Chocolate Torte

Photo courtesy of Mara.

Finding this recipe (and the blog it came from) was like striking gold. This will now and forever be my go-to-chocolate-cake recipe. First of all, it's divine. It has a light and spongy quality yet decadent and rich, but not over powering. It's not overly sweet, but dark with many deep dimensions of chocolate. Second, it's one of those desserts that you have no desire to over indulge in. It's texture and flavor spark an intellectual frenzy in your mouth. After one bite I just stopped, breathed, tasted, contemplated, breathed again, smiled, and licked my lips clean. It's a dessert that makes you think, not mindlessly shovel more into your mouth. Third, it's gluten free, which I know is not really any healthier than regular baked goods, but something about it's lack of flour just makes me feel better about eating it (...never mind the large amounts of butter it contains). The lovely and endlessly talented Ms. Mara helped me christen this recipe, made for our beloved friend Kristin's going away dinner. Kristin is equally lovely and talented and currently being fabulous in Morocco. So with out further ado: 

Ingredients

250g dark chocolate

125g butter

200g light brown pack sugar

100g ground almond

5 eggs ( separated )

Oven temp 180c, 8" round tin with removable base

• Grease tin with butter and line bottom and sides with parchment paper
• Melt chocolate and butter in a bowl over a pan of simmering water. It is okay to let the bowl touch the water as long as the water isn't too hot. Stir to combine and let the bowl cool down.
• Add sugar and ground almond and stir with a whisk until there are no lumps, add in egg yolks one at a time. Mix well. 
• In a clean stainless steel bowl, whisk egg white until firm peak forms. ( I usually add 1-2 tablespoon of granulated sugar after soft peak forms ) 
• Gently fold in chocolate mixture in 3s. 
• Scrap mixture onto tin and bake for 35-40 minutes until firm
•  Leave cake to cool in tin completely before removing. Dust with icing sugar or cocoa powder. 

Gluten Free Spinach and Carrot Muffins

Makes 12 small muffins

recipe adapted from Green Kitchen Stories

1 cup buckwheat flour
1/3 cup cornflour
1 tsp baking powder
3 tbsp flax seeds (milled) or boiled quinoa
1/2 tsp salt & pepper
1/2 tsp nutmeg (grated)
3 eggs
1 cup yoghurt (we used a dairy-free soygurt)
200 g fresh spinach leaves (roughly chopped)
2 carrots (grated)
1 onion (grated)
1/2 organic lemon (juice and peel)
1 clove garlic (mashed)

top with: 1/4 cup pumpkin seeds

Set the oven at 350°F. Mix all the dry ingredients in a bowl and set aside. Whip egg and yoghurt in another bowl. Add spinach, carrots, onion, lemon and garlic, stir for a minute and then add all the dry ingredients. Pour in muffin tins, top with pumpkin seeds and bake for 25 minutes.

coffee grinder--doubles as the perfect flax seed grinder. I buy whole flax seeds and grind them fresh. The oils in flax seed go rancid easily. Grinding yourself ensures all those lovely oils stay presererved.

I've been experimenting with non conventional flours lately. Here I substituted the buckwheat and cornmeal for coconut and almond flour.