Oma's Flourless Chocolate Torte

No matter what, I can always count on a tasty baked good when visiting with my Oma (grandmother). 

From Viennese Crescents to Christmas Stollen, my Oma bakes all of the traditional Swiss favorites whenever family is around and this Flour-less Chocolate Torte is just one of those fabulous desserts that is an Oma classic.

Having grown up in Switzerland, baking and sweets just come with the territory for her and she is always more than willing to share with me the recipes for these delicious treats.

She also happens to be one of my biggest supporters in all of my baking endeavors and I always look forward to making something of hers.

When it came time for one of the girls at the office to celebrate their birthday I knew this was the perfect cake for the occasion. She happens to eat a gluten free diet and because this cake is flour-less it just made sense. 

To make the cake extra special I topped it with a layer of whipped cream and chocolate covered strawberries.

Oma's Flour-less Chocolate Cake

Fills one 9-inch spring form pan

Oven: 300 Bake time: 45 minutes

1 bag semi-sweet chocolate chips

6 TBS butter

1 cup sugar

6 eggs, separated

Preheat oven to 300. Spray your spring form pan with cooking spray.

In a microwave safe bowl (or over double boiler), melt chocolate chips and butter for about 2 minutes, checking every 30 seconds or so and mix until smooth.

Separate egg whites in large glass bowl, reserving yolks in small bowl.

Beat egg whites until stiff.

Slowly add sugar and continue to beat until sugar is incorporated.

Add egg yolks one at a time to chocolate/butter mixture, making sure each yolk is fully incorporated after every addition.

Fold egg whites into chocolate mixture.

Pour batter into prepared pan and transfer to oven for about 45-60 minutes.

*To check if this cake is done a toothpick should come out fairly clean, but this is a very dense and rich cake so it may not be perfectly clean. The best way to tell is if there is a good crust on the cake and the sides have begun to pull away from the pan.

Remove from oven and allow to cool completely before removing sides of pan.

Homemade Whipped Cream

1 1/2 cups heavy whipping cream

1/4 cup powdered sugar

1 tsp vanilla

In a small bowl, beat whipping cream until soft peaks form. Add sugar and vanilla and continue to beat until stiff peaks are formed. If you have time, place in fridge for about 20 minutes to help stabilize.

Feel free to cover yours with a small layer of homemade whipped cream and chocolate covered strawberries or just serve with a small dusting of powdered sugar and ice cream!

Happy Baking!

A Bright New Kitchen and a Flourless Almond Cake

We're moving!

Just to the next town over, but still!

I'm going from this kitchen...

 ...to this kitchen!

Look at all those cabinets.. and all the natural light?!

I'm in heaven.

Just one more time in case you missed it...

this mess...

to two ovens!

My current mixing spot...

to a perfect little place for my Kitchen Aid!

When Mountain Man found this house on Craigslist, I wasn't impressed with the lake views, enormous backyard or two car garage. Nope, the first thing I saw were the two ovens in the corner of the kitchen, the perfect spot for my kitchen aid mixer, the ample counter space, numerous cabinets and the pantry the size of our current kitchen.

So if I'm absent from the blog world for a few days you now know why. 

No, I'm not busy moving things..

I'll be doing kitchen angels in the center of the room for at least the next week, basking in the ample space now available to me, while Mountain Man gets everything moved in.

But before I go I will leave you with some yummy little Flourless Almond Cakes (Gluten-Free) 

The first batch was an epic fail...

I was so excited to use my new mini bundt pan and then FAIL- the cakes stuck completely to the bottom... leaving me with a mess.

Then I made a second batch..

They may not fit perfectly in their cute little cupcake liners, but I promise you they still taste delicious and they're flourless! Perfect for all our gluten intolerant sufferers out there.

I would normally make this cake in an 8-inch cake pan or springform, but I was sending these to my Aunt so I wanted to make sure they would travel well.

Flourless Almond Cake
adapted from EatingWell.com

1 1/3 cup almond meal or finely ground almonds
1/3 cup honey
3 eggs, separated
dash of salt
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 tsp almond extract

Preheat oven to 350. You have your choice of pan: Grease and flour an 8-inch cake pan, spring form pan, mini bundt pan, or line cupcakes (makes 12).
In a large bowl, mix/beat almond meal, honey, extracts and egg yolks.
In a small bowl, beat egg whites until soft peaks form.
Gently fold egg whites into almond mixture until just incorporated.
Fill pan of choice with batter and transfer to oven for 15-20 minutes. Test with toothpick.
Begin to make glaze *optional
Once baked, transfer cake to cooling rack.
If using the glaze: While cake is still warm poke the top lightly with a fork. Pour glaze over cake- pressing down lightly so glaze soaks into cake.

Amaretto Glaze
1/3 cup Amaretto
1 cup powdered sugar

In a small bowl, whisk Amaretto and powdered sugar until smooth.

If you're down with using alcohol the Amaretto glaze really lends a wonderful sweet almond flavor to the cake. And despite the failure of the first batch, Mountain Man and I still enjoyed the remnants of cake soaked in the glaze.. I hope my Aunt enjoys them as much as we did!

Well folks, we've got a lot to do this week...I'll be back in a few days with some fabulous recipes for you.

Happy Baking!