With only 3 ingredients this cake was pretty easy to put together and made our house smell heavenly. I'm serving it to company tomorrow so I haven't tried it yet. I will update my post after we eat with the verdict (but after having licked the bowl I have a pretty good feeling about the outcome!). My camera is having issues, so please forgive the photos!**UPDATE**
Although the cake looked and smelled delicious, I was disappointed in the flavor and texture. I have another flourless chocolate cake recipe that is more complicated but well worth it so I'll continue using that unless I happen upon something better.
The February 2009 challenge is hosted by Wendy of WMPE's blog and Dharm of Dad ~ Baker & Chef.
We have chosen a Chocolate Valentino cake by Chef Wan; a Vanilla Ice Cream recipe from Dharm and a Vanilla Ice Cream recipe from Wendy as the challenge.
We have chosen a Chocolate Valentino cake by Chef Wan; a Vanilla Ice Cream recipe from Dharm and a Vanilla Ice Cream recipe from Wendy as the challenge.
Chocolate Valentino
Preparation Time: 20 minutes
16 ounces (1 pound) (454 grams) of semisweet chocolate, roughly chopped
½ cup (1 stick) plus 2 tablespoons (146 grams total) of unsalted butter
5 large eggs separated
1. Put chocolate and butter in a heatproof bowl and set over a pan of simmering water (the bottom of the bowl should not touch the water) and melt, stirring often.
2. While your chocolate butter mixture is cooling. Butter your pan and line with a parchment circle then butter the parchment.
3. Separate the egg yolks from the egg whites and
Preparation Time: 20 minutes
16 ounces (1 pound) (454 grams) of semisweet chocolate, roughly chopped
½ cup (1 stick) plus 2 tablespoons (146 grams total) of unsalted butter
5 large eggs separated
1. Put chocolate and butter in a heatproof bowl and set over a pan of simmering water (the bottom of the bowl should not touch the water) and melt, stirring often.
2. While your chocolate butter mixture is cooling. Butter your pan and line with a parchment circle then butter the parchment.
3. Separate the egg yolks from the egg whites and
put into two medium/large bowls.
4. Whip the egg whites in a medium/large grease free bowl until stiff peaks are formed (do not over-whip or the cake will be dry).
5. With the same beater beat the egg yolks together.
6. Add the egg yolks to the cooled chocolate.
7. Fold in 1/3 of the egg whites into the chocolate mixture and follow with remaining 2/3rds. Fold until no white remains without deflating the batter. {link of folding demonstration}
8. Pour batter into prepared pan, the batter should fill the pan 3/4 of the way full, and bake at 375F/190C9. Bake for 25 minutes until an instant read thermometer reads 140F/60C.
Note – If you do not have an instant read thermometer, the top of the cake will look similar to a brownie and a cake tester will appear wet.
10. Cool cake on a rack for 10 minutes then unmold.
4. Whip the egg whites in a medium/large grease free bowl until stiff peaks are formed (do not over-whip or the cake will be dry).
5. With the same beater beat the egg yolks together.
6. Add the egg yolks to the cooled chocolate.
7. Fold in 1/3 of the egg whites into the chocolate mixture and follow with remaining 2/3rds. Fold until no white remains without deflating the batter. {link of folding demonstration}
8. Pour batter into prepared pan, the batter should fill the pan 3/4 of the way full, and bake at 375F/190C9. Bake for 25 minutes until an instant read thermometer reads 140F/60C.
Note – If you do not have an instant read thermometer, the top of the cake will look similar to a brownie and a cake tester will appear wet.
10. Cool cake on a rack for 10 minutes then unmold.
For the ice cream I did a Chocolate Chip cookie Dough ice cream using cookie dough from my sour cream M&M cookies because it does not call for eggs. Because of my schedule this month I was not able to make these at the same time.
I've always wanted to make a red velvet cake, but once I was diagnose with Celiac Disease, even though I'd had some excellent gluten free baking opportunities, I was scared to go for the double layer cake that I wanted. Needless to say, I let this prevent me from taking that double layer leap...until now! For Valentine's Day I decided to put my fears aside and go for the gusto. I did a bunch of research on red velvet cake recipes (gluten free and glutinous), found a recipe that I could work with and adjusted it to my preferences. Most red velvet cake have 2 Tablespoons of cocoa, but if I'm having a chocolate cake I want to taste the chocolate so I added 4 Tablespoons. I also omitted the vinegar since I was using the red food coloring (I didn't need the chemical reaction it would cause to give my cake a reddish hue). And I used a cream cheese frosting which many would say is non traditional, but I love cream cheese frosting and use every excuse I can to use it! The cake was a huge success! It was moist and flavorful with a soft texture that surprised some of the non-celiac tasters. Yeah! This cake will now and forever be included on our Valentine's Day menu and it might even show up at a birthday or two!
