Easy Moist Chocolate Cake ... with chocolate ganache.

Easy Moist Chocolate Cake ... with chocolate ganache. I know this isn't something new... it's just chocolate cake. BUT... it's a moist cake with deep chocolate flavor. Ok, maybe most chocolate cakes can vouch for that. However, I like this cake for it's simplicity... and well, for the fact that it doesn't use 2 cups of sugar... nor does it use lots of eggs, because sometimes you only have a single egg in the fridge. I like it because it reminds me of those box cake mixes... and yet it's made from scratch. The cake is light, tender and fluffy, but with enough structure to take on a chocolate ganache.... and somehow, a slice doesn't feel too heavy when eaten with a cup of coffee.

You can make this cake using simple ingredients, but the outcome can be anything but simple... depending on how you adapt it. It's super delicious with the addition of a chocolate ganache. While I posted the basic recipe, feel free to add all sorts of flavorings to the cake or ganache (orange peel, mint, Irish cream, etc.)... a sprinkle of chopped nuts would be good too. For Christmas, crushed mint candies would be nice on top of the ganache. For Thanksgiving, you could add some warm spices to the cake batter and top the ganache with some chopped dried cranberries and maybe some crushed nuts.  The cake is simple to make and can be "stretched" to feed quite a few people....

I made this cake awhile back... a few times... and found the cake adaptable to many uses. This cake is great as a simple snack cake with powdered sugar(no ganache), also good crumbled to make cake pops... or served elegantly with ganache along with a scoop of ice cream, whipped cream or even a drizzle of raspberry coulis. However it's served, I found it worthy to post:). Hope you enjoy...

You will need: adapted from Food and Wine

Chocolate Cake

2 oz chopped chocolate, or chips

3/4 cup oil, I used extra light olive oil

1 cup sugar

1 large egg

1 TBS vanilla extract

2 cups all-purpose flour

1/2 cup Dutch-process cocoa powder, I used Hershey's dark

1 tablespoon baking soda

3/4 teaspoon salt

1 cup strong-brewed coffee, cooled

1 1/3 cup sour cream, original recipe uses 1 cup buttermilk

Ganache

1/3 cup heavy cream

3 ounces bittersweet chopped chocolate/ or chips

Optional, 

mini chocolate chips for topping

Directions:

• Preheat the oven to 350° F. 
• Oil a 12-cup Bundt pan.... I oiled and floured mine

1. In a small saucepan, melt 2 ounces of the chopped chocolate over low heat, stirring constantly. 

2. Scrape the chocolate into a medium bowl and let cool slightly. 

3. Whisk in the oil and sugar until smooth, then whisk in the egg and the vanilla extract.

4. In a small bowl, whisk the flour, cocoa powder, baking soda and salt. 

5. Add half of the dry ingredients to the chocolate mixture along with 1/2 cup of the coffee and 1/2  of the sour cream(or buttermilk, if using); whisk until smooth. 

6. Add the remaining dry ingredients, coffee and sour cream(or buttermilk, if using)  and whisk until smooth.

7. Pour the batter into the prepared pan and bake in the lower third of the oven for about 45 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center of the cake comes out with a few moist crumbs attached. 

8. Let the cake cool on a rack for 10 minutes, then turn it out and let cool completely.

9. In a small saucepan, bring the cream to a boil. Remove from heat and add the 3 ounces of chopped chocolate.  Let stand until melted, about 5 minutes. Whisk until smooth. Let the ganache glaze cool until thick but still pourable, about 5 minutes.

10. Pour the ganache over the cooled cake... sprinkle mini chips, if desired. Let the cake stand until the glaze is set, at least 30 minutes, before serving.

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Gluten-Free Beet Brownies

Gluten-Free Beetroot Brownies... I am always intrigued with different sorts of recipes... recipes that have something out of the ordinary included... such as an ingredient or a technique that's not usually expected. So when I picked up the mail the other day, I noticed our local natural food store flyer advertising the weekly sales... inside the flyer, there were also a couple of recipes. 

