True Love, Again (Chocolate Pecan Jack Daniel's Cake)

Baby Chase is 11 days old today.  He's such a good baby!  Eats, sleeps, poops...again and again and again.  We're having a great time hanging out together, mostly he sleeps and I just stare at him.

How could you not?  Have you ever seen a more beautiful baby?  

I really had no idea how much you could love another person until I first laid eyes on this squirmy, squeaky little man.  Every day I fall more in love with him...and with my amazing husband, who is proving to be the best daddy in the world.

Of course, with all this love and cuteness floating around, we wanted to show it off to our friends.  Last night we had some of our bestest friends over for dinner, dessert and fawning over the baby.  Over the past week I've gone back and forth on what to make (settling on Giada DeLaurentiis's Chicken Cacciatorre), when I opened up my trusty Blue Binder O'Recipes and found this gem, photocopied from some newspaper somewhere and just screaming to be made.  It seemed fitting that the last drink I had before I got pregnant was a vanilla caramel whiskey milkshake, and the first alcohol I had after giving birth was in the form of Chocolate Pecan Jack Daniels Cake.  Dessert and liquor always make a good combination.

Just like how Daddy and me made a great combination.  :-)

Chocolate Pecan Jack Daniels Cake with Chocolate Whiskey Sauce

(from: the Blue Binder O'Recipes)

2 cups pecan pieces

6 tablespoons unsalted butter

6 oz semisweet baking chocolate

1/4 cup Jack Daniels whiskey

8 large eggs, separated

1 cup sugar

Small pinch of salt

Powdered sugar

Time and temperature:  325 for 40-45 minutes 

Preheat the oven to 325 and butter and flour a 10 inch springform pan.  Spread the pecans on a baking sheet and toast in the oven about 12 minutes, until fragrantly nutty.  Let them cool and then finely chop them.  Combine the butter and chocolate over a double boiler until melted and smooth.  Add the whiskey and stir until combined.  Remove from heat and transfer to a large bowl.  Stir in the chopped pecans.  With an the whip attachment over an electric mixer, beat the egg yolks and 3/4 cup sugar on high until pale yellow and very thick.  Fold the egg mixture into the chocolate mixture.  Clean the whip attachment and beat the eggs whites until foamy.  Gradually beat in the sugar and salt, then beat until soft peaks form.  In three batches, gently fold the egg whites into the chocolate mixture, maintaining as much volume as possible.  Pour into the pan and bake for 40-45 minutes, until the cake springs back when touched.  Allow to cool completely, then remove the sides of the pan.  Dust with powdered sugar.

Chocolate Whiskey Sauce

8 oz semisweet chocolate, broken into small pieces

1/2 cup unsalted butter

3 tablespoons Jack Daniels whiskey

3/4 cup corn syrup

3/4 cup heavy cream

Over a double boiler, melt the chocolate and butter until melted and smooth.  Add the corn syrup, stirring until smooth.  Add the whiskey, stirring until smooth.  Remove from the heat and stir in the cream, stirring until combined.  Serve the warm sauce with the cake.  (I also added a scoop of caramel ice cream to balance out the chocolate.)