Give gift of chocolate cake baked in jar
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By Elaine Magee
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Q. I bought a cake baked in a jar at a gift fair and would like to try making a healthier version at home. It had a strong liqueur taste and it was so moist. Can you help?
A. I've been trying various cake and bread recipes out in wide-mouth pint jars for a couple of years now with the plan of eventually writing a gift-jar article or book. So believe it or not, you've come to the right place. Since you mentioned a strong liqueur flavor, I'm going with my chocolate Kahlua cake recipe.
In place of half of the butter in the batter, I added Kahlua and replaced the remaining butter with canola oil (high in plant omega-3s and monounsaturated fat). One higher-omega-3 egg and 1/4 cup of egg substitute was added in place of 2 eggs and half of the flour used was whole wheat. To bring down the calories, I decreased the sugar from 2 cups to 1 1/3 cups. Then, after the jar cakes were baked, some piping-hot Kahlua mocha syrup was drizzled over the top before sealing with the lids.
The original recipe contains 300 calories, 14 grams fat, 8 grams saturated fat, and 60 milligrams cholesterol per serving.
CHOCOLATE KAHLUA CAKE (IN A JAR)
For the Kahlua mocha syrup:
Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Coat the inside of 4 sterilized wide-mouth pint canning jars with canola cooking spray or no-stick flour or baking spray. (You can use the sterilization setting on your dishwasher to wash the jars and the lids.) Place jars on a jellyroll pan and set side.
In a large bowl, combine flours, sugar, baking soda and salt. In a large mixing bowl, combine canola oil, 1/2 cup of Kahlua, cocoa and 1/2 cup of buttermilk together by beating on low until smooth. Add flour mixture to Kahlua mixture, beating on low to combine well. Pour in remaining buttermilk, egg, egg substitute and vanilla and beat on low until smooth. Stir in the chocolate chips, if desired.
Fill each prepared jar with cake batter until half full (about 1 cup of batter). Carefully place the pan with the jars in the oven and bake before a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean (about 35 minutes). About 5 minutes until the cakes are done, in a small nonstick saucepan, heat 1 1/2 tablespoons whipped butter, 3 tablespoons of Kahlua and 3 tablespoons of chocolate syrup over medium heat. Stir to blend well until the butter melts and the mixture is hot (but not burning).
Remove the pan with the jars from the oven and place each jar on a flat, heat-proof surface. Quickly poke holes in the top of each cake with a skewer. Then drizzle about 1 1/2 tablespoons of the hot Kahlua mocha syrup over the top of each cake. Holding the hot jar steady using a towel with your left hand, screw the lid on the jar with your right hand. Once the jars cool, you can give them as gifts to be enjoyed ideally within a few months.
Makes 4 jars (about 4 servings per jar).
Elaine Magee is a registered dietitian and author of "Comfort Food Makeovers." Learn more at www.recipedoctor.com.
