Amaretto-glazed chocolate cake

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I love music and cannot live without it; months ago a friend of mine told me I should get Shazam on my phone – what a wonderful idea that was! Every time there was a new song I liked on the radio I’d go crazy trying to type of write down some of the lyrics to google it afterwards, but most of the time that did not work well because usually there is not enough time to do all that when you’re driving. :S

The app was how I got to this absolutely amazing song, which video blew me away: not only is it fantastic but it also reminds me of a movie I adore – I have been listening to the song nonstop for weeks now. :)

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The minute I unmolded this cake onto the wire rack I thought it looked too plain, almost ordinary – perhaps I should have used a more beautifully shaped pan to bake it. But as soon as the glaze hit the cake things got a little more interesting, and the cake’s porous texture absorbed a lot of it, turning it into something special.

Amaretto-glazed chocolate cake
slightly adapted from the always marvelous Donna Hay Magazine

Cake:
2/3 cup (150g) unsalted butter, softened
2/3 cup (116g) brown sugar, packed
¾ cup sour cream*
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 teaspoons Amaretto
½ cup + 1 tablespoon (58g) almond meal
1 cup + 1 tablespoon (150g) all purpose flour, sifted
½ teaspoon baking powder, sifted
¼ teaspoon baking soda, sifted
pinch of salt
½ cup (45g) cocoa, sifted

Amaretto glaze:
¼ cup (23g) cocoa, sifted
½ cup (100g) granulated sugar
½ cup (120ml) water
2 tablespoons Amaretto

Preheat oven to 180°C/350°F. Generously butter an 8 cup-capacity Bundt or ring cake pan.
In the large bowl of an electric mixer beat butter and brown sugar until light and fluffy. In a medium bowl, whisk together the sour cream, eggs and vanilla.
Add to the butter mixture with the almond meal, flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt and cocoa and beat until just combined (do not over mix).
Spoon the mixture into the prepared pan.
Bake for 35 minutes or until a cake tester inserted into the cake comes out clean. Cool in cake pan for 15 minutes. Turn out onto a wire rack to cool completely.

Make the glaze: combine the cocoa, sugar, water and Amaretto in a small saucepan over medium heat. Bring to the boil, then cook, stirring (mixture will bubble and might spill over) for 5 minutes or until thickened. Cool completely. Spoon the glaze over the cake (I served some on the side since it yielded more than enough to glaze the cake).

* homemade sour cream: to make 1 cup of sour cream, mix 1 cup (240ml) heavy cream with 2-3 teaspoons lemon juice in a bowl. Whisk until it starts to thicken. Cover with plastic wrap and leave at room temperature for 1 hour or until thicker (I usually leave mine on the counter overnight – except on very warm nights – and it turns out thick and silky in the following morning; refrigerate for a creamier texture)

Serves 6-8