Chocolate amaretti cake

After making a batch of amaretti cookies, I thought I'd use some of them to bake a chocolate amaretti cake.  I love it when things tie together or there's more than one good use for an ingredient. 

I remembered a chocolate amaretti cake recipe from one of Dorie Greenspan's books that I wanted to try; there was a chocolate glaze and optional almond whipped cream you could make to go with it.  But in the end I settled on a version from Giada de Laurentiis that sounded simple and appealing to me.  Everything gets blitzed in a food processor so it's very easy (as long as you have the equipment).

I had the most wonderful time making this cake because I had a special helper!!  My little guy deigned to help me, so long as it wouldn't be "too messy".  I think I've mentioned he doesn't quite share my enthusiasm in puttering around in the kitchen.  But the appeal of working the food processor hooked him in.  It's always the equipment that appeals to the boys.  He had a great time turning the machine on/off and hitting that "pulse" button to his heart's content.  Before long, he wanted to pour the eggs and everything else in and started making fun of how the egg yolks looked.  It was so much fun working in the kitchen together!

My little guy and I made a good cake!  I'm quite partial to single layer/no frosting-necessary cakes, particularly when it's moist and there's chocolate involved like in this case.  Its flavor reminds me of the holidays somehow.  I think it's the fragrance and taste of almonds mixed with chocolate (a combination I love) and the bit of orange zest infused into the whole thing.  The cake came out moist and fudgy, with a grainy, nutty texture from the amaretti as well as additional ground  almonds in the batter.  I'm craving another slice right now as I think about it.

Reading some of the reviews on this cake, I tweaked the recipe a tiny bit by adding a touch more chocolate and a dash of espresso powder to amp up the chocolate flavor.  The cake is decidedly but not intensely chocolate.  I think it helps to take it out of the oven a few minutes before you think it's fully done so that it's nice and moist inside.  We liked the result very much and for me, it's just satisfying yet light enough for everyday.  The other good thing about a cake like this is it holds well for a few days either stored at room temperature or in the refrigerator.  Ours only lasted two days but I thought it tasted even slightly better on day 2.