Chocolate-Juniper Cake with Milk Jam Sour Cream My dislike of chocolate has probably been overstated. It is more like apathy. I just don’t care much about it, and chocolate will almost always be my last choice for dessert. It just isn’t my jam. But then, occasionally, chocolate crosses my path that makes me really happy—chocolate soft serve ice cream, for instance, or pain au chocolat. Bryan says I just like chocolate that isn’t very chocolatey, which is probably true. I think I like chocolate as an accent, rather than a focus. Except in the case of chocolate chip cookies, which I always hate. Um…. Enough about me, let’s talk about chocolate-juniper cake. Chocolate-Juniper Cake with Milk Jam Sour Cream (from Oxheart via Bon Appetit) Nonstick vegetable oil spray 2 teaspoons (heaping) juniper berries 1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour 1 2/3 cups sugar plus more for coating 1/2 cup plus 1 tablespoon natural unsweetened cocoa powder 2 teaspoons kosher salt 1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda 3/4 cup buttermilk 3/4 cup vegetable oil 2 large eggs Preheat oven to 350°F. Coat a 13x9x2″ glass baking dish with nonstick spray. Line the bottom with parchment paper; spray the parchment with nonstick spray and set aside. Toast juniper berries in a small skillet over medium heat until aromatic, 2–3 minutes. Let cool completely. Finely grind in spice mill. Sift flour, 1 2/3 cups sugar, cocoa powder, salt, baking soda, and ground juniper berries into a large bowl. Whisk buttermilk, oil, eggs, and 1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon water in a medium bowl. Whisk wet ingredients into dry ingredients. Pour batter into prepared baking dish; smooth top. Bake cake until a tester inserted into the center comes out clean, 35–40 minutes. Let cool in pan on a wire rack. Once cool, cover and chill in freezer until frozen, about 2 hours. Can be made 3 weeks ahead. Wrap in 2 layers of plastic; keep frozen. Unwrap cake and invert onto a work surface; discard parchment. Using a long serrated knife, trim cake to form clean edges. Cut cake in half lengthwise, then cut each half crosswise into 1 1/4-inch–wide bars. Heat a nonstick skillet over medium heat. Pour a layer of sugar onto a plate. Roll each bar in sugar, coating completely. Working in batches, caramelize cake in skillet, turning with tongs to brown evenly, about 30 seconds per side per batch (be careful; the sugar burns quickly). Serve warm, with Milk Jam Sour Cream or crème fraîche.