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Tag Archives: Chocolate
Two sweet but not too sweet macarons have graced our house this week as it is almost MacTweet time. We I have been on a macaron baking spree, as I want to perfect the baking of the macaron for Valentine’s Day gifts. When I get the idea to perfect something, I do it until it is right. You cannot tell from this batch but they were near perfect. Near perfect until I decided to photograph them on a slightly humid day last week …. they barely withstood the photo shoot. No worries, though, they were delicious and both sets of our test tasters said they loved them.
 
The first recipe was inspired by our love of bittersweet chocolate and this wonderful Portuguese cherry liquor called Ginja or Ginjinha, I got to sample over the holidays. Ginginha is a sweet liquor made from the sour cherry-like ginja berry, sugar, and schnapps. As soon as I had my first sip I thought of bittersweet chocolate and macarons. I smuggled a small water size bottle home on the plane. Need I say more, chocolate and cherry just go hand in hand.
The second recipe was inspired one of the best gifts I received over the holidays. Our good friend as well as Lenny’s cousin, Christian, gave us three precious bottles of pure essence oil to use in our cooking. These oils are hand made by his father over in France and are used in some of the finest cooking at two of Boston’s top restaurants, the Clio and Uni. You see, up until a couple weeks ago, Christian was the GM at both restaurants and has been since the beginning. It is always a treat when we stop by as we are completely spoiled by the wonderful meals there but this time the spoiling was even better, when he gave us three bottles of this very fine oil. I have been dreaming about all the things to make, but which flavor to use first ….. cardamon, citron or bergamot? After stumbling upon some fresh bergamot at the market it was an easy decision, I would use the essence oil and some zest from the fresh fruit to flavor this recipe.
Don’t forget about all the other macarons that will be out there in the MacTweets virtual pastry shop, be sure to hop over and indulge!
Recipe: Chocolate Macarons with Bergamot Buttercream
8 ounces whole raw almonds
8 ounces whole hazelnuts
1 cup powdered sugar
100 grams egg whites
25 grams sugar
1 1/2 teaspoon creme of tarter
200 grams powdered sugar
125 grams mixed nut flour, I used half hazelnuts and half almonds
15 grams scharffen berger (or really good) cocoa powder
pinch of salt
Prepare the nut flour by grinding the nuts with 1 cup of powdered sugar, in a food processor until the consistency of flour. You will need to pulse the food processor and run it, then pulse and then run. *I did toast my nuts beforehand and let cool completely before grinding.
Separate the egg whites and let them sit at room temperature for 24 hours before starting to make the macarons.
Preheat oven to 300. Whip the egg whites and creme of tarter until they are foamy. Sprinkle in the sugar while still mixing. Continue to whip until stiff peaks form. Sift the powdered sugar, salt, nut flour and cocoa powder into a bowl. Add to the meringue and fold until a shiny mass comes together. ill a pastry bag with a number 806 tip. Pipe the macarons onto parchment paper. Let the macarons dry at room temperature for 30 minutes (Aran suggests 20, I lost track of time). Bake them for 8 minutes, rotate the baking pan and bake for another 8 minutes. Cool. Remover from parchment and fill with your favorite filling.
Recipe: Bergamot Buttercream
60 grams egg whites at room temperature
35 grams & 15 grams Castor Sugar
30 grams water
1/2 teaspoon bergamont essence oil
zest from half of a fresh bergamont
1 stick unsalted butter
pinch salt
1/8 tsp Cream of Tartar
Mix 35 grams of sugar with the water and zest and bring to a boil in a heavy saucepan. Stir sugar until it boils. Using a candy thermometer, continue to boil until 121°C / 249°F. Meanwhile, beat the egg whites with an electric mixer in a clean bowl on medium high speed until frothy. Add in the cream of tartar, and continue to whip until soft peaks form. Add the remaining sugar and continue to beat until stiff, and glossy peaks form. When the sugar reaches 121°C / 249°F, remove it from heat. Reduce the mixer to medium low and slowly pour the syrup into the egg whites in a thin stream between the whisk and the side of the bowl. Be careful not to splash the hot syrup or your buttercream may form small sugar crystals in it. Return the mixer to medium high, and continue beating until the mixture is fully cooled. About 15 minutes. Reduce mixer speed to medium and gradually add small amounts of the butter, but only as much as it can be absorbed into the mixture before adding the next amount. Continue to beat until the buttercream is smooth. About 15 minutes. As the buttercream solidifies, add 1/2 teaspoon essence oil and beat into the mixture for an additional minute.
