Almond Chocolate Cake: A Gluten-Free Delicious Treat

My daughter bought me a beautiful cookbook last Christmas, Stéphane Raynaud's 365 good reasons to sit down and eat, that included this wonderful gluten-free almond chocolate cake.

When she was about five years old, I asked my daughter what kind of cake she'd like for her birthday party. Without hesitation, she announced that she wanted a flour-less chocolate torte. Very clear where she was taking her food cues from, even at that early stage.

I hadn't yet changed my diet to gluten-free, but always loved the rich, dense quality of a good flour-less torte. I guess I made it often enough that Isabella came to think of this as the norm. Eight years later, she still loves this type of cake. When we were going through the book, and found this recipe, I knew it would be the first thing I made.

It has taken me three-qaurters of a year to get to baking this cake. It was so much fun to try my hand at a completely different version of the flour-less torte than I had ever made before.  The ground almonds (which I didn't grind quite as fine as I should have) keep the cake together and make the cake taste nutty and delicious.

This gluten-free treat takes some time. Do not rush, you have to whip the egg whites and then the yolks, melt the chocolate and the butter, grind the nuts...all the steps should be done at a leisurely pace. Otherwise, you end up like me: running back and forth between the stove and the mixer, dropping ground almond all over the floor, and getting egg yolks on your camera. OK, maybe not the camera part, because I'm assuming that most of you are not shooting each step as you go. But, I think you get my drift. Enjoy the ride.

Up to this point, I've never considered myself much of a baker, but I'm beginning to warm up to it. I love the scientific nature of putting all the right ingredients in the mix and then magically getting a wonderful treat at the end. My favorite part was watching the egg whites froth up into foamy peaks and then settle into this nice soft mounds.

The cake turned out a little soft. I don't think it was baked wrong, or mixed incorrectly. I do think I should have gone with my first instinct and used a springform pan, or a tart pan with a removable bottom. That way, the cake bottom would have been supported the whole time, instead of trying to transfer it to a plate for serving on it's own.

A wonderful dessert for Fall, especially if you serve it with a nice berry jam (that maybe you made back in the summer) and a hot cup of tea.

Chocolate Fondant Cake

from Stéphan Reynaud's 365 good reasons to sit down to eat

Ingredients:

• 9 oz good-quality dark chocolate
• 9 oz butter
• 4 eggs, separated
• 3 1/2 oz sugar
• 1 cup gorund almonds
• 1 tablespoon cornstarch

Method:

1. Preheat the oven to 315 degrees F.
2. Melt the chocolate with the butter in a double boiler.
3. Whip the egg whites to stiff peaks.
4. Whisk the yolks with the sugar until they become pale and frothy.
5. Add the chocolate mixture, ground almonds and cornstarch.
6. Gently fold in the egg whites with a spatula.
7. Butter and flour a tin (note: I lined a nine inch round pan with waxed paper).
8. Pour in the chocolate mixture, cook in the oven for 10 to 15 minutes.

Featured: DailyBuzz Moms: Strawberry, Sage and Grapefruit Granita

I was looking at the DailyBuzz Moms site today and stumbled across my Strawberry, Sage and Grapefruit Granita on their Top 9!

Loving that I'm featured and can't wait to try the Blackberry Lime Tarts from Thyme of Taste's website.

Click on over to see the feature and check out some of the other recipes while you are there.

Cinnamon-Sugar Almonds: More Versatile Than You'd Think

Cinnamon-sugar, almonds, butter and salt. The ingredients for a fantastic little sweet treat, which is just what I was in search of.

I had a choice of walnuts, pecans, cashews or almonds. The almonds were already slivered and raw, so I went with them. This recipe is really adaptable, you can use any kind of nut (although I'd stay away from peanuts).

While I was eating these I realized they could be an accompaniment for savory dishes as well as sweet ones. These cinnamon-sugar almonds would be great in oatmeal or included in a rice pudding. For a savory use, serve them up with a really crispy-skinned glazed chicken and roasted Brussels sprouts. To add some texture and another level of flavor, stir a portion of cinnamon-sugar almonds into saffron rice with shrimp.