As you can guess, one of the recipes in the flyer was for beet brownies. I just had to make it. Why, the recipe was gluten-free as well... requiring minimal ingredients... not to mention that it looked super simple to make. Oh, and I love beets:). Just never used them in a dessert.

These brownies are real chocolaty... and while they are called brownies, they have more of a cake-like texture... but still maintaining a very moist and fudgy interior  I can easily see them doubling up as cupcakes, frosted with a natural whipped coconut frosting.  However, I think my husband wouldn't mind them with a scoop or 2 of ice cream. But since we have no ice cream in the house, he has been enjoying them straight out of the freezer:). Hope you enjoy...

Note: While the pictures show 2 beets, recipe uses only 1 beet... I was boiling another to make a savory beet salad :) ... therefore, the 2 beets in the pictures. However, you can easily double the recipe and bake in a 13x9 pan.

Tip: Feel free to top brownies with additional chunks of chocolate, chopped nuts... or adding other flavors to the batter, coffee, orange peel, etc. 

You will need: adapted from Natural Grocers

1 medium beet, cooked till soft, (about 1 cup pureed)

1⁄2 cup honey

2 TBS coconut oil

1 TBS vanilla extract

2 eggs

1 cup almond flour

1⁄2 cup cacao powder ( I used Hersheys' dark)

1 tsp baking powder

pinch of sea salt

Directions:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. 
• Line an 8x8 inch pan with parchment paper- can lightly grease paper.

1. Boil beet until easily pierced with a fork. ( I pressured cooked mine  for about 25 minutes or so).

2. Allow beet to cool before roughly chopping it and transferring it to a blender.

3. To the chopped beet, add the honey, coconut oil, and vanilla extract. Blend well until mixture is pureed finely... about a minute or so.

4. Stop blender and add the eggs and blend again until smooth... another 30 seconds or so.

5. In a large bowl, sift together the almond flour, cacao powder, baking powder and salt. 

6. Pour the beet mixture into the dry ingredients and mix well. 

7. Pour batter in prepared into 8x8 pan and level it out.

8. Bake for 35-45 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the middle comes out free of crumbs. Mine baked for 35 minutes.

9. Let cool completely before cutting. I especially like to cut and serve them after they have chilled in the fridge... somehow the flavors get better in the chilling process.

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Pecan Sandies... with chocolate and caramel topping

Pecan Sandies... with chocolate and caramel topping. Here's another cookie in the cookie series I've been posting lately.

This cookie was actually considered as a finalist in a Christmas Cookie recipe contest. Of course I had to make them:). I loved the look of the cookies... and knew I could not go wrong with chocolate, nuts and caramel. That combination is always a winner.

While you don't need to top the cookies with the pecan half, I chose to do so because I needed to pack them. I found the caramel stuck to everything(!)... so I needed to come up with something on the spur of the moment... therefore the pecan half:). But you can easily skip it if you are serving them on a platter and don't need to stack them.

So here's another idea for a cookie that's sure to please. Sorry about the blueish photos... some of them were taken at odd hours in the midst of the baking frenzy:). Hope you enjoy...

You will need: adapted from Cook's Country Dec/Jan 2012 issue

1 cup pecans, toasted
2 cups(10 oz) all purpose flour
1/4 tsp salt
12 TBS butter, softened
4 TBS coconut oil, not melted
2/3 cup(4 2/3 oz) light brown sugar
1 large egg
1 tsp vanilla extract
25 soft caramel candies
4 TBS heavy cream
1/2 cup(3 oz) bittersweet chocolate chips
extra half pecans for topping, if desired

Directions:

1. Process pecans in food processor until finely ground.
2. Combine flour, pecans, and salt. Sets aside.
3. Beat butter, coconut oil and sugar on med/high until pale and fluffy... about 2 min.
4. Add egg and vanilla and beat till combined.
5.  Add flour mixture and mix until just combined... scraping bowl as needed.
6. Refrigerate dough for for 1 hour... I left mine overnight and allowed dough to soften a bit.

