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!

1-2-3-4 White Cake and Pineapple Filling

I can always count on April to join me in a mid-day indulgence when sweets make their way to the office-for those of you that don't know: calories don't count when you're eating baked goods with someone else...duh. You might remember April from a couple of my previous posts (Hello Kitty Cake or April Appreciation Day), but this time the cake wasn't for her. Instead I got asked to make her mother's birthday cake :)

Just like the name, this cake is as easy as 1-2-3...4!

A few things I like about this cake:
1. It has the most wonderful flavor and texture.
2. The measurements are right in the title (You can impress your friends by not needing a recipe!)
3. It can easily be doubled or cut in half.
4. It pretty much goes with any icing, butter cream, or filling... the possibilities are endless!! 

I love this cake so much that I'm actually using it as my friend's wedding cake recipe in July (pictures/post to come).

This time around I went with a Pineapple Filling and covered the cake with my Homemade (stabilzed) Whipped Cream.

1-2-3-4 Cake
Oven: 350 Bake Time: 35 minutes
Makes 2 8-inch round cakes

1 cup butter, softened
2 cups sugar
3 cups flour
1 TBS baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
4 eggs, separated
1 cup whole milk
1 tsp vanilla

Whisk flour, baking powder and salt in a small bowl.
Beat butter and sugar until light and fluffy.
Add egg yolks one at a time, beating until incorporated each time.
Alternate flour mixture and milk, beginning and ending with flour.
Beat eggs whites until stiff peaks form.
Fold into batter until incorporated.
Transfer batter to prepared cake pans and bake for 35 minutes or until toothpick comes out clean.
Transfer to cooling rack for 30 minutes before removing cakes to continue cooling for at least an hour.

Pineapple Filling
1/4 cup sugar
16-20oz crushed pineapples
2 TBS water
2 TBS cornstarch
1 TBS butter

Drain crushed pineapples, collecting the juice in a small sauce pan. Place pineapple in a bowl and set aside. Add water and cornstarch to juice, whisking until cornstarch has dissolved into juice. Mix in just about 1/4 cup sugar, mixing until dissolved. Place over medium heat (mixing every now and then) until mixture begins to boil and thicken. Remove from heat and stir in butter until melted. Pour over reserved pineapple. Mix until combined and place in fridge to thicken before using.

Decorating cakes makes me happy.

 Happy Baking!

Baking with Guinness and Bailey's

 If you haven't noticed, almost all of the baking I do is for others or at least inspired by others. That's actually one of the reasons why I love baking so much.. sweets make people happy and can always make a bad day better, or good day great! Not to mention, they're just yummy to eat :) This cake happened to be a birthday cake for a friend/co-worker inspired by his favorite little puppies: Guinness and Bailey. At the moment, his dogs are with his wife in Ohio so what better way to have them with him for his birthday a la cake!

This cake happens to be a dense Chocolate-Guinness Cake filled with a layer of Bailey's Buttercream Icing and covered with home-made Whipped Cream. The scent of Guinness and chocolate could be found throughout my apartment last night while the cake baked and the Bailey's Buttercream icing is one that I am already trying to figure out how to use more and more (it is absolutely DELICIOUS!) I definitely think this is going to be my new St. Patty's Day dessert.

Chocolate-Guinness Cake

350 degree, 35-40 minutes

1 cup Guinness Stout

1 stick unsalted butter

3/4 cup cocoa powder

2 eggs

3/4 cup sour cream

1 tsp vanilla

2 cups sugar

2 cups all purpose flour

2 1/2 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp salt

For this recipe you're going to have 3 different mixtures that will eventually all be combined. 

The first mix consists of the sour cream, vanilla and eggs: cream together and set aside.

Next, on the stovetop simmer butter and Guinness and add cocoa (whisking constantly until combined). Combine chocolate-Guinness mixture and sour cream mixture.

In separate bowl whisk flour, baking soda, salt, and sugar. 

Slowly add dry ingredients to the wet mixture.

Pour into Springform pan and bake for 35-40 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean in the center. Place baked cake on cooling rack. Once cooled, tort the cake by cutting it horizontally in half...making two cakes. (The Bailey's icing goes in between these two layers)

 *I use a Kitchen Aid mixer (which I highly recommend for anyone who likes to bake) so I mixed the sour cream and eggs with that and used it as the main bowl that everything was later added to.

Bailey's Buttercream Icing

1 cup crisco

1/2 cup butter

5-6 cups powdered sugar*

1 tsp vanilla extract

1/4 cup Bailey's Irish Cream (I recommend adding to your taste)

Cream crisco and butter. Start to slowly add powdered sugar, add vanilla extract and Bailey's.

*It is difficult to give the exact amounts of sugar and cream, because frsoting is all about having the right consistency. That is also why I suggest slowly adding those ingredients. If the icing looks to thin and runny, add more sugar.. if the icing is too stiff feel free to add more cream.. you get the point I hope!

Homemade Whipped Cream

1 small container of Heavy Whipping Cream

4 TBS powdered sugar

1 tsp vanilla extract

2 tsp sugar

Whip cream until soft peaks form. Once cream is starting to stiffen whip in sugars and vanilla.

Feel free to add more or less sugar depending on how sweet you want your whipping cream!

Fill your cake with a layer of Bailey's Buttercream Icing, and then cover completely with Whipping Cream. Use extra Bailey's to decorate the top and voila! 

Happy baking!