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!

Gluten-Free Double Chocolate Pumpkin Brownies

I'm always on the look out for good gluten-free desserts for Mountain Man's dad.

Once you know someone who suffers from a gluten intolerance, it's amazing how much more you notice GF foods and alternatives. I swear the gluten-free section in the grocery gets larger every month and the number of restaurants with special menu choices increases as well.

When I first saw these brownies over at Noelle's An Opera Singer in the Kitchen, I knew we were going to have to try em out for Papa MM. Noelle's site is dedicated to her vegan life style, with some very healthy and yummy looking dishes to include some good GF recipes too.

I'm not going to lie, if you're not used to eating GF foods the texture for baked goods can be a little off. These brownies however, are pretty tasty even coming from someone not totally used to the texture just yet. Don't be fooled though, you can't taste the pumpkin (sigh) but the chocolate peanut butter combo is obviously fantastic.

Double Chocolate Pumpkin Brownies
Recipe found at An Opera Singer in the Kitchen
Oven: 350 Bake time: 30 minutes
Makes 9 brownies

50 grams (1.75 oz) chocolate chips
2 TBS veggie oil
1/2 cup peanut butter
1/2 cup pumpkin puree
1/2 cup maple syrup
2 TBS flaxseed meal (or 1 egg)
6 TBS warm water
1 tsp vanilla
1 cup Gluten Free AP flour (or regular flour)
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp cinnamon
1 cup chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350. Spray 9x9 dish with cooking spray.
Using a double boiler, melt down chocolate, peanut butter, and oil.
Remove from heat and let cool.
In a separate bowl, mix flax seed meal and warm water together, whisking until egg like consistency is reached.
Add maple syrup, pumpkin and vanilla to flaxseed mixture.
In another bowl, mix flour, baking powder and cinnamon.
Add flour mixture to pumpkin mixture and fold in chocolate mix, mixing until well combined.
Fold in chocolate chips.
Bake for 30 minutes.
*For a smooth cut, use a plastic knife and let cool for at least 5 hours.

Happy Baking!
 

In decorating news, earlier this week I got asked to make some 'Congrats on the New Baby' themed sugar cookies for a co-worker's friend that will be featured as a Traveling Sweet soon, but I wanted to share the final product with ya'll!

The lil guy's name is Teddy so how perfect are these cookies??

Every time I decorate sugar cookies I feel better and better about the final product- my hand is definitely getting steadier with all the fine details! I just hope that one day my cookies will look as good as Bridget's over at Bake at 350..still a ways to go, but maybe one day :)

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!

Gluten-Free Vanilla Cake with Strawberries & Whipped Cream

I can't imagine having to live gluten-free and I feel like now a day you hear of so many people who have to live with a gluten-free diet. Thankfully, they're starting to make so many wheat alternatives that at least it's not as difficult as it probably used to be. 

Whenever the topic turns to baking or food (which it so often does) it seems someone brings up somebody that they're close to who is affected by Celiacs or has a gluten intolerance. MM's father has Celiacs (which I've mentioned before in my attempts to make wheat free desserts), my little brother recently found he has an intolerance to gluten, and just a few weeks ago when I brought wedding cake samples for my friend it wasn't until after I arranged 3 different cupcakes for his father to try that he asked me if I had ever heard of a little thing called Celiacs (yeah, I felt really bad).

All of this brings me to my latest swEEt adventure... Gluten-Free Vanilla Cake.

One of the girls in the office lives gluten-free, so of course her birthday cake had to be a little different than the typical birthday cakes I make for the office. I have to admit, I used a cake mix- mostly because I am still learning so much about baking gluten-free and I didn't want to totally botch her birthday cake. From past experiences I've been pretty impressed with Bob's Red Mill flours so decided to try out his gluten free cake mix as well. Beth also requested something non-buttercream so I opted for a whipped cream and fresh fruit strawberry filling.

Gluten-Free Vanilla Cake

I followed the recipe on the back with one exception. After reading some reviews online I substituted 1/2 cup of water with 1/2 cup of buttermilk. I'm sure you could use any milk as a substitute for a moister, more flavorful cake.

Strawberry Filling

2 cups fresh strawberries, cut into quarters or slices

1/2 cup water

1/4 cup sugar

2 tsp corn starch

In small sauce pan, heat strawberries and water over medium heat for about 2 or 3 minutes. As the mixture starts to get a little warmer mash the strawberries a bit with a fork. 

Remove from heat and strain the strawberries, placing a bowl underneath to catch the liquid/juice. 

Transfer strawberries to a new bowl and set aside.

Transfer juice back into sauce pan, dissolve cornstarch and add sugar. Return to a boil or until mixture starts to thicken.

Once the mixture thickens, pour over reserved strawberries and mix.

Place the strawberry mixture in the fridge and let cool before using.

Stabilized Whipped Cream

1 cup heavy whipping cream

1/4 cup powdered sugar

1 tsp vanilla

1 tsp unflavored gelatin

3 TBS water

Pour water into a small saucepan and sprinkle gelatin over top- mix until gelatin starts to dissolve.