• Preheat oven to 350 deg F
• Line baking sheet with parchment paper

7. Roll heaping tablespoonfuls of dough into balls and place 2 inches apart on prepared baking sheets.
8. Using the back of a floured 1/2 measuring teaspoon, make indentation in center of each ball.
9. Bake cookies till edges are lightly browned...be careful not to burn... about 12-14 minutes.
10. Remove cookies from oven and reinforce indentation with teaspoon.
11. Let cookies cool for about 5 minutes before removing from baking sheets. Allow to cool completely. Can freeze cookies at this point and assemble later as needed.
12. Combine caramels and cream in a saucepan and cook on low stirring until smooth.
13. Melt chocolate(in double boiler or microwave).
14. Fill each cookie dimple with a bit of melted chocolate(about 1/2 tsp) and spread up the sides. I like to place in fridge and allow chocolate to set before adding caramel.
15. Top each chocolate covered cookie with about 1/2 tsp caramel. Allow to set completely. I place mine in the fridge to speed up the process. 
You can top caramel with a half piece of pecan, if desired.

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Nutella Pocket Cookies... Nutella "Dreams"

Nutella Pocket Cookies...  or Nutella "Dreams".  It's been quite some time since my last post. I've been quite busy... but I thought to stop by a bit and post a few new recipes. 

Every year about this time, I bake cookies for our annual church youth weekend retreat. And I've made it a habit to post some of the recipes I bake here on my blog. Normally in my baking frenzy, I don't take step-by-step pictures... so the recipes I'll be posting will most likely just have the directions without the usual step-by-step photos. Maybe one or two will have  a few photos for clarification, but for the most part, the directions should suffice. 

It's a bit awkward for me as well not to include the step-by-step photos:)... as I'm so used to a ton of photos attached to a single recipe... but bear with me while I post these cookie recipes in the near future. Hopefully you'll be inspired to make one or two... why, with Christmas around the corner the cookie recipes might come in handy:). 

In any case, here is the first... in a series of cookies. This particular cookie was a  personal favorite of my husband... who tends to sample the cookies...just to make sure they are all right:). Hope you enjoy...

You will need: adapted from Mrs. Fields Cookie Book

Cookie:

3/4 cup butter, softened

1/2 cup icing sugar

1/4 cup light brown sugar, packed

2 large egg yolks

1 tsp vanilla extract, or a bit more:)

1 1/2 cups all purpose flour

pinch of salt

Filling:  

Note: You can use a chocolate ganache filling instead if you like

Nutella, as needed ... about 1 slightly rounded teaspoon per cookie

Topping :

icing sugar

Directions: 

1. In a bowl of an electric mixer cream butter on medium speed about a minute or so.

2. Add icing sugar, brown sugar and pinch of salt; beat till smooth.

3. Add yolks and vanilla and mix till light and fluffy using medium speed. Scrape bowl as needed

4. Add flour and and blend until thoroughly combined. 

5. Remove dough, form into a ball and flatten into a disc.

6. Refrigerate for 1+ hours. I left mine overnight.

Prepare Filling:

1. If making chocolate ganache, prepare while dough is chilling. Scald 1/2 cup cream and add 1 cup chocolate chips, combine and set aside to thicken and cool) 

2. If using nutella, place in fridge to harden a bit so that it will be a bit easier to scoop teaspoons unto the cookie.  

Bake Cookies:

• Preheat oven to 325 deg F
• Line cookie sheet with parchment paper.

1. Remove cookie dough from fridge... if dough has been sitting in fridge overnight or longer than an hour allow to soften a bit before proceeding with recipe. Otherwise, the dough will crack.

2. Flour counter top and rolling pin. Using the floured rolling pin, roll dough to about 1/4 inch  thick. 

3. Cut circles with a 2 inch round cookie cutter(you can also make them a bit larger or smaller depending on preference, just adjust baking time).