Add in a variety of spices, experiment a bit to see what flavor mixes work well together for you. Smoked paprika would go nicely with the sugar and butter, alongside the cinnamon. Have some fun and enjoy!

Cinnamon-Sugar Almonds

Ingredients:

• 1 cup slivered raw almonds
• 1 tablespoon powdered cinnamon
• 2 tablespoons granulated sugar
• 3 tablespoons butter

Method:

1. Heat a small skillet over high heat.
2. Add butter, and swirl it around in the pan, until it is melted.
3. Pour almonds into the butter, stir them around until all are coated with the butter.
4. Cook for 4 minutes, stirring constantly, until the nuts begin to brown.
5. Turn off the heat and let the almonds sit in the hot pan for another 3 minutes, stirring to keep them from burning.
6. Pour the almonds into a serving bowl and add the cinnamon-sugar. Stir to coat all the almonds in the cinnamon-sugar.

It's as Easy as Strawberry Rhubarb Pie

Strawberry Rhubarb Pie. Three words I never would have put together on my own. You see, I don't love cooked strawberries, except in a jam-like state. And, rhubarb and I have previously been unacquainted. Pie is not something I make as a regular event.

My friend had a birthday and she loves fruit pies. So I thought I'd try my hand at making one for her. My CSA box contained both strawberries and rhubarb this particular week. I took a chance, asked a few friends some questions and concocted this lovely pie.

To be honest, I only had a small bit of it (I used regular flour pie crust instead of gluten-free) and I was wary of all that cooked fruit goodness in one place. I was pleasantly surprised by the resulting pie: not too juicy, nor overly sweet with a nice crunch from the rhubarb. I did read later on that there should be no crunch from the rhubarb but my friend said she preferred it this way (maybe only to be nice?!).

I think I also understand the saying "It's as simple as pie" now. I diced a few things, measured out some sugar, vanilla and lemon juice and plopped it all in a pie crust (yes, I used pre-made, we've already discussed that I am not much in the way of pastry doughs). Ina bout an hour, I had a pie that was cooling on a rack awaiting some frozen treat to be served alongside of it.

Pies are going to be featured a little bit more in my summer cooking. It's still quite warm here in San Francisco (which is not the weather we normally have in June) which is inspiring me to experiment with some more pie combinations soon. I'm thinking a plum variety, maybe with some apricot thrown in there, with a gluten-free piecrust so I can fully enjoy myself.

Strawberry Rhubarb Pie

Ingredients:

• 3 stalks rhubarb, cleaned and diced
• 1.5 pounds strawberries, cleaned, hulled and cut into chunks
• 1/2 cup sugar
• juice of 1 lemon
• 2 tbsps real vanilla extract
• 2 prepared pie crusts (gluten-free pastry dough mix can be found here)

Method:

1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees F.
2. In a large bowl place the rhubarb, strawberries, sugar, lemon juice and vanilla.
3. Using a large spoon (or I use my hands) thoroughly coat the rhubarb and strawberries in the sugar and liquids.
4. Let sit for ten minutes, to get the juice flowing out of the fruit.
5. While the mixture rests, take one of your pie crusts, flatten it out and cut it into strips to form the lattice for the top of the pie.
6. After ten minutes has passed, put the fruit mixture into the remaining piecrust, making sure all of the juice get into the pie as well.
7. Cover with strips of piecrust, making a criss-cross (or whatever pattern you like if you have a favorite style, as long as there are air holes of the steam to escape while baking).
8. Crimp the edge of the top lattice to the bottom edge of the piecrust.
9. Place the pie pan on a baking dish or put some aluminum foil underneath the pan to catch any drips.
10. Bake in the oven for 15 minutes at 425 degrees F.
11. Turn the oven down to 375 degrees F and bake for another 40 to 45 minutes.
12. If the crust is browning too quickly, tent the pie with foil.
13. Once the pie is out of the oven, rest it on a cooling rack for an hour (or if you want it to be warm, 40 minutes) before cutting and serving.
14. Serve alongside ice cream or sorbet.