Flourless Chocolate Cake

A friend of mine recently told me he was cutting down on the white foods, flour and sugar, for health concerns. But being a chocolate addict, he asked me to whip him up a nice dessert so I decided to try out a flourless chocolate cake. I couldn't completely eliminate the sugar but I could greatly reduce it. And the addition of some nice Grand Marnier liqueur certainly helped. The cake itself is nothing very pretty to look at. When it comes out of the oven, it has a soft cracked shell on the outside. However, the rest of the cake holds its own. One bite, and you would never know there was no flour. As a side note, the cream I served it with is absolutely necessary. It cuts through the denseness and brings this cake to a whole new level.

Flourless Chocolate Cake

8 oz. bittersweet chocolate
1/2 cup softened unsalted butter
6 eggs
1/4 cup sugar
splash of Grand Marnier
optional: orange zest

Cream topping:
2 cups whipping cream
splash of vanilla extract
optional: 1-2 TBSP powdered sugar (depending on how sweet you want the overall taste to be)

Need: 8 inch pan lined with parchment paper

1. Melt chocolate in double boiler. Add softened butter and let the two combine.
2. In one bowl, whip two eggs, 4 yolks, and half of your sugar. Gently add your melted chocolate to your mixture.
3. In another bowl, whip your 4 egg whites until white and foamy and then add the remainder of your sugar until soft peaks. Carefully incorporate your white mixture into your chocolate mixture.
4. Add your chosen flavorings. Pour into prepared pan and bake for about 40 minutes or until the center is no longer wobbly.
5. For your cream topping: In a bowl with whisk attachment, whip your cream, vanilla, and powdered sugar to soft peaks. Put a generous dollop on top of your slice once your cake has cooled.

HOMEMADE OREOS

On a recent trip to Boston, my good friend A turned me onto Flour, a bakery opened by JoAnne Chang (which is conveniently located next to the Children's Museum in Boston as well)!! I love this woman as her story is close to my own. She started out in math/economics and at one point in her life, switched over to pastry. Her cookbook is thorough as she explains the science behind why certain things happen. I highly recommend it for beginning and experienced bakers. So for a recent and very important event at A's school, I made these homemade oreos from Ms. Chang. These are absolutely delicious, I know every ingredient going into them and cannot recommend them enough. I love how I can control the size and the amount of icing that goes into them as well! If you love oreos, you have to give these a try.

Homemade Oreos

By: Joanne Chang from the Flour Cookbook

 Makes 16-18 sandwich cookies

1 cup unsalted butter, melted and cooled slightly

3/4 cup granulated sugar

1 tsp vanilla extract

1 cup semisweet chocolate, melted and cooled slightly

1 egg

1.5 cup all purpose flour

3/4 cup dutch processed cocoa powder

1 tsp kosher salt

1/2 tsp baking soda

Vanilla Cream Filling

1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened

1 2/3 cup confectioners sugar

1 tsp vanilla extract

1 TBSP milk

pinch of kosher salt

1. Whisk together the butter and sugar until combined. Whisk in vanilla and chocolate. Add egg and whisk thoroughly.

2. In another bowl, stir together the flour, cocoa powder, salt, and baking soda until well mixed. Stir in the flour mixture into the chocolate mixture. The dough will seem floury. It will resemble Play-Doh. Let set at room temperature for about 1 hour to firm up.

3. Transfer dough to parchment and shape into a log about 10 inches long and 2.5 inches in diameter and roll into parchment. Refrigerate for at least 2 hours or until firm.

4. Heat oven to 325 F.

5. Cut the dough log into 1/4 inch thick slices. Place about 1 inch apart on prepared baking sheet.

6. Bake for 20-25 minutes or until firm to the touch.

7. Filling: Using a stand mixer with paddle, beat butter on low. Add confectioners sugar and vanilla and beat until smooth. Add milk and salt.

8. Scoop about 1 TBSP of the filling onto the bottom of one cookie. Top with a second cookie, then press the cookies together to spread the filling.

9. ENJOY with a glass of milk!!!