee for the liquid.
I used regular-sized chocolate chips.
Warm cold/cooled cake in the microwave for 15 seconds, then put the whipped cream on to serve. Best this way!!
Nutrition Information:
Yield: 8 Serving Size: 1Amount Per Serving: Calories: 411Total Fat: 15gSaturated Fat: 9gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 5gCholesterol: 74mgSodium: 409mgCarbohydrates: 62gFiber: 2gSugar: 40gProtein: 6g
Nutrition Values are Approximate
Each month The Cake Slice Bakers are offered a selection of cakes from the current book we are baking through. This year it is Little Everyday Cakes by Candace Floyd. We each choose one cake to bake, and then on the 20th – never before – we all post about our cake on our blogs. There are a few rules that we follow, but the most important ones are to have fun and enjoy baking & eating cakes!
Follow our Facebook, Instagram, and Pinterest pages where you can find all of our cakes, as well as inspiration for many other cakes. You can also click on the thumbnail pictures below to take you to each of our cakes. If you have a blog and are interested in joining The Cake Slice Bakers and baking along with us, please send an email to thecakeslicebakers at gmail dot com for more details.
The Cake Slice Bakers also have a new Facebook group called The Cake Slice Bakers and Friends. This group is perfect for those who do not have a blog but want to join in the fun and bake through this book.
Allspice Applesauce Cake
Pumpkin Spice Cake with Coconut Topping