The Cake That Was

I made my second attempt at George Duran's "My Mom's Chocolate Chip Cookie Cake". If you recall from a past blog, the last time I made this I had a cake fail. This time, the cake turned out AND was loved by my coworkers.

Chocolate Chip Cookie Cake (from George Duran's Take This Dish and Twist It)

Nonstick baking spray with flour added (I sprayed and then floured on my own.)
1/4 cup butter (1/2 stick), softened
2 tablespoons granulated sugar
2/3 cup chopped pecans
2 tablespoons mini chocolate chips
2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
1 cup (2 sticks) butter, softened
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
2 teaspoons vanilla
4 eggs
3/4 cup buttermilk
1/3 cup Irish cream liqueur (like Baileys)
1 3/4 cups mini chocolate chips

(There's an optional chocolate topping, but I didn't make it.)

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Coat a 12-cup fluted tube pan with the nonstick baking spray. For the topping, in a small bowl combine the 1/4 cup butter and 2 tablespoons granulated sugar until creamy. Stir in the nuts and 2 tablespoons chocolate chips. Spoon into the bottom of the prepared pan; place pan in refrigerator while you make the cake batter. For the cake, in a bowl stir together the flour, baking soda, and salt. Set aside. In a large mixing bowl beat the 1 cup butter with an electric mixer until creamy. Add the 1/2 cup granulated sugar, brown sugar, and vanilla; beat for 1 minute. Add the eggs one at a time, beating for 30 seconds after each addition. Combine the buttermilk and Irish cream. With the mixer on low speed, add the flour and buttermilk mixtures alternately to the batter, mixing well with each addition. Stir in the 1 3/4 cups chocolate chips. Pour the batter into the prepared pan. Bake about 50 minutes or until a wooden skewer comes out clean. Immediately invert the cake onto a cooling rack and let cool completely. If desired, drizzle with Chocolate topping.

Note: For best results, have all ingredients at room temperature.

Chocolate Topping: In a small saucepan combine 1 cup mini chocolate chips and 2 teaspoons shortening over low heat. Stir until melted.

Amy's tip: Check the doneness of the cake very thoroughly. My first attempt had clean toothpicks from 4 locations. However, when it was inverted, liquid cake poured out. At the second attempt, my longer skewer did not come out clean for well after 50 minutes. It was probably closer to 65-70 minutes for baking. However, the outside during the second try was not as done at 50 minutes as it was during the first time. I have no idea what was different, but it turned out, so that's all that counts.