GATHER JOURNAL

Photograph by Bobby Fisher Food Styling by Maggie Ruggiero Prop Styling by Sarah Cave


    
Gluttony

Chocolate Rye Boozy Bundt

Desserts from Issue 10 – Winter 2017 – Sin

Eating to excess is one side of the gluttony coin; the other is drunkenness. So the sin’s apogee is the alcohol-infused dessert. Like the Tipsy Parson: Created in the South in the 18th century, the English trifle-esque sponge cake soaked in sherry, brandy, or whiskey then doused with custard got its moniker from the woozy effect it would have on Sunday churchgoers. To fans of the Tipsy Parson, we humbly offer up our boozy bundt—a chocolate rye (flour and whiskey, that is) cake that runneth over with poached pears and cream. To enjoy it in moderation will prove impossible.

serves 8 to 10



Cake
  • 1¾ cups rye flour
  • ½ cup cocoa powder
  • 1½ tsp baking powder
  • ¾ tsp baking soda
  • ¾ tsp kosher salt
  • 2 sticks unsalted butter, at room temperature
  • ½ cup light brown sugar
  • ½ cup granulated sugar
  • 3 large eggs, at room temperature
  • 1½ tsp vanilla extract
  • 1 cup sour cream

Pears and booze cake soak
  • 5 small firm ripe pears, peeled
  • ¾ cup plus 2 Tbsp rye whiskey
  • ½ cup sugar
  • 3 strips orange zest
  • lightly sweetened whipped cream and caramel sauce for serving

  • 1

    Preheat oven to 350°F and lightly butter a bundt pan.
  • 2

    Stir together the flour, cocoa, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.
  • 3

    In a large bowl, beat butter and both sugars until light and fluffy. Add eggs, 1 at a time, beating between each. Beat in vanilla extract. On low, beat in half the flour mixture and then half the sour cream. Scrape down sides and then beat in remaining flour and sour cream until just combined. Spoon batter into pan and bake until a toothpick inserted into center comes out clean, about 40 minutes. Cool cake in the pan 10 minutes then turn it out onto a rack to cool completely.
  • 4

    While cake is baking, place pears in a pot just large enough to hold them lying down in one layer. Add ¾ cup whiskey, sugar, zest and enough water to just cover pears, and then bring to gentle simmer. Cook pears, covered with a round of parchment over pot, until just tender, about 25 minutes. Transfer pears to a dish and then boil the liquid until reduced to about ¾ cup. Discard orange zest. Stir in the remaining 2 Tbsp whiskey.
  • 5

    Prick warm cake all over and brush with pear syrup. Serve slathered with whipped cream and caramel sauce and top with pears.