Cocoa and Chicory Sheet Cake
I like to brew a hot mug of ground roasted chicory root in the evenings. The penetrating, caramel aromas—quite similar to those of my morning cup of coffee—are soothing after a heavy meal (especially when the drink is paired with a buttery cookie or a juicy orange). And it’s even better stirred into a moist chocolate cake, a perennial crowd-pleaser.
This is a wonderfully forgiving recipe to scale up and down—you can halve the batch here to make a dozen cupcakes, or double it to make four 6-inch loaves to give to neighbors. Top with cacao nibs and sprinkles for some crunch, or dot with button-sized edible chrysanthemums.
This recipe was excerpted from ‘More Than Cake' by Natasha Pickowicz. Buy the full book on Amazon. Click through for more chocolate desserts →
Because of their moist, super-hydrated crumb, you can store oil-based cakes in the freezer, where they’ll never dry out. This is an ideal cake for frozen desserts.
Recipe information
Yield
Makes one 9-by-13-inch sheet cake
Ingredients
Cocoa Gloss
Cake
Preparation
Make the Cocoa Gloss
Step 1
In a small pot, combine the ground chicory, cocoa powder, glucose, sugar, salt, vanilla, and water and whisk well to break up the clumps of cocoa powder. Bring the sauce up to a simmer over medium-low heat and let simmer gently, whisking occasionally, until thickened, 8 to 10 minutes. Pour the sauce through a tea strainer into a small jar to remove the chicory grounds. Allow the gloss to cool for 30 minutes as it will continue to thicken. The gloss can be made up to 2 weeks in advance and stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator. Rewarm before using.
Make the cake
Step 2
Preheat the oven and prep the pan: Preheat the oven to 350°F. Drape a saddle of parchment paper inside a 9-by-13-inch baking dish and coat with cooking spray.
Step 3
Make the chicory coffee: In a saucepan, combine the water and chicory grounds over low heat, 3 to 4 minutes. Pour the mixture through a tea strainer into a small cup to remove the grounds.
Step 4
Dissolve the sugar in the egg: In a stand mixer fitted with the whisk (or in a large bowl using a handheld mixer), whip the egg on high speed until foamy, about 20 seconds. Slowly stream in both sugars and continue to whip until the sugar is dissolved and the mixture has doubled in volume, 4 to 5 minutes.
Step 5
Prepare the dry ingredients: In a medium bowl, combine the flour, baking soda, baking powder, and kosher salt. Sift the cocoa powder over the mixture and whisk.
Step 6
Stream in the liquids: With the mixer running on medium speed, stream in the buttermilk, grapeseed oil, vanilla, and brewed chicory, 1 to 2 minutes.
Step 7
Whisk in the dry ingredients: Add the flour mixture all at once and whisk vigorously until just combined. The mixture will be slightly lumpy, but do not whisk until smooth.
Step 8
Bake the cake: Scrape the batter into the prepared baking dish. Bake until a cake tester inserted in the center comes out clean, about 30 minutes. Let cool slightly, then place a cutting board on top of the pan. Flip the pan over. Remove the pan and peel off the parchment.
Step 9
Glaze the cake: Pour the cooled cocoa gloss on top of the inverted cake and smooth it to coat every corner. Sprinkle with the cacao nibs or sprinkles and flaky sea salt. Let rest at room temperature for at least 10 to 15 minutes before slicing. (Alternatively, the cake, still in its pan, can be wrapped and stored in the fridge for up to 4 days before eating—see note.)
Recipe notes
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