Pecan & Chocolate Streusel Cake - Random Recipes 13

It's Random Recipe time again and as a tribute to the birth month of this fabulous event, we have been given the task of picking a recipe from the book we used when we first took part in this challenge. I was mightily pleased about this as I was panicking rather at having to use the Valrhona chocolate book which CT gave me for Christmas. There isn't a single simple recipe in it - in fact they all look way beyond my capability. Divine by Linda Collister is a much more accessible book. Last year I made butterscotch swirl brownies which were a great success; what would this year bring I wondered?

This year, CT did the honours again and picked page 76, which is an American Pecan and Chocolate 'Coffee Cake' - so called because it is to be eaten with coffee rather than actually containing coffee. This was a relief to me as I don't like coffee, but a rather confusing name. The recipe required a bundt tin. I've been on the look out for a silicone ring mould for ages but have had no luck so far, so I used a loaf tin instead. I substituted yogurt for sour cream and added some chilli into the mix.

This is how I did it:

• Roughly ground 100g toasted pecans in a coffee grinder together with 100g 70% dark chocolate (G&B), 4 tbsp light muscovado sugar, 1 tsp cinnamon and 1/2 tsp cayenne pepper.
• Put aside until needed.

• Creamed 250g unsalted butter with 150g cardamon sugar (caster) until light and fluffy.
• Beat in 2 eggs, one at a time.
• Beat in 250ml yogurt.
• Sifted in 300g flour (half wholemeal spelt, half white), 2 tsp baking powder, 1/2 tsp bicarb of soda and a pinch of salt.
• Folded this in as gently as I could.

• Greased and lined the bottom of a 900g loaf tin.
• Spooned nearly half of the mixture into the tin - nearly half as it looked as though there was going to be too much mixture AND I was right.
• Sprinkled nearly half of the chocolate mixture over the top.
• Spooned in most of the remaining mixture.
• Sprinkled on most of the remaining chocolate mixture.
• Pressed this down with the back of a spoon.
• Carried out the same process with the remaining mixtures using a mini loaf mould.
• Baked the large loaf at 180C for 45 mins (with tin foil over the top for the last 15 minutes to stop the top burning) and the little one for 17 mins.

I had the mini loaf warm from the oven and it was heavenly. It had a crisp crunchy crust and a soft interior interspersed with bits of spicy chocolate streusel. It was deliciously buttery and not nearly as sweet as I had imagined. It was well flavoured and had just a touch of chilli warmth to it that wouldn't have been easy to identify if you didn't know it was there. The cake looked really pretty with the dark struesel layers contrasting with the pale coloured crumb. All in all I was truly impressed and will be making this one again for sure. Thank you once again Dom for getting me to bake something I probably wouldn't have contemplated and all because of the word "coffee".