Rich Chocolate Cake

Hello dear readers. I’m back after a long break due to IT issues and general work type business 😀 . I made this cake for a work colleagues morning tea as she was getting married on the weekend. It was actually not a very sweet cake at all and even though I didn’t make it gluten free, it could easily be made so by substituting the flour with gluten free flour. I’m actually going to try it again just using almond meal or hazelnut meal with no flour at all and see how that goes! I might just need a small amount of baking powder instead. I am giving this post a go using my iPad so hopefully all my photos should come through ok as well.

Here is the recipe that was meant to go with the following pictures! I cannot believe none of the words between pictures appeared, nor the recipe!

Rich Chocolate Cake.

250gm dark couverture chocolate, chopped

1/2 cup of buttermilk

250gm soft, unsalted butter.

220gm (1cup) caster sugar (I used raw caster sugar)

6 eggs, seperated

1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

125gm (1 cup) ground almonds

150gm (1 cup) plain flour, sifted (or gluten free)

First, assemble everything you will need and grease and line a 20 cm square cake tin. Preheat your oven to 180 degrees Celsius.

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Combine chocolate and buttermilk in a small saucepan and stir over low heat till chocolate melts, then remove from heat and cool.

Using an electric mixer, beat butter and sugar in a large bowl till light and fluffy, then add egg yolks one at a time, beating well after each.

Stir in vanilla and chocolate mixture, then fold in combined flour and almond meal until just incorporated.

Using an electric mixer, whisk egg whites till stiff peaks form, then, using a large metal spoon, fold into chocolate mixture until just combined.

Spoon cake mixture into the prepared cake tin and bake at 180 degrees for 40 minutes. Reduce heat to 160 degrees and bake for a further 20-25 minutes until cake is cooked by testing it with a cake skewer.

 

Cool cake in tin for 5 minutes then turn out onto a wire rack to cool.

NOTE: I found that after 40 minutes my cake was cooked so did not bother with the  rest of the time stated in the recipe. Your oven may be different so please check at the 40 minute mark.

This cake is meant to be eaten as is just dusted with Dutch-process cocoa and some blueberries. I ended up covering it with a whipped chocolate ganache as i found the cake was rather dry.

Chocolate ganache

200ml pouring cream

250 gm dark chocolate chopped.

Heat cream in saucepan till nearly boiling then pour over chocolate. Whisk till smooth then you can either pour this directly over the top of your cake or leave it to cool and thicken and beat it with electric beaters till it is like a whipped chocolate mousse and ice your cake with it.

Apologies once again for the lack of any relevant information with my original blog. I wish someone had told me it was missing  😀

Get your laughing gear around this!

It has finally become the cold winter I’ve been longing for. All those red sky sunrises (red sky in the morning-shepherds warning) have come to fruition and given us cold wet days as well. I know they’re not as cold as Tasmania or other cold areas of the world but they are nice and chilly. I figure, what with all the shivering I’m doing, extra calories are being used up just to keep this bulk of mine in warmer pastures so what better for a calorie burning season than a rich and luscious Baked Lemon Cheesecake? It’s baked, thus it fits into winter with all the other baked goodies we eat 😀

Gluten Free Baked Lemon Cheesecake (with a twist)

Ingredients

Here’s my twist, I used a whole jar (1 cup, 250mls)of my homemade Lemon Curd. Use the juice and rind of one lemon instead if preferred.

1 1/4 cups of crushed biscuits. I used a gluten free mix of gingernuts and macadamia nut shorbread.

1 tablespoon of gluten free flour. I tend to choose Orgran brand but any would do.

2 x large eggs, lightly beaten

3/4 cup of caster sugar

70gm melted butter

750gms of Cream cheese, softened

Recipe

First assemble all your ingredients.

Then process and combine the biscuit crumbs with the melted butter and press into base of prepared tin.

Beat the cream cheese and sugar using an electric mixer until smooth. Add Eggs one at a time and beat till smooth. Fold in gently the lemon curd and tablespoon of gluten free flour.

Poor mixture onto prepared base and bake at 150 degrees celcius for 45 minutes or until slightly wobbly in the centre. Allow to cool in oven with door ajar, then chill.

I serve this with a dollop of thick cream and it is divine!

Don’t be concerned if the top cracks on cooling. It wont affect the flavour at all and you can cover any cracks with a good dollop of cream anyway 😀

Just the thing for a cold winters day.

Enjoy!

Mondays little Gluten Free sweetie.

I think we all need a little sweetening up today being Monday and I have just the thing to do it for you. As my beloved Chucky (Jason) is gluten intolerant, he misses out on a lot of the stuff we used to chow down on when in the need for a snack. Now, we have to put a bit more of a thought into what goes down the hatch as the side effects of Coeliac disease are not pretty when any gluten is taken into his system. I found one of his most favorite of all slice recipes and decided to tinker with it a bit and the end result was fantastic. You wouldn’t know it was now gluten free and I’ve fooled many of my workmates with this one.

Gluten Free Caramel Nut Slice

Ingredients.

BASE DOUGH

200gm unsalted butter

140gm caster sugar

1/2 vanilla pod,seeds only

300gm Gluten free Plain flour (I use Orgran brand)

1/2  teaspoon Gluten free baking powder

CARAMEL FILLING

130gm unsalted butter

400gm tin condensed milk

4 tablespoons of Golden Syrup

TOPPING

200gm raw, chopped macadamia nuts and grated base dough set aside, (see my method)

Preheat oven to 160 degrees Celsius

Line a 20cm x 30cm x 4cm slice tin with baking paper.

For the base dough, cream together the softened butter, sugar and vanilla seeds until light and fluffy, about 3-5 minutes in an electric mixer.

Sift in dry ingredients and mix until combined.

Take out one fifth of the dough and chill in the fridge in a rough cylinder shape.

Evenly press the remaining dough into the base of your slice tin, making sure it reaches into the corners. Put into oven and bake till firm to touch and slightly golden, not too cooked.

Make the caramel while the base is baking.

Put a metal bowl over a pot of boiling water and add all the caramel ingredients into it, stirring till all melted together.Set aside.

Remove base from oven and pour the caramel over the top, spreading evenly.

Grate (on a big sized grater) the remaing saved dough into the chopped macadamias and mix together gently. Sprinkle this over the top of the caramel.

Pop this back into the oven and bake for 30 minutes or until the outside of the caramel starts to darken. Remove from oven and allow to cool in the tin. Pop in the fridge for an hour to chill before cutting into slices.

Is this slice not calling from the shadows, beckoning you to eat it?

We cannot resist it’s gluten free charms at all.

My gluten free sweetie who’s charms I can’t resist either. Love him xoxoxo.

Bon appetite!