Scharffen Berger and all things chocolate and then a Banana Caramel (& Chocolate) Cake

When I was in Berkeley 2 weeks ago Cherrie and I went on a tour of the Scharffen Berger chocolate factory. It was just a few blocks from our hotel near the waterfront and my GPS drove us right to the door in the industrial section of town. The factory itself was a big surprise - it's quite small. Having once visited the Nestle plant in Pennsylvania, I was expecting something dramatic, especially with the panache garnered by the Scharffen Berger line.

As I think I explained before, John Scharffenberger (spelling intentional) came to some reknown as a winemaker. After a couple of decades producing some very fine sparkling wine (a favorite of mine, his to be specific), he sold the business. Then he was approached by Robert Steinberg, a friend, and now his partner in Scharffen Berger, and they decided to start a chocolate manufacturing company, but only producing a high quality - European style - product. They purchased European, i.e. old, equipment. They wanted to capitalize on the known Scharffenberger name, but John had sold the rights to it with the winery. So, they merely added a space beteween the n and the b and made it into Scharffen Berger. It wasn't quite building a business in a garage, but close to it.

They don't make chocolate every day. Although likely some pieces of equipment are running most days. The roaster (the red thing right) was in a separate room (warm and if running, very noisy). The building probably isn't 300 feet long and about 200 feet wide, and not only housed the factory floor, but offices, a restaurant and a store. Did I spend money in there? Well, to be sure. Did we taste chocolate? Oh yes, indeed. Probably the most important thing I learned there was about how to eat a piece of chocolate: put it into your mouth, hold it on the middle of your tongue, up against the roof of your mouth, and allow it to completely melt on your tongue. Don't chew. Don't move it around. You'll savor the flavors far better, and it'll last longer besides. Kind of like how you taste wine.

To the left is the photo of the cocoa bean crusher. A huge cauldron - I mean huge - of swirling, melting chocolate and the crusher rolling around in the middle. So, it was on a blog a few months ago that I read about a recipe in the new cookbook published by the Scharffen Berger partners, The Essence of Chocolate. Liking chocolate as I do, I made it and oh - my - goodness.
What flavor. Not all that difficult. I like bundt cakes, and this one doesn't require anything but the cake itself. It does have a caramel sauce that is poured over the hot-out-of-the-oven cake, but otherwise, nothing else. No garnishes, although you could serve with a bit of vanilla ice cream. It's rich enough, however, as it is. I will include the nutrional information about the cake, but for heaven's sake, whatever you do, don't read it. I'm going to put it in the smallest type available on this blog .

Banana Caramel (Chocolate) Cake with Caramel Sauce Recipe :Essence of Chocolate by Robert Steinberg and John Scharffenberger.
Serving: 12 - I think it will serve at least 16

CAKE:
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 tsp. cinnamon
1/2 tsp. nutmeg
1/4 tsp. cloves
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. baking soda
3 large eggs
1 1/4 cups vegetable oil
1 3/4 cups sugar
1 tbsp. vanilla extract
3/4 cup chopped pecans
3 ounces chocolate -- broken into small pieces (size of chips)
3 whole bananas -- diced

CARAMEL:
1/2 cup firmly packed brown sugar
2 tbsp. whole milk
4 tbsp. unsalted butter -- cut into pieces

1. Butter and flour a tube pan or a bundt pan that can hold 12 cups. Preheat the oven to 350°.
2. Sift together the dry ingredients (flour, cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, salt and baking soda).
3. In the bowl of a stand mixer, combine the eggs, oil and sugar. With the paddle attachment, mix on medium speed for 2 to 3 minutes. Scrape down the sides of the bowl to ensure that the sugar has been incorporated. Add the vanilla extract and mix for another 30 seconds. With the mixer on low speed, add the dry ingredients a bit at a time. Scrape down the sides of the bowl every now and then to ensure everything is incorporated. Once the dry ingredients have been added, remove the bowl from the stand mixer and add the pecans, chocolate and bananas. Gently fold them in with a spatula or a wooden spoon. Don't over mix.
4. Spoon the batter into the prepared pan. Bake for 50 minutes and then test the cake to see if it's done by poking a toothpick or cake tester into the center of the cake. If it comes out clean, it's done. If not, bake the cake for another 5 to 10 minutes. In my oven, this cake took 55 minutes.
5. About 5 to 10 minutes before the cake is done, make the caramel by combining all the ingredients in a small pan. Bring to the boil and stir occasionally to ensure that it doesn't burn. Let it boil for about 5 minutes and then turn off the heat. The caramel needs to be thin, so add more milk if needed. Once the cake is out of the oven, poke holes all over the cake with a skewer. Immediately pour the caramel over the cake, stopping every now and then to let the caramel sink in. If the caramel pools in spots, poke more holes to allow it to sink in. Gently push cake away from sides to add more caramel.
6. Let the cake cool in the pan on a wire rack. Once it's cool, loosen the cake from the sides of the pan and then unmold it onto a plate. If most of the caramel pooled on the top (in the pan) you may want to turn the cake back over so the wide side is on top.
NOTES : Note from Carolyn: I think the caramel is too thick - it doesn't drip down into the cake like I think it should, so I've been adding more milk to the sauce so it's thinner.

Per Serving (excluding unknown items): 595 Calories; 36g Fat (52.7% calories from fat); 5g Protein; 67g Carbohydrate; 2g Dietary Fiber; 64mg Cholesterol; 308mg Sodium. Exchanges: 1 Grain(Starch); 0 Lean Meat; 1/2 Fruit; 0 Non-Fat Milk; 7 Fat; 3 Other Carbohydrates.

To view a printable recipe, click title at the top.