Place saucepan over low heat and bring to a slight boil.

Remove from heat and set aside to cool/stabilize.

Whip cream with hand mixer until it starts to thicken.

Add powdered sugar and continue to beat.

Pout gelatin into whipped cream and continue to beat until stiff peaks form.

Place in fridge for at least 15 minutes before using.

Assembly

Place first cake on serving platter or cake board.

Fill with Strawberry Filling. To make sure the filling doesn't creep out the sides of the cake, put a small barrier or whipped cream around the perimeter of the cake using a piping bag or make your own piping bag by placing whipped cream in a ziplock bag and cut off the tip.

Place remaining cake on top and cover with remaining whipped cream. 

Garnish with extra strawberries and drizzle with melted chocolate.

Happy Belated Birthday Beth!

and 

Happy Baking! 

Zucchini Bread...the healthy way.

If you know me at all or you've followed any of the blog then you know- when I bake I don't usually go the healthy route. I mean don't get me wrong, as far as meals are concerned I maintain a pretty healthy diet, but when it comes to sweets.. well those rules don't apply. If I'm baking then I pretty much go the Paula Deen way: sugar is good and butter is better.  I honestly don't know how Vegan's do it.. no eggs, no butter...no milk?! I will admit, my dining hall in undergrad made some fantastic Vegan cinnamon oatmeal cookies... but still... sweets aren't meant to be healthy that's why they're sweets!

All that being said, when I got the craving for Zucchini Bread I decided to go the healthier road. (Andrea you will/should be proud) I also intended to find something that I could easily make Gluten-Free, because my boyfriends parents are coming into town and I always try to make something for his father whenever we get to visit.

Since this Zucchini Bread was done the healthy way, I used whole-wheat flour and substituted apple sauce for butter (sigh) but the one thing I couldn't force myself to do was use Splenda, instead I did a combo of brown and white sugar.  And of course I made the second loaf with Gluten-Free All Purpose Flour. While at the grocery store I ended up having to buy a huge bag of whole-wheat flour so I'll probably be trying out some different "healthier" recipes in the near future. Who knows, maybe I'll see the light??... but don't hold your breath (sorry Andrea).

Zucchini Bread
Oven: 350 Bake Time: 1 hour
Yields 2 loaves

1 cup unsweetened apple sauce
3 eggs
1 cup brown sugar
3/4 cup white sugar
2 tsp vanilla extract
2 1/2 cup grated zucchini (about 1 1/2 large zucchinis or 2 smaller ones)
3 cups whole wheat flour* or 3 cups Gluten Free AP flour
1 tsp salt
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
2 TBS cinnamon

Combine apple sauce, eggs, sugar, vanilla and zucchini.
Whisk flour, salt, baking soda, baking powder and cinnamon.
Add flour mixture to wet mixture and mix till combined.

*I actually split the recipe so I could make 1 loaf whole wheat and 1 loaf gluten free. After I combined the wet ingredients I transfered half to a different bowl (the wet ingredients make almost exactly 4 cups of mix so it was easy to divide into two bowls). I then made a mix of 1 1/2 cups whole wheat flour, 1/2 tsp baking powder, 1/4 tsp baking soda, 1 tsp cinnamon, and a dash of salt and added it to one bowl of wet. I did the same for the gluten free batch.

Pour batter into two prepared loaf pans (buttered and floured) and bake for an hour at 350.

I will admit, the bread turned out pretty yummy and I did feel a little bit better about myself as I ate two slices for breakfast this morning...but I wonder how much better it could have been with butter and regular flour?? :)

And I'll have to get back to you about the outcome of the Gluten-free loaf.. I didn't want to cut into it before Mountain Man's dad got to try some!

Happy Baking!

Chocolate-Coconut Snowballs

My boyfriend's father loves sweets, but unfortunately suffers from Celiac's disease making him intolerant to gluten (which is found in lots of treats due to the flour involved). Lucky for him I love a good challenge.. so I am always looking for tasty gluten-free sweets to bake and he is always more than happy to test them out for me :) These Chocolate-Coconut Snowballs were part of his Christmas present this year and were a hit! They're basically chocolate macaroons and are ridiculously easy to make, involving only a few ingredients.

Chocolate-Coconut Snowballs

375 degrees. 10 minutes

4 egg whites

1/2 cup sugar

1 tsp vanilla extract

3 cups flaked coconut (sweetened or unsweetened)

1/2 cup semisweet chocolate chips

 Line cookie sheets with parchment paper.

Whisk together egg whites, sugar, and vanilla in glass-proof or stainless steel bowl. 

Fold in coconut flakes.

Place bowl over saucepan containing simmering water (make sure the bowl doesn't touch the water).

Stir constantly to dissolve sugar.

When the mixture looks glossy and is hot to the touch remove from the heat. 

Add chocolate chips to warm coconut mixture.

Drop mounds on prepared cookie sheet.*

Bake 10 minutes or until browned on edges.

*Something I have found to be extremely helpful and clean, is the use of an ice-cream scoop for cookie dough or even cupcakes. The scoop allows for a perfect amount of mix each time and you don't have to worry about using your hands.