Flourless Chocolate Cake with Raspberry Sauce

It's a cake! It's a brownie! It's a truffle (the chocolate kind!) It's flourless chocolate cake!! (Please read that in an "It's a bird! It's a plane! It's Super Man!" voice.) This cake is really easy, it does take up a few pans, but the ingredients are minimal, the steps are easy, and the result is delicious and pretty - a great combo, especially as a company worthy dessert. I like this with a super quick raspberry sauce made from frozen (or fresh if it's summer) raspberries and sugar. The sauce looks great and tastes amazing. It's good over ice cream if you happen to run out of cake. 

Flourless Chocolate Cake - I don't know where I got this recipe... it's been years.
Serves 8
Preheat oven to 350

Cake
7 ounces semisweet chocolate chips (1 cup, plus 2 tablespoons)
1 cup sugar, divided
4 eggs, separated
1/4 teaspoon vanilla
1/4 teaspoon salt
10 tablespoons butter - 9 1/2 go into the cake, 1/2 tablespoon greases the cake pan
Optional for decoration...
2 tablespoons cocoa powder
2 tablespoons powdered sugar

First thing to do is prep the cake pan. Spray the cake pan with oil, and then line with a circle of parchment. Generously butter the parchment paper in the pan and set aside.

Next, melt chocolate and butter in a double boiler or in a bowl over a pan of boiling water. Chocolate is easier to melt with butter added to the mix, but don't over heat too quickly or it will turn into this weird drying-glue business and there is not recovering from that. So anyway, heat slowly and stir regularly.

Prep the eggs by separating them - yolks in a large bowl, with 1/2 cup of sugar, vanilla and salt. Whites in a separate bowl and set aside. When chocolate and butter is melted, take it off the heated water bowl to cool a bit and beat eggs and sugar until pale and smooth.

Temper the egg mixture with about a 1/4 cup of melted chocolate and start stirring the mixture together. Quickly stir the chocolate into the egg mixture and set aside.

Next beat the egg whites until soft peaks form. Then add 1/2 cup of sugar and beat until stiff peaks form.

Fold the egg white mixture into the chocolate mixture. Fold gently to keep the egg whites frothy.

Pour the batter into the prepared pan and bake at 350 for 40 minutes, checking at 35 minutes. A toothpick or knife inserted in the middle should come out clean.

This cake will be puffy with a crispy shell that will start to fall in on itself as it cools. Press a cutting board over the top of the cake pan to smooth the edges.

When the cake is cool, flip onto a cake plate and dust with a mixture of powdered sugar and cocoa powder. It tastes good, it covers up any glitches and it looks so pretty!

Raspberry Sauce
1 cup raspberries - frozen or fresh
1/3 cup sugar

Simmer raspberries and sugar over low heat until the berries are all broken down and the sugar is melted. Keep simmering until the sauce has thickened to like maple syrup - about 5 minutes. 

With a mesh sieve, strain the sauce, pressing all the raspberry goodness out with a rubber spatula. Or, if you like seeds, keep them. In a pinch, heat a nice pre-made jam over low heat until it's saucy. 

Spoons sauce onto a plate and place the cake on the sauce. YUM!!

I had fun taking pictures of this cake. :)

Things made this time last year...
Creamy Polenta with Sausage and Mushroom Ragu - cold evening, 30 minutes, awesome.

 

Flavored Kale Chips

Chicken and Curry Kebabs and Carrot and Zucchini Fritters

Chocolate Mug Cake

This is a recipe I kind of wish I didn't know how to make. This is too fast, too easy and too yummy. I learned this recipe when I was a brand new mama, desperate for a treat and trying to get a shower, meal, laundry and my own nap into my tiny gentleman's sporadic nap time. A bit of googling, a few trials and errors and a few more successes, I have a tiny bite of cake ready in less than 2 minutes. Fabulous!

Chocolate Mug Cake - adapted from Budget Bytes
2 tablespoons flour
2 teaspoons cocoa powder
2 teaspoons sugar
1/4 teaspoon baking powder
pinch of salt 
1 tablespoon chocolate chips
1 tablespoon full-fat yogurt (or sour cream)
2 tablespoons milk (I use whole milk)
Raspberries and powdered sugar if you're fancy

In your mug, mix together flour, cocoa powder, sugar, baking powder, salt and chocolate chips. Then mix in yogurt and milk. Stir until the mixture is smooth. Scrape down sides and microwave for 50 seconds. Eat. Marvel at the magic that you just made a tiny cake in 50 seconds. Relax.