Recipe: Vanilla Bean Macarons with Bittersweet Chocolate Cherry Ganache
Use the above recipe for the cookie part of the macaron. Leave out the chocolate. I added a small amount of paste food coloring as I wanted a pink tint as well I added the seeds from 1/2 of a vanilla bean.
Recipe: Bittersweet Chocolate Cherry Ganache
200 ml heavy cream
200 g scharffen berger bittersweet chocolate broken into small pieces
1 tablespoon Ginja/Ginjinha
Bring cream to a boil. Put chocolate into a mixing bowl and pour the cream over the top. Let sit for a couple minutes. Stir until melted. Add the liquor, stir well. Let sit in the refridgerator for at least an hour before using.
I wanted to spice up this previous post for our entry into the Scharffen Berger Chocolate Adventure Contest as well as for a dinner party so I took the same recipe but I left out the warm spices of winter and substituted them with dried chilies, that I ground up in a coffee grinder (I keep one just for spices). In order to cool down the spicy chilies I served this cake with a salted caramel gelato. It was a hit with all our guests, even the children!
Recipe: Flourless Bittersweet Chocolate Chili Cake
8 oz. scharffen berger bittersweet chocolate, melted and cooled
1 stick of good quality unsalted butter
1/4 – 1/2 teaspoon ground chilis, depending on the heat you want
4 eggs
1/2 cup sugar
Preheat oven to 350. Creme the butter until light and fluffy. Add the sugar and mix just to incorporate. Add the eggs one at a time until combined. Mix in the chocolate and chili. Pour into a lightly buttered pan, I like to use a tart pan. Bake for 25 minutes. Let cool for about 10 minutes before removing from pan. Serve. Eat.
Recipe: Salted Caramel Gelato
3/4 cup sugar
3/4 cup heavy cream
1 1/2 cups whole milk
1 vanilla bean, split lengthwise
3 large egg yolks
1/4 teaspoon grey sea salt
Heat sugar in a saucepan over medium heat until it begins to melt and turn dark brown, about 3 – 4 minutes. Once the sugar has reached the color desired, slowly whisk in the cream until well combined. Add the milk and the vanilla bean and cook until hot about 3 minutes. Beat eggs yolks in a medium, heat-proof bowl. Slowly whisk 1/2 of the mixture into the yolk, constantly whisking, slowly add rest of the cream mixture and return to the saucepan. Reduce heat to low, and cook, stirring constantly, until it thickens and coats the back of a wooden spoon. Stir in the salt. Transfer to a container and cool completely in the refrigerator. Using a knife, scrape seeds from vanilla bean pod. Add seeds to gelato mixture, discard pods. Churn according to the directions of your ice cream maker. Store in a tightly sealed container until frozen. Serve. Eat.
A recipe for an easy flourless chocolate cake which is lightly scented with orange zest and cardamon.
I have been making this cake for a few months now; no I am not keeping it a secret, I just keep forgetting to share it with you. With the holidays coming up, I thought, this would be a perfect dessert to serve, as it is easy and very flavorful. The orange zest gives it a bit of zing, while the cardamon lightly adds a warm wintry spice. I like to serve it with creme fraiche which I sweeten with light brown sugar.
Recipe: Cardamon Orange Flourless Chocolate Cake
8 oz. good quality bittersweet chocolate, melted and cooled
1 stick of good quality unsalted butter
1 teaspoon ground cardamon
1 orange, zested
4 eggs
1/2 cup sugar
Preheat oven to 350. Creme the butter until light and fluffy. Add the sugar and mix just to incorporate. Add the eggs one at a time until combined. Mix in the chocolate and spices. Pour into a lightly buttered pan, I like to use a tart pan. Bake for 25 minutes. Let cool for about 10 minutes before removing from pan. Serve. Eat.
The August 2009 Daring Bakers’ challenge was hosted by Angela of A Spoonful of Sugar and Lorraine of Not Quite Nigella. They chose the spectacular Dobos Torte based on a recipe from Rick Rodgers’ cookbook Kaffeehaus: Exquisite Desserts from the Classic Caffés of Vienna, Budapest, and Prague.
We got a wonderful invite over to John & Michelle’s home for an amazing dinner. John is the chef and creative food genius behind Food Wishes. Food Wishes is an amazing site that is full of cooking video recipes. We knew he was working on some “dry aged beef” and that they would be the star of the dinner, so I had to bring a dessert that would be just as fantastic – Dobos Torte!
