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.

Pickled Carrots and Scallions

 I made pickled carrots and scallions, based on the flavors of the veggies included in a Vietnamese Bahn-mi sandwich.

It was so simple, I have no idea why I've never made pickled carrots (or any other kind of pickles) before.

All it took was a handful of ingredients, a bit of boiling and chopping and a nice big jar. The waiting was the hardest part, but well worth it. The pickles were ready to eat about five days after the pickling began.

They are sweet and a bit spicy, due to the peppercorns and scallions. I think next time I'm going to experiment with some red chili peppers thrown into the mix to give it some more kick.

A great first try at pickled carrots!

Pickled Rainbow Carrots and Scallions

INGREDIENTS

• 4 to 6 rainbow carrots, scrubbed, peeled and sliced into thin sticks
• 1 bunch scallions, greens cut down, ends removed
• ½ cup rice wine vinegar
• ½ cup sugar
• ½ cup water
• 10 whole peppercorns

PREPARATION

1. In a small pan, bring water, sugar and vinegar to a boil. Reduce heat and stir until all the sugar is dissolved.
2. Place the carrot sticks and scallions into a large jar, that has a sealable lid.
3. Pour the vinegar mixture over the veggies in the jar, making sure they veggies are completely submerged.
4. Add the peppercorns, seal the jar and place in the fridge for 5 days.

Poached Eggs: The Breakfast Book

My mom, Gran Fran, taught me how to make poached eggs about a year ago.

Her method involves cracking the egg onto a small saucer, creating a whirlpool in a pan of boiling water and pouring the egg into it. I've become almost an expert at this method, so I thought why not give another method a try? What better timing could I have as it's time for eggs in this installment of my cook the book project (Marion Cunningham's The Breakfast Book)?

At first, I was concerned that the extra egg boil in the beginning of the process was going to slow me down. By parboiling the eggs, they really did hold their shape much more easily once they hit the water/vinegar poaching liquid.

It's great to have two methods to use to make poached eggs as each one yields a little different shape and texture of egg in the end. Gran Fran's method gives you a more fluid shape (though the yolks are cooked perfectly every time). Marion's gives you a more solid shape.

Anyway you want to make poached eggs, you'll end up with a nice light egg dish on a Saturday morning to serve with sausage and toast, or on a Monday night on top of your favorite salad greens.

Check out the posts by my cook the book partners:  Rachel, Aimee, Emily, Sammy and Claudie.

Poached Eggs

from Marion Cunnigham’s The Breakfast Book, Copyright 1987, Alfred A. Knopf

Ingredients:

• 4 eggs
• 4 cups water
• 2 teaspoons cider vinegar
• Additional water for parboiling the eggs

Method:

The eggs to be poached will be getting a preliminary short boil. In a saucepan, boil enough water to completely cover the eggs. Gently lower the unshelled eggs into the saucepan. Count to 30 and remove the eggs. This preliminary cooking in the shell will harden the egg white a little so that the egg will hold its shape better as it poaches.

Bring to a simmer 4 cups water and 2 teaspoons cider vinegar in a 10-inch deep frying pan or sauté pan. If you are poaching more than 4 eggs and need a larger pan, add 1 teaspoon vinegar for each additional 2 cups water. One by one, crack each egg on the edge of the frying pan, open up the shell just over the simmering water, and let the egg fall gently into the water. If the eggs are not to ally submerged, spoon the simmering water over them as they poach. They will be ready after 1 to 1 1/2 minutes. Or remove the pan from the heat immediately after adding the eggs, cover, and the eggs will be poached after 4 to 5 minutes.

Remove the eggs with a skimmer or slotted spoon and let them drain on a towel. If you are not using the poached eggs right away, put them directly into a bowl of ice water and refrigerate. They will keep for 2 to 3 days. Reheat them in a bowl of very hot water for about 1 minute.

Baked Eggs with Fennel and Shitake Mushrooms

 The first time I had baked eggs was in Paris. A large Le Creuset-style saucepan showed up at the table, pipping hot, filled with at least 4 eggs, half a pound of bacon, potatoes and lots of cream. It was delicious.

I vowed to make them at home, which I finally got around to this week. In the two years since the baked eggs of Paris, I've stopped eating dairy. I didn't have any bacon in the house (which rarely happens around here), so I had to think of other mix-ins that would elevate my baked eggs to those I had in Paris.

  Instead of creating a cream-based dish, I went for a mix of sautéed shitake mushrooms and grated fennel with sage. The flavors combined perfectly with the egg, and the texture was great.

 Make sure to

Sage added a nice earthy tone to the mix. I was also going to add my much loved black truffle oil to the eggs, but thought that might be going overboard, flavor wise.

As I write this, I've come up with my next version of this dish: baked eggs with mushrooms, bacon, black truffle oil and sage. Anything you'd add into an omelette will work here, too. Just experiment, watch that the eggs don't cook too long and enjoy!

Baked Eggs with Fennel and Shitake Mushrooms

INGREDIENTS

• 2 eggs
• ¼ cup shredded fennel
• 8 to 10 shitake mushrooms, tips removed and sliced
• 4 teaspoons olive oil
• 3 sage leaves, minced, or 1 twig tarragon, stem removed, leaves minced
• Salt and pepper to taste

PREPARATION

1. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.
2. Heat a small sauté pan, add 2 teaspoons of the olive oil to the pan and the fennel shitake mushrooms and half of the herbs.
3. Cook for 2 minutes on medium heat until the fennel softens and the shitake mushrooms brown.
4. Oil two ramekins with the remaining olive oil and crack an egg into each.
5. Split the fennel and mushroom mixture evenly between the ramekins, spooning it over the egg. Add salt, pepper and fresh herbs.
6. Bake in the oven for 10-12 minutes, until you see the white hardening around the edge of the ramekin.
7. Serve while still warm.

Serves 2. Prep time, 5 minutes; cook time 12 minutes.

PS: Here's the baked eggs they served me in Paris. Whoa! So awesome....