4. Place cookie circles onto parchment lined cookie sheet. Continue with rest of dough, using all scraps, until dough is used up.

5. Place 1 teaspoon of nutella(or ganache) in center of cookie circle and top with another circle. 

6. Completely seal the edges of the cookie with the tines of a fork. 

7. Bake until cookies are lightly golden brown around the edges, being careful not to burn... this can take anywhere from 10-15 minutes, depending on the thickness and size of the cookies. Just keep an eye on them...

8. Remove from oven and allow to cool. Sprinkle with icing sugar, if desired... or you can be creative and drizzle chocolate over the top. 

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Opera Cake... with recipe for joconde almond cake and French/Swiss buttercreams.

Opera Cake... with coffee buttercream, ganache and coffee soaked almond jaconde. I have to caution you before scrolling down... this post is VERY, very long. Probably the longest post ever! 

I debated if I should split the recipe... with a separate post for the different cake parts... the joconde layer, the French buttercream, and the Swiss Meringue buttercream. Because if you wanted to, you could use the individual recipes for other types of desserts. But in the end, I decided to put every part of this cake recipe under one post ... just because I personally like to have everything in one place without having to go back to another part in another post. It would be too complicated that way.   

In any case, this particular cake has been on my mind for a VERY long time! It's a cake we often order when travelling... because when we travel, we don't set too many restrictions on the foods we eat. We really enjoy trying out as many new or different foods as possible... We'll share most times, this way we don't overeat and get sick:). Actually, it's a good thing we don't travel often:). But if we see an Opera cake offered in a bakery, or if it's on the menu, we most likely will order a piece:).

I love to challenge myself from time to time with certain recipes that are a bit more complicated... recipes that include a variety of baking techniques, like making croissants, danish pastry, puff pastry, baguettes, various desserts, etc. But for some reason, I tend to stay away from challenging myself in the cake department. However, I love European desserts.... anything multi-layered will get my attention. This Opera cake has been on my mind for so, so long. Like a really long time.

So one day, when my husband was busy travelling with work, I decided to attempt making the cake... I wanted to surprise him when he came home. 

When making the Opera cake, I  tried going the traditional route ... however, I ended up making mine with 4 layers, versus the more traditional 3 layered cake. AND I didn't skimp on the butter or eggs... can you believe that:)?! To make me feel better, I did cut the sugar down a tiny, tiny bit:). 

The post is long because I wanted to be detailed a bit, in case some of you might want to try the recipe as well. It's not a complicated recipe, but it is best if you bake the joconde a day before... this way when you make the buttercream and assemble the cake it won't be overly tiring. I'm thinking you can even make the buttercream ahead if you like... just bring it back to room temperature.

This recipe makes quite a bit of cake, so you could easily make a half batch if you like... or you can freeze the rest. And because it is a rich cake, I suggest cutting the cake in small pieces. 

One thing I would like to do next time is to bake the cake layers a but thinner ... maybe similar to the Dobos cake. Oh, and make the chocolate top much, much thinner... because when the chocolate hardens it is really hard to cut through the cake. You want it thin... mine was quite thick, due to me fumbling with the camera and allowing the chocolate to cool down too much, making it harder to spread thinly.  But as it was, my husband really enjoyed the cake:). Another cake crossed off my bucket list:). Hope you enjoy...         

You will need: inspired by Joe Pastry

NOTE:  You will have 6 egg yolks leftover from the joconde... it will be perfect to make a whole batch of the FRENCH buttercream.... and that will be enough buttercream for the whole Opera cake recipe. I ended up making my Opera cake a few days later... so I used up my egg yolks ( didn't want to leave the yolks in the fridge for too long) and made some fresh pasta dough. 

When I finally made my buttercream(s), I ended up using just 3 whole eggs...  with the 3 yolks I made a half batch of the FRENCH buttercream... and with the 3 egg whites I made a half batch of the SWISS meringue buttercream. I figured I'd show you both buttercream techniques... you can choose to use either/or.