A few things about this recipe...
Sprinkle with powdered sugar and a few raspberries if you want. Or top with frosting if you have any hanging around.
It's not too sweet. If you want it sweeter, add another teaspoon of sugar. 
This is only 185 calories. Awesome. 
An excellent twist is to put a dollop of peanut butter in the middle of the batter before microwaving. Awesome. 
You can swap in a tablespoon of coffee for one of the tablespoons of milk. Also awesome.
Since the investment of time and money in this recipe is close to zero, I feel great experimenting with this tiny bit of dessert.

Enjoy!!

Made this time last year... Lettuce Wrap Salad and Chicken with Balsamic Peppers

Rhubarb Coffee Cake

Rhubarb is in season!! It has a short season and I can only find it in the market for a few weeks. A bit longer at farmer's markets, but the gorgeous, pink celery-looking goodness goes quickly. I am sort of obsessed with rhubarb, the color, the flavor, the fact it looks like pink celery, everything! A few years ago I found this recipe, made it with a dear friend, I fell in love with it and now I look forward to it every year! This coffee cake is wild - it has a huge crumb topping and the rhubarb melts into the cake. It's not overly sweet, but it's very rich and really delicious. The original recipe only makes an 8x8 pan, but given the complexity, steps involved and fleeting nature of rhubarb, I have doubled things up to make a 9x13 pan.

Rhubarb Coffee Cake - from Smitten Kitchen
Preheat the oven to 325 and grease a 9x13 glass baking pan

For the Rhubarb Filling
1 pound of rhubarb - about 3 very large stalks
1/2 cup sugar
4 teaspoons cornstarch
1 teaspoon ground ginger

For the Crumbs
2/3 cup brown sugar
2/3 cup sugar
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon ground ginger
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup melted butter
3 1/2 cups flour

For the Cake
2/3 cup sour cream
2 large eggs
1 egg yolk
4 teaspoons vanilla extract
2 cup cake flour
1 cup sugar
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
12 tablespoons softened butter cut into pieces

I had a cake helper! Cut rhubarb into 1/2 inch chunks. In a mixing bowl, combine with sugar, cornstarch and ginger. Set aside.

To make the crumb topping, in another mixing bowl combine the sugars, cinnamon, ginger and salt. Then mix in the melted butter. After that, mix in the flour with a spatula until a thick dough is formed. It will be REALLY thick, don't worry. Set aside.

To make the cake, in another mixing bowl, combine sour cream, eggs, yolk and vanilla. Stir to combine and set aside.

In a last and final bowl, combine the flour, sugar, baking soda, baking powder and salt.

This is a recipe you have to commit to. I was using ALL of these dishes. (Please excuse our mismatched drawers - we are doing some construction.)

 

I used a stand mixer to finish up the cake... mix the flour, sugar, baking soda, baking powder and salt until all combined. Mix in the softened butter and a spoonful of the sour cream mixture and mix on medium until the flour is moistened. Add the remaining sour cream mixture in two batches. Beat for 20 seconds after each time you add the mixture. Set aside 1/2 a cup of batter.

Pour the batter into the prepared baking pan (except for the 1/2 cup you have reserved.) Layer on the rhubarb that has been marinating, scrape all of the juices out of the bowl. Dollop on the remaining batter - it won't be even, but that's OK. Break up the crumb topping and spread over the cake batter. Leave big crumbs - there will be a ton of crumb topping!!

Bake for 45-55 minutes at 325. A toothpick inserted in the middle of the cake should come out with just a few small crumbs sticking to it, it may look really moist, but that might be the rhubarb. The cake shouldn't look wobbly in the middle when its done. Once cooled, sprinkle with powdered sugar and serve.

A few things about this recipe...

Smitten Kitchen says that this recipe would be good with a variety of other fruits - I plan to try it this summer with blueberries and/or cherries!

Next time I make this, I will not reserve the 1/2 cup of batter to dollop over the top. Instead I will put all of the batter on the bottom of the pan, and then I'll lightly press the rhubarb into the batter so that it "sticks" before I put on the crumb topping.

I made this coffee cake on Sunday evening and brought it to work with me on Monday morning. It kept really well and was nice and moist everyone at worked seemed to like it. Since it is a bit involved to make, I would definitely make this the night before for a brunch.

Enjoy!

