Saturday, February 14, 2009

HAPPY VALENTINES DAY Flourless Chocolate Cake


HAPPY VALENTINE'S DAY!

For several years I made this flour-less cake for birthdays, Valentine's Day, and other special occasions. Since then it has become our traditional Valentine's Day cake. I love the rich and fluffy chocolate flavor; it is like a light and fluffy fudge. I originally got the recipe off of: http://www.care2.com/greenliving/flourless-chocolate-cake-recipe.html
and so far it is my favorite flour-less/ wheat and gluten free chocolate cake recipe. I am going to paraphrase the recipe here and you can checkout my pictures of the process, including the finished product!

3/4 cup unsalted butter cut into pieces
12 ounces of bittersweet chocolate, chopped small
6 eggs, separate the whites from the yolks, place in separate bowls
1 TBS vanilla
1/2 cup honey

Melt the chocolate in a double broiler on low with the butter (chopped). Set aside and let cool. Meanwhile mix egg yolks in a blender for 3 minutes with 1/4 cup of honey. Mix with the cooled chocolate mixture and then add vanilla.

Whip egg whites (by hand or mechanically) until soft peaks form, then add 1/4 cup honey Whip again until firm peaks form. Mix the egg whites/honey mixture with the chocolate/yolks mixture adding the whites in thirds until it is all mixed.

Have a well buttered and floured pan or heart-shaped cupcakes. Pour batter in and cover bottom of pan with aluminum foil. Cook at preheated 350F until toothpick comes out with moist crumbs. Cake will fall quite a bit. Don't let the top of the cake burn! takes 30-50 minutes depending on size pan.

Above: chocolate and butter melting in a double broiler

L: egg whites ready to whip R: honey and egg yolks (mix for 3 minutes in a blender)

L: egg whites forming soft peaks R: 1/4 cup honey being added to whipped whites


egg yolks/honey/chocolate mixture on the left, whipped egg whites/honey on the right, now mix the two together (see below):




Above: everything mixed together


Above Left: batter in the heart shaped pans, bottom of pan wrapped in foil. Above Right: finished cakes, with our homemade Valentine's Day cards.

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

candice,

i made this cake the other weekend and it turned out so well! i love that it uses honey. i baked it in a 10-inch spring form pan (because i don't have any cute heart cupcake tins) and it worked well. i also made a simple ganache (melted chocolate chips in half & half) for the top because i like to push decadence over the top. i shared the cake with family and friends and all agreed it was superb. somehow it was rich and flavorful without being overly sweet or heavy. filled the chocolate craving i was having, for sure, and it was fun to lovingly beat the egg whites and fold them in, though it took some time. it was the first time i ever attempted a flourless cake of this kind--thank you for the great recipe and inspiration! i will surely be making it again.

love,
teresa