Chocolate Chinchilla Cake with Bananas Foster
Chocolate Chinchilla Cake with Bananas Foster sauce. Gf/Df, light, airy, and decadent—a holiday showstopper.
Equipment
- 9 inch fluted Bundt cake mold optional
- Stand mixer or electric beaters optional
Ingredients
- For the Cake:
- 1 tablespoon avocado oil
- 2 cups piloncillo sugar
- 1 ¼ cups cocoa powder
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon optional
- ¼ teaspoon chili powder optional
- ¼ teaspoon cayenne pepper powder optional
- 1 teaspoon sea salt
- 2 cups egg whites 480 ml, from about 16 eggs
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- 1 tablespoon coffee brewed and cooled to room temperature
- For the Bananas Foster:
- 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
- 3 bananas sliced into 1 inch chunks
- ½ cup piloncillo sugar
- 2 tablespoons water
- ¼ cup rum
- ¼ cup heavy cream cashew milk or coconut milk
- Pinch salt
- Garnish:
- ½ cup chopped pecans roasted & salted
Instructions
- To make the cake: Preheat oven to 325˚F.
- Oil an 8 cup Bundt pan or mold with 1 tablespoon avocado oil.
- Bring a 2 quart pot of water to a boil and keep it at a low boil until needed.
- Grind the 2 cups piloncillo sugar to a fine powder in a clean spice grinder. Sift together with 1 ¼ cups cocoa powder. If you're making the Mexican Hot Chocolate version, also add 1 teaspoon cinnamon, and a quarter teaspoon each of chili powder and cayenne pepper. Add in a teaspoon of sea salt and mix well to combine. Reserve.
- With a stand mixer or beaters, whip 2 cups egg whites to soft peaks (check notes above if unfamiliar).
- Fold the dry ingredients, along with 1 teaspoon vanilla extract and 1 tablespoon cooled coffee into the egg whites with a spatula. It will take a while. Be gentle and patient. The batter will shrink a little in size as the whites slightly deflate.
- Pour the batter into the prepared mold and place inside a larger oven-proof baking dish. Pour the boiling water into the dish, halfway up the side of the Bundt pan.
- Bake in the oven until the top is set, about 45-55 minutes. The cake should have a decent amount of spring, but feel firm (not hard or crusty) to the touch. If the cracks still look like they have wet batter in them, continue to cook. Remove from the oven, and let the cake cool in the water bath for about an hour and a half.
- To get the cake to release easily, run a butter knife around the rim if possible. Place your hand on the cake, flip the mold upside down and gently wiggle it back and forth slowly, until you feel it fully release. Place on a serving plate.
- To make the Bananas Foster:
- Melt 2 tablespoons of butter over medium heat in a sauté pan. Add the 3 sliced bananas and allow them to caramelize.
- Add a ½ cup of piloncillo sugar and 2 tablespoons of water to the pan, and once it’s come to a boil and completely dissolved, add the ¼ cup of rum. Allow the raw alcohol smell to fully cook off. This will take about a minute.
- Now add a ¼ cup of cream, cashew or coconut milk. Finish with a pinch of salt, and let the sauce reduce to the desired consistency. It should coat the back of a spoon.
- Serve hot along with the Chocolate Chinchilla cake. Garnish with a sprinkle of toasted pecans.