Cranberry Apple Upside Down Cake

I had pie for breakfast. We played in the rain with our tiny tot. The Hubs and I had boozy coffee this afternoon. We did NOT go to a mall. Though totally soggy outside, it was a great day! Thanksgiving is my all-time fave holiday and luckily my work loves to celebrate! I made this Cranberry Apple Upside Down Cake for our Pre-Thanksgiving Warm Up Potluck. I'd been thinking about making something like this for a while - I adapted this cake recipe and experimented with the rest. It was really tasty and really pretty! Good combo for a potluck!

Cranberry Apple Upside Down Cake
Makes one 9" cake 
Preheat oven to 350 degrees

1 1/2 cups fresh cranberries
1 1/2 cups peeled and chopped apples
2 tablespoons brown sugar
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 cup butter
3/4 cup white sugar
2 teaspoons vanilla
2 eggs
1 cup sour cream
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
pinch of salt
1 1/2 cups flour

Prep a 9 inch cake pan by buttering and flouring bottom and sides. Cut a piece of parchment to fit the bottom, and butter that. 

Toss chopped apples and cranberries with brown sugar and cinnamon. Set aside while batter is made.

In a large bowl, cream butter and white sugar. Beat in eggs and vanilla. In a separate bowl, combine flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt. Alternately mix in sour cream and then dry ingredients into the butter mixture until both are used up and the batter is smooth (it will be thick.)

Pour apples and cranberry mixture over parchment in the bottom of the cake pan. Arrange the fruit so it's evenly distributed.

Pour cake batter over the fruit and smooth out - it's OK if the batter is not totally to the edges and a bit uneven... this will be the bottom of the cake anyway. How nice is that?!

Bake 35-40 minutes and check for doneness with a wooden skewer. The skewer should come out clean, with a few moist crumbs stuck to it. 

Let the cake cool on a wire rack until it's room temp. Invert over a cake stand and peel off the parchment. The fruit will be soft and beautiful! 

I dolloped a bit of whipped cream on top, because that's always a good idea. 

Some things about this recipe...
I've now made this cake twice - we like it that much! The cake is not super sweet, so I will be taking it to the next brunch we are invited to (hey! want this cake? Invite me to a brunch!)
I think this would be great with other kinds of hearty fruits - cherries would be amazing! Plums, apricots, or nectarines sound good too. 
Also, I might add a bit of orange zest to the cake the next time I make this. Just to make things even more special. 

Enjoy!

Cinnamon Chocolate Chip Sour Cream Cake

Cinnamon Chocolate Chip Sour Cream Cake. I'm not sure there is a cake out there with a longer title. This is a wonderful cake. I first made it when I was pregnant and obsessed with all things cinnamon-sugar. It's dense and kind of creamy even. There is a good amount of chocolate, but it's not overpowering. There is cinnamon and sugar in the cake and a crisp cinnamon-sugar-chocolate crust. It's amazing. I made this cake for a work party and the left overs were stolen! Luckily, my main man and I had shared a piece for second breakfast (or elevensies if you're kind of a geek.)

Cinnamon Chocolate Chip Sour Cream Cake - recipe adapted very slightly from Smitten Kitchen

Preheat oven to 350 degrees

Cake
1/2 cup unsalted butter at room temperature
1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
3 large eggs, separated
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla
2 cups sour cream
3 cups flour

1 teaspoon baking powder
1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda

3/4 teaspoon salt

Filling and Topping
1 tablespoon flour
2 cups chocolate chips
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1 teaspoon cinnamon

Butter a 9x13 inch baking pan. And lay a sheet of parchment paper in the bottom. 

In a large bowl, cream butter and 1 1/2 cups sugar. Beat in egg yolks and vanilla. In a separate bowl, combine flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt. Alternately mix in sour cream and then dry ingredients into the butter mixture until both are used up and the batter is smooth and VERY thick. 

Beat egg whites until stiff and then fold into the batter. The batter is REALLY thick but you want to try to fold in the egg whites without deflating them. 

In a small bowl, mix together the filling/topping ingredients. The flour helps keep the chocolate chips from sinking.  

Spread half of the cake batter in the bottom of the prepared pan. Sprinkle with 1/3 or 1/2 of the chocolate chips and cinnamon-sugar. Drop giant spoonfuls of batter on top of the chocolate chips and try to smooth them around making sure you don't mix in the chocolate chips. Sprinkle the rest of the chocolate chips and cinnamon-sugar over the top and lightly press into the batter... just so they stick.

Bake for 40 to 50 minutes, turning it around halfway through, until a toothpick inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean.

