Chocolate Italian Cake

I bake Italian Cream Cheese Cakes all the time. Adding chocolate gives a wonderful version for a chocolate alcoholc. For people not familiar with an Italian Cream Cheese Cake, they are not as sweet and heavy as some cakes, therefore, the chocolate seems to be just right, not overwheling. The only thing I do different is toasting the pecans for the icing and not mixing them in the icing, but presing them in the sides of the cake and decorating the bottom and top edges like the picture.

I made this recipe for my Grandparent's 50th wedding anniversary party last year and everyone LOVED it!! Made it for a Christmas gathering also and same rave reviews. I personally don't like pecans or coconut so I can't attest to the taste, but everyone who has tried it loved it. A little bit time consuming but well worth it!!

I bumped up the flavor of the chocolate by adding 1 1/2 teas. of instant coffee to the cocoa. Instead of using regular unsweetened cocoa, I used King Arthur Flour's mix of dutch processed cocoa/black cocoa. Black cocoa is what gives oreo cookies their dark chocolatey color, whereas regular cocoa always looks reddish, instead of a rich brown. If your cake came out dry, it could be because your oven runs hot, or it was cooked too long. It can also be affected by altitude and whether or not you have a convection oven.

A lot of effort for so so results. My family did not like this cake. Expected more chocolate favor. My son who has a major sweet tooth did not even finish his. Will not make again.