“The Dobos Torta is a five-layer sponge cake, filled with a rich chocolate buttercream and topped with thin wedges of caramel. (You may come across recipes which have anywhere between six and 12 layers of cake; there are numerous family variations!) It was invented in 1885 by József C. Dobos, a Hungarian baker, and it rapidly became famous throughout Europe for both its extraordinary taste and its keeping properties. The recipe was a secret until Dobos retired in 1906 and gave the recipe to the Budapest Confectioners’ and Gingerbread Makers’ Chamber of Industry, providing that every member of the chamber can use it freely.” quoted from the Daring Baker’s Forum.
The recipe is fairly easy. The sponge cake was very simple to make and came out very light and springy. I decided to make individual tortes so I cut the cake into 24 small circles. The butter-cream was also very light but I was very disappointed as I used a very dark chocolate and it came out very light in color, this was not what I had wanted. The topping to the torte is a caramel topping that is made with lemon juice, I used orange with a touch of cardamon added. The topping was suppose to be some sponge cake that was drizzled with the caramel topping, I was not sure about this, so I practiced on some extra pieces of sponge cake. I was glad I did as I thought the caramel would make the cake too chewy. Instead, I attempted to spin the caramel into “spun sugar”, which ended up being a very fun process and I spent a good part of the afternoon spinning away! The end result was light and very flavorful dessert. I would make this again, but I would try to use a different butter-cream as I would have preferred it to have a much darker look and taste.
A big thank you to Angela and Lorraine for being our wonderful hostesses this month and for picking a great challenge. Be sure to check out the Daring Bakers blogroll for more tortes as well as Food Wishes to see what else we had for dinner that night!
Recipe: Dobos Torte
Equipment
- 2 baking sheets
- 9” (23cm) springform tin and 8” cake tin, for templates
- mixing bowls (1 medium, 1 large)
- a sieve
- a double boiler (a large saucepan plus a large heat-proof mixing bowl which fits snugly over the top of the pan)
- a small saucepan
- a whisk (you could use a balloon whisk for the entire cake, but an electric hand whisk or stand mixer will make life much easier)
- metal offset spatula
- sharp knife
- a 7 1/2” cardboard cake round, or just build cake on the base of a sprinfrom tin.
- piping bag and tip, optional
Prep times
- Sponge layers 20 mins prep, 40 mins cooking total if baking each layer individually.
- Buttercream: 20 mins cooking. Cooling time for buttercream: about 1 hour plus 10 minutes after this to beat and divide.
- Caramel layer: 10-15 minutes.
- Assembly of whole cake: 20 minutes
Sponge cake layers
- 6 large eggs, separated, at room temperature
- 1 1/3 cups (162g) confectioner’s (icing) sugar, divided
- 1 teaspoon (5ml) vanilla extract
- 1 cup plus 2 tablespoons (112g) sifted cake flour (SUBSTITUTE 95g plain flour + 17g cornflour (cornstarch) sifted together)
- pinch of salt
Chocolate Buttercream
- 4 large eggs, at room temperature
- 1 cup (200g) caster (ultrafine or superfine white) sugar
- 4oz (110g) bakers chocolate or your favourite dark chocolate, finely chopped
- 2 sticks plus 2 tablespoons (250g) unsalted butter, at room temperature.
Caramel topping
- 1 cup (200g) caster (superfine or ultrafine white) sugar
- 12 tablespoons (180 ml) water
- 8 teaspoons (40 ml) lemon juice
- 1 tablespoon neutral oil (e.g. grapeseed, rice bran, sunflower)
Finishing touches
- a 7” cardboard round
- 12 whole hazelnuts, peeled and toasted
- ½ cup (50g) peeled and finely chopped hazelnuts
Directions for the sponge layers:
NB. The sponge layers can be prepared in advance and stored interleaved with parchment and well-wrapped in the fridge overnight.
1.Position the racks in the top and centre thirds of the oven and heat to 400F (200C).
2.Cut six pieces of parchment paper to fit the baking sheets. Using the bottom of a 9″ (23cm) springform tin as a template and a dark pencil or a pen, trace a circle on each of the papers, and turn them over (the circle should be visible from the other side, so that the graphite or ink doesn’t touch the cake batter.)
