Last year at work we grew buckwheat for the first time. We brought it to a historic mill at the neighboring Metropark system, and just last week got back the first batch of buckwheat flour! This is the first thing I made with the flour, and was a success! There’s surprisingly little flour, but somehow you still get a great texture in the final product. When just cooled I thought there was a slight hint of bitterness, but the next day it was no longer noticeable in the remaining cake. This is something of a ‘grownup’ chocolate cake, as it’s not super sweet, but it’s very nice and everyone I shared with enjoyed it.

Buckwheat after being threshed. The mill is able to clean out the extra bits of chaff before grinding.

Ingredients:

Sponge:

• 3/4 cup lukewarm water
• 1 teaspoon instant yeast
• 1/2 cup buckwheat flour
• 1 tablespoon honey

Cake:

• 4 large eggs, separated
• 3/4 cup bittersweet chocolate chips
• 1/2 cup unsalted butter, cut into pieces
• 1/4 cup Dutch process unsweetened cocoa powder, sifted
• 1 tablespoon vanilla
• 1 pinch kosher salt
• 1/2 cup granulated sugar, divided
• 2 tablespoons powdered sugar

To make the sponge, place the water in a medium bowl and sprinkle the yeast over it. Add the flour and honey and whisk together.

Cover and let sit until it has both large and small bubbles, about 1 hour. While you wait, place a rack in the middle of the oven, grease a 9″ springform pan, and separate the eggs, putting the whites in a bowl large enough to beat them up in. Preheat your oven to 350 degrees.

Once the sponge is complete, combine the chocolate and butter in the bowl of a double boiler over simmering water. Melt the chocolate, stirring occasionally, until completely melted and smooth.

Remove from the heat and whisk in the cocoa powder, vanilla, salt, and 1/4 cup of the sugar.

Continue to whisk, adding the yolks one at a time, until completely mixed, then stir in the sponge.

In a large bowl, add the remaining 1/4 cup sugar to the egg whites. Beat with a mixer on medium-high speed until soft peaks form.

Gently fold half the egg white into the chocolate mixture until smooth.

Fold in the remaining egg whites until just combined.

Gently transfer into the prepared pan. Bon Appetit says to ‘smooth the surface’, but this batter is enough of a liquid that there’s not much smoothing to be done.

Bake 40-45 minutes, until it passes the toothpick test. A few small crumbs still came out on the toothpick at 40 minutes for mine, but at 42 it was done.

Cool the cake in the pan, then remove the side of the pan and sprinkle with powdered sugar just before serving.

Using the sifter now would’ve looked nicer… next time.

Chocolate Buckwheat Cake

From Bon Appetit.

Sponge:

• 3/4 cup lukewarm water
• 1 teaspoon instant yeast
• 1/2 cup buckwheat flour
• 1 tablespoon honey

Cake:

• 4 large eggs, separated
• 3/4 cup bittersweet chocolate chips
• 1/2 cup unsalted butter, cut into pieces
• 1/4 cup Dutch process unsweetened cocoa powder, sifted
• 1 tablespoon vanilla
• 1 pinch kosher salt
• 1/2 cup granulated sugar, divided
• 2 tablespoons powdered sugar

To make the sponge, place the water in a medium bowl and sprinkle the yeast over it. Add the flour and honey and whisk together. Cover and let sit until it has both large and small bubbles, about 1 hour. While you wait, place a rack in the middle of the oven, grease a 9″ springform pan, and separate the eggs, putting the whites in a bowl large enough to beat them up in. Preheat your oven to 350 degrees.

Once the sponge is complete, combine the chocolate and butter in the bowl of a double boiler over simmering water. Melt the chocolate, stirring occasionally, until completely melted and smooth. Remove from the heat and whisk in the cocoa powder, vanilla, salt, and 1/4 cup of the sugar. Continue to whisk, adding the yolks one at a time, until completely mixed, then stir in the sponge.

In a large bowl, add the remaining 1/4 cup sugar to the egg whites. Beat with a mixer on medium-high speed until soft peaks form. Gently fold half the egg white into the chocolate mixture until smooth, then fold in the remaining half until just combined. Gently transfer into the prepared pan. Bake 40-45 minutes, until it passes the toothpick test. Cool the cake in the pan, then remove the side of the pan and sprinkle with powdered sugar just before serving.