I should have used a bigger bowl to fold everything together. My set up was a bit small!

Like I said, I baked this cake for a work meeting, so it sat, loosely covered for 15 hours or so. It was great and didn't dry out. 

This is such a good cinnamon-sugar hit with a nice chocolate kicker. And it easily cuts into 30 pieces. It's a filling cake.

Happy Eating!

Shredded Chicken Sandwiches, Mom’s Famous Cole Slaw, and Mini-Lemon Cakes

June 2012 marks the start of the summer and also the start of the “No Pressure Cooker”.  More importantly for me, this June marks the start of the COOKOUT season.   Cookouts are a joy for everyone.  They bring about fun, smiles, and of course, great food.  Here are three staple cookout items that will make your friends and family keep coming back for more!

Shredded Chicken Sandwiches

1 medium onion, thinly sliced

3 skinless boneless chicken breasts

½ tsp salt

½ tsp black pepper

½ c ketchup

½ c bbq sauce

2 tbsp cider vinegar

2 tbsp molasses

1 tbsp yellow mustard

1 tsp onion powder

¼ tsp cumin

½ tsp garlic powder

½ tsp hot sauce

½ tsp crushed red pepper

4 whole-wheat hamburger buns

Cut onion in half and slice into thin half rings.  Line bottom of crock-pot with onions.  Trim chicken breasts and place on top of bed of onions.  Sprinkle chicken with salt and black pepper.

Mix remaining ingredients together and pour on top of the chicken covering completely. 

Place a paper towel under the lid of the crock-pot to prevent the sauce from getting watery during cooking.  Cook chicken on high for 3 hours.

Take two forks and shred the chicken.  Serve on top of lightly toasted whole-wheat buns. 

Tip: Sauce can be made ahead.

Shredded (insert meat here) sandwiches are great paired with coleslaw.  Pick whatever meat you want!  The coleslaw can either be served on the side or on the sandwich itself.  This coleslaw is very special to me because it’s been made famous by my own mother.  And she’s going to KILL me when she finds out I’m giving away her secret ingredient…celery seed!

Mom’s Famous Cole slaw

24 oz packaged cole slaw mix

1 ½ tsp ground black pepper

1 ½ tsp celery seed

salt to taste

10-12oz Marzetti’s cole slaw dressing (because this is the BEST!)

Mix all ingredients together in large bowl.  Ensure that cole slaw mixture is moistened just enough to coat cole slaw lightly.  The cabbage will reduce and continue to moisten as it sits.

Note: To make a more homemade version of this, refer to Sarah’s “Cilantro and Lime Cole Slaw” and use her mix of red and green cabbage with carrots.

Citrus with sugar is an amazing combination so I’m going to my all-time favorite cake for dessert.  The cake itself is from the Duncan Hines “Lemon Pound Cake” recipe.  But the glaze is what makes it!  The glaze has the perfect balance of sweet and sour.  Also, it’s very light so it completely soaks into the cake and leaves you looking forward to every glorious bite!  The mini-bundt pan just makes it all the more endearing (and adorable).

Mini Lemon Cakes

1 pkg lemon cake mix

1 (3.4 oz) pkg instant lemon pudding and pie filling mix

4 large eggs

1c water

1/3 c vegetable oil

Glaze

1/3 c lemon juice (about 3 lemons)

2 c confectioner’s sugar

Preheat oven to 350F.  Grease and flour a mini-bundt cake pan.  Tip: Use a sandwich bag as a glove, dip into margarine, and spread generously throughout the pan.  Combine cake mix and pudding mix in an electric mixer bowl and stir on low to combine.

Lightly beat eggs and combine with water and oil.  Add wet mixture to dry mixture; beat at medium speed until well mixed. 

Pour cake mix into a large freezer bag.  Cut a dime-size hole in the bottom corner of the bag to allow for easy filling of the cake pan.  Fill each cavity until about half full.  Bake at 350F for 18-20 mins or until inserted toothpick comes out clean. 

While cakes are baking, combine lemon juice and confectioner’s sugar using a hand mixer until smooth.  Place glaze in a small freezer bag and cut a tiny hold in the bottom corner of the bag to allow for drizzling of the glaze over the cakes.  Tip: Drizzle glaze over the bottom of the cakes prior to removing from the pan for added gooey heaven :)

Remove cakes from pan by inverting onto a cookie sheet.  Once cakes are successfully removed, pour glaze over each cake.  Garnish with lemon slices.