3.Beat the egg yolks, 2/3 cup (81g) of the confectioner’s (icing) sugar, and the vanilla in a medium bowl with a mixer on high speed until the mixture is thick, pale yellow and forms a thick ribbon when the beaters are lifted a few inches above the batter, about 3 minutes. (You can do this step with a balloon whisk if you don’t have a mixer.)
4.In another bowl, using clean beaters, beat the egg whites until soft peaks form. Gradually beat in the remaining 2/3 cup (81g) of confectioner’s (icing)sugar until the whites form stiff, shiny peaks. Using a large rubber spatula, stir about 1/4 of the beaten whites into the egg yolk mixture, then fold in the remainder, leaving a few wisps of white visible. Combine the flour and salt. Sift half the flour over the eggs, and fold in; repeat with the remaining flour.
5.Line one of the baking sheets with a circle-marked paper. Using a small offset spatula, spread about 3/4cup of the batter in an even layer, filling in the traced circle on one baking sheet. Bake on the top rack for 5 minutes, until the cake springs back when pressed gently in the centre and the edges are lightly browned. While this cake bakes, repeat the process on the other baking sheet, placing it on the centre rack. When the first cake is done, move the second cake to the top rack. Invert the first cake onto a flat surface and carefully peel off the paper. Slide the cake layer back onto the paper and let stand until cool. Rinse the baking sheet under cold running water to cool, and dry it before lining with another parchment. Continue with the remaining papers and batter to make a total of six layers. Completely cool the layers. Using an 8″ springform pan bottom or plate as a template, trim each cake layer into a neat round. (A small serrated knife is best for this task.)
Directions for the chocolate buttercream:
NB. This can be prepared in advance and kept chilled until required.
1.Prepare a double-boiler: quarter-fill a large saucepan with water and bring it to a boil.
2.Meanwhile, whisk the eggs with the sugar until pale and thickened, about five minutes. You can use a balloon whisk or electric hand mixer for this.
3.Fit bowl over the boiling water in the saucepan (water should not touch bowl) and lower the heat to a brisk simmer. Cook the egg mixture, whisking constantly, for 2-3 minutes until you see it starting to thicken a bit. Whisk in the finely chopped chocolate and cook, stirring, for a further 2-3 minutes.
4.Scrape the chocolate mixture into a medium bowl and leave to cool to room temperature. It should be quite thick and sticky in consistency.
5.When cool, beat in the soft butter, a small piece (about 2 tablespoons/30g) at a time. An electric hand mixer is great here, but it is possible to beat the butter in with a spatula if it is soft enough. You should end up with a thick, velvety chocolate buttercream. Chill while you make the caramel topping.
Lorraine’s note: If you’re in Winter just now your butter might not soften enough at room temperature, which leads to lumps forming in the buttercream. Male sure the butter is of a very soft texture I.e. running a knife through it will provide little resistance, before you try to beat it into the chocolate mixture. Also, if you beat the butter in while the chocolate mixture is hot you’ll end up with more of a ganache than a buttercream!
Directions for the caramel topping:
1.Choose the best-looking cake layer for the caramel top. To make the caramel topping: Line a jellyroll pan with parchment paper and butter the paper. Place the reserved cake layer on the paper. Score the cake into 12 equal wedges. Lightly oil a thin, sharp knife and an offset metal spatula.
2.Stir the sugar, water and lemon juice in a small saucepan. Bring to a boil over a medium heat, stirring often to dissolve the sugar. Once dissolved into a smooth syrup, turn the heat up to high and boil without stirring, swirling the pan by the handle occasionally and washing down any sugar crystals on the sides of the pan with a wet brush until the syrup has turned into an amber-coloured caramel.
3.The top layer is perhaps the hardest part of the whole cake so make sure you have a oiled, hot offset spatula ready. I also find it helps if the cake layer hasn’t just been taken out of the refrigerator. I made mine ahead of time and the cake layer was cold and the toffee set very, very quickly—too quickly for me to spread it. Immediately pour all of the hot caramel over the cake layer. You will have some leftover most probably but more is better than less and you can always make nice toffee pattern using the extra to decorate. Using the offset spatula, quickly spread the caramel evenly to the edge of the cake layer. Let cool until beginning to set, about 30 seconds. Using the tip of the hot oiled knife (keep re-oiling this with a pastry brush between cutting), cut through the scored marks to divide the caramel layer into 12 equal wedges. Cool another minute or so, then use the edge of the knife to completely cut and separate the wedges using one firm slice movement (rather than rocking back and forth which may produce toffee strands). Cool completely.
