Chocolate-Juniper Cake with Milk Jam Sour Cream (Kopie)

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(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.

http://www.lottieanddoof.com/2012/08/c-h-o-c-o-l-a-t-e/#more-11702