Espresso Cake

The recipe I am posting today if for a cake that really impressed me last week. It is a super simple and easy cake to make; however the flavor is intense and extremely pleasant.
Espresso Cake first called my attention because the recipe had another recipe that came with it where the leftover cake could be used to make truffles (more on this latter). Second I liked the idea of trying a new Chocolate Cake recipe!
And what a chocolate cake that was! Delicious, moist, and with a great flavor distributed all over it. I would say it is sort of a “grown up chocolate cake”, but have to add that Matheus just loved it too! He said it was one of the best chocolate cakes, which by the way is his favorite cake!
The husband liked it too, but being the “coffee hater” he is, he really pointed out that the coffee flavor was rather strong. I on the other hand really loved this cake, it was not too sweet, and ultra moist, which is a plus for me, and chocolate cakes in general. I have tried a few simple chocolate cake recipes and this one was by far the best one I made.
I will certainly make this cake again, even more because Matheus already asked for it and I also want to try the alternative recipe that came with it. And next time I make it I will probably use half coffee and half water, or maybe even substitute milk for the coffee, just to please my lovely hubby!
I got this recipe from a book called “Conscious Cuisine” by Cary Neff. The author is a spa chef and the book is full of delicious and nutritious recipes. I borrowed the book from the library and am now considering buying it for myself, as I liked and still want to try a few more recipes from it (and I already renewed it once, so I am running out of time with the library here!).
As I mentioned earlier, there is another recipe in the same book that uses this cake to make truffles! I loved the idea, but unfortunately didn’t have the time to make it sooner and when I went to take a look at the leftover cake, other than not having much left, it was also sort of smelling weird, with a pronounced prune smell and flavor. So I decided to toss it (oh no!) and will definitely make the truffles the next time I make the cake (which I am planning to do pretty soon). And I promise to post the recipe and reviews for that here, of course!
I used prune puree when I made my cake but you can also use applesauce, which I plan to try next (I opted for the prunes since it was a chocolate cake, and I do believe it contributed to the cake rich dark color too). You can easily make your own prune puree, but I saved time by using the baby food little jars, which for my surprise came in little plastic containers, with lids and all. I though they were really nice (usually when I was young there were only the glass jars…), and the prune puree was also very good!
Right now I will leave the cake recipe and some pictures here. It is a very nice cake, really really easy, super moist and incredibly tasty! Plus, another light recipe, each slice has only 80 calories, can you believe that? See why I loved the book? Yummy and healthy recipes, what else can you ask for?!
Ana

Espresso Cake
(Conscious Cuisine, by chef Cary Neff)

2/3 cup whole-wheat pastry flour
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
1 cup sugar
2/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup pureed prunes or unsweetened applesauce
3 large egg whites
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1 cup coffee

Preheat the oven 350 degrees F. Spray a 9-inch cake pan with cooking spray and dust with additional cocoa powder, set aside.
In a medium bowl, combine the flours, sugar, cocoa, baking powder, baking soda, and salt; set aside. In another bowl, combine the prune puree, egg whites, vanilla, and coffee. Mix the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and pour into the prepared cake pan.
Bake for 20 to 25 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the middle of the cake comes out clean. Cool the cake in the pan on a wire rack for 10 minutes. Run a knife around the edge of the cake and invert onto a wire rack to cool completely.

A picture of a cake slice...

And the prune puree I used.