Angela’s note: I recommend cutting, rather than scoring, the cake layer into wedges before covering in caramel (reform them into a round). If you have an 8” silicon round form, then I highly recommend placing the wedges in that for easy removal later and it also ensures that the caramel stays on the cake layer. Once set, use a very sharp knife to separate the wedges.
Assembling the Dobos
1.Divide the buttercream into six equal parts.
2.Place a dab of chocolate buttercream on the middle of a 7 1/2” cardboard round and top with one cake layer. Spread the layer with one part of the chocolate icing. Repeat with 4 more cake layers. Spread the remaining icing on the sides of the cake.
3.Optional: press the finely chopped hazelnuts onto the sides of the cake.
4.Propping a hazelnut under each wedge so that it sits at an angle, arrange the wedges on top of the cake in a spoke pattern. If you have any leftover buttercream, you can pipe rosettes under each hazelnut or a large rosette in the centre of the cake. Refrigerate the cake under a cake dome until the icing is set, about 2 hours. Let slices come to room temperature for the best possible flavour.
How do you make your children eat chicken? By making this fool proof kid friendly chicken recipe, it will have your children begging you for more. Your kids will love this!!! Simply bbq’d chicken is basted with a sweet but tart glaze until it is golden brown.
The story of MEM. I have never really told the story of MEM, though, I have spoke of them fondly and often. MEM stands for Max, Ella, and Maggie; otherwise known as, Monkey, Peanut, and Mags or Magalicious. So you ask yourself, who are these mystery children? No, they are not the secret children we keep hidden in our apartment! No, they are not our nieces and nephews – we do have 6 nephews and 2 nieces but they all live far from us. Read on to find out ….
About 8 years ago, I became restless. I was 35 and ready to move on with my life; no more roommates. At the same time the dot.com was starting to crash and people where losing their jobs left and right; mine was becoming very unstable and I was very unhappy, despite, actually liking what I did. After a fantastic winter of skiing and playing in Tahoe with friends, two of us decided to skip off to Bali for 3 fantastic weeks. It was there, that I realized I needed to make some major changes in my life. I even contemplated quitting my job and continuing my travels from there, but, then the logical part of me kicked in and I came home. Once home that journey of change began. Unfortunately, rents were still sky-high and no one was hiring ……. not even a waitress job that could get me out of my unhappy situation for awhile.
After 4 months of continuing the search and hitting interviews, I became pretty desperate at work one day. While scouring the ads on Craigslist, I came across one looking for someone to care for a couple’s 3 month year old son. Now, this was definitely not the field I was in (I was working for a start-up as a facility manager) but caring for a 3 month old could not be any more difficult then looking after an office of a bunch of 30 year olds that were equally as demanding. So, I polished up my corporate resume and sent it off. Not more then 30 minutes later, I got a reply, that they wanted to meet me – I am sure they just wanted to meet the insane person whose resume had no child experience; but, hey, I had babysat most of my teens, taken care of three younger sisters and occasionally watched (played) with friend’s kids and besides I was energetic and compassionate; I knew I would be perfect.
Long story short …. I liked them and they liked me and they had this bouncy bubbly baby boy who seemed to take to me. They also had a one bedroom cottage with a backyard and a deck, which could be mine. This was definitely the blessing I had been searching for.
It has been 8 years almost. Eight adventurous and wonderful years actually. So much as happened in those 8 years, from being able to be on my own, falling deep in love (with Laudalino), building new and exciting relationships (Will & Evelyn, et al), enjoying life more, being asked to be Mag’s godmother, and learning to live life through the eyes of a child (MEM). Now, don’t get me wrong, there were some ups and downs, especially after days of dirty diapers, if I wondered to myself, if I had lost my mind; but, then I would get a hug or a smile and it would all change. Then about three years ago, I found out, that I would not be having children of my own and it all kind of came together. There was a reason that I answered that ad. There was a reason that we were all introduced. And it was all starting to come together.
My role has evolved and changed the past couple of years. The kids grew up, started school and started becoming their own persons. I started craving being back out in the business world, so I came out from behind the scenes and started working with Lenny at his company and now I only spend two days with MEM, which is mostly time with little M. We try to sneak in special time whenever possible, as well Laudalino and I still live in the little cottage, which we have grown to love, and we keep an open door policy with MEM.
Now you are probably asking yourself what does this all have to do with ‘Candy Chicken‘. This past weekend, I stayed with MEM for three nights while W & E, took a long weekend. It is always fun for the four of us to have these “SUPER BIG SPECIAL NIGHTS” as it means lots of fun, games, playtime and cooking together (the girls loved peeling shrimp & making meatballs this time around) Unfortunately, we do have to schedule time to EAT! Evelyn as well as her mother, make this great grilled chicken. ‘Candy Chicken’. This is a great dish, that any child will love, young or old. It is moist, crispy, slightly tart and slightly sweet. We served it with steamed white corn and melted butter.
MEM is crazy for chocolate and not just any old chocolate, it has to be dark chocolate. I wanted to make something fun, so I thought a gooey LAVA cake would be perfect! I remembered one that I made a couple years ago, unfortunately, my recipes are packed away, so I went by memory on this recipe – it turned out great!
Recipe: Candy Chicken
1 cut up chicken, cleaned, patted dry
1/2 cup butter
1 lemon, juiced
1/3 cup brown sugar
1 teaspoon paprika
kosher salt
Melt butter. Add sugar and lemon juice, stir over low heat, until sugar is melted. Stir in paprika and season with salt, to taste.
Lightly season chicken with salt. Heat bbq according to your directions. Grill chicken until almost cooked through. The last 15 minutes, lightly baste all sides of the chicken and continue grilling until golden. Serve. Eat.
Recipe: Lava Cake
4 oz chocolate
1/2 cup unsalted butter
2 egg yolks
2 eggs
1/4 cup light brown sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla
3 teaspoons flour
Heat oven to 375. Melt butter and chocolate over very low heat until melted. Beat eggs, egg yolks and sugar until light and slightly thickened. Add vanilla. Drizzle in chocolate mixture with mixer running, beat until mixed, about 3 minutes. Add flour and beat for another 3 minutes.
Butter and flour 5 ramekins. Divide the batter between ramekins. Bake for 8 minutes. Remove from oven and invert onto serving plates. Serve. Eat.
A few months ago I made a Tuesdays with Dorie Banana Bread, while it was very good, it was not as good as my friend Evelyn’s banana bread. I have received a few requests for this recipe so I decided now was the time to share the secret! The addition of cream cheese and sour cream make this bread ultra moist. The chocolate chips, well, you just cannot go wrong with chocolate! This bread makes a wonderful weekend breakfast when served with coffee and fruit. As well it is great as a light dessert or snack.
Recipe: Ultimate Banana Bread with Chocolate Chips
1/2 cup butter
3 oz. cream cheese
1 cup brown sugar
2 ripe bananas
1 egg
1/4 cup sour cream
1 1/2 cup flour
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1 cup chocolate chips (I like to use bittersweet chocolate chips if you can find them)
Heat oven to 350. Lightly grease a loaf pan and dust with flour.
Cream butter, cream cheese and sugar until light and fluffy. Add the bananas, egg and sour cream and mix until smooth. Add dry ingredients. Stir in chips. Pour into prepared loaf pan. Bake for 60 – 75 minutes, until golden and not doughy in the middle.
This weeks challenge was brought to us by Lyb of And then I do the dishes and she picked the cake that Dorie got fired over: the Chocolate Armagnac Cake.
I have to say right off, I am glad that Dorie got fired over the creation of this cake – it is FANTASTIC! Basically, Dorie got bored day in and day out of making the same thing and decided to get a little creative when making this cake, in the end she was fired for being creative! I love that! Not, that you lost your job, Dorie; but, the part about being creative and taking a chance.
The past couple of weeks I have made two incredibly dense chocolate cakes that require very little flour if any at all, which I find interesting as the texture is really amazingly light, so different from your tradition cake. This particular recipe calls for bittersweet chocolate and I used the deepest I could find, Scharffen Berger 70% as well it uses ground pecans. I did toast the pecans a bit before grinding which gave them a nice toasty and warm taste. As well we got to flambe prunes in Armagnac, this is the second recipe of Dorie’s that I have gotten to flambe and it is a very fun addition to your baking afternoon. Now you may be thinking to yourself, prunes in a cake? This addition made the cake incredibly moist. The cake is frosted with a simple glaze of more chocolate, very little sugar and butter.
This is a recipe that will become a fall back onto for us. It was ultra moist, dense, nice bite of deep bittersweet chocolate and not overly sweet. With the addition of prunes we like to think it is healthier for us as well, after all we all could use some fiber with our chocolate! It really is a fantastic recipe.
Be sure to check out all the other wonderful Tuesday With Dorie bakers!
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