  

JOCONDE (Almond sponge cake) 

Note: use scale amounts for better accuracy

6 egg whites ( room temp)

1 ounce(2 TBS) granulated sugar

8 ounces (2 cups) almond flour

8 ounces (2 cups) powdered sugar, sifted

6 large eggs (room temp)

2.5 ounces( 8 TBS) all-purpose flour

1 1/2 ounces (3.5 TBS) melted butter

1.5 oz melted chocolate

COFFEE SYRUP... if you want the cake to be really, really moist, you may want to make another batch(or half a batch). 

1 cup water

1/3 cup sugar

3 TBS instant coffee ( I used 1.5 tsp instant + 2.5 TBS ground espresso powder)

CHOCOLATE GANACHE

10 oz semisweet chocolate chips

8 oz heavy whipping cream

1 tsp rum extract(or vanilla), I used rum

FRENCH BUTTERCREAM ( can use all of it for the whole cake... or halve the amount + use 1/2 of the SWISS buttercream). I cut the recipe in half and used it for 1/2 of the cake.  

6 egg yolks

1 cup sugar

1/4 cup water

16 oz butter, room temp.

1 TBS coffee extract + 1 tsp espresso powder (can use instant coffee here to taste) 

1 tsp vanilla

SWISS MERINGUE BUTTERCREAM (can use all of it for the whole cake... or halve the amount + use 1/2 of the FRENCH buttercream). I cut the recipe in half and used it for 1/2 of the cake.  

6 egg whites

1/2- 3/4 cup sugar ( I used 1/2 cup)

16 oz butter, room temp.

1 TBS coffee extract+1 tsp espresso powder

 1/2 tsp rum extract + 1/2 tsp vanilla extract (can use all vanilla)

CHOCOLATE GLAZE

6 oz chocolate, melted

1 oz melted butter

********************************************  

Directions:

JOCONDE:

• I like to bake the cake a day before assembling.
• Preheat your oven to 425 degrees F.
• Line 1 or 2 sheet pans (jelly roll pans 13x17 inches) with parchment and brush with melted butter. 

~NOTE: If baking joconde in 1 pan, you will need to split the cake in two. I baked mine in one pan and cut the layers in 2. BUT you can bake the cake in 2 pans and not have to deal with splitting the cake. Baking time will differ by a few minutes. 

~Gather your ingredients, weigh each one... and allow ingredients to get to room temperature before starting.

1. Using a stand mixer fitted with a whisk, whip the egg whites to soft peaks... about 1 minute on high speed.  Add the sugar, and continue to whip until you get stiff peaks.... another 30 seconds to 1 minute on high speed. 

2. Remove meringue into another bowl.

3. Wash, clean and dry mixer bowl. 

4. Add eggs, almond flour and powdered sugar  to mixer bowl whip on medium/high until light and increased in volume... about 3 minutes. 

5. Sift the flour over almond egg mixture. Fold the flour in until it just disappears.

6. Add 1/4 of the reserved meringue and mix in. Gently fold the rest of the meringue in 3 subsequent batches. 

7. Remove 1/4 cup of the batter and mix with melted butter. Pour this over the rest of the cake batter and gently fold it in.

8. Divide the batter evenly between the two pans ( or 1 pan like I did)... spreading it as evenly as possible over the two pans... or the single pan.

 9. Bake for 5-7 minutes ( if using 2 pans)... or about 8-10 minutes if using 1 pan.... until the cake is lightly browned. 

10. Remove from the oven and place the pan(s) on a cooling rack. Cover cake with a sheet of parchment, then flip the pan over. Carefully peel off the baked layer of parchment, then turn the cake over and allow to cool completely. 

11. If baking only one sheet, then cut cake layer in 2, width wise(short side). Using a very long serrated knife split(cut) the cake pieces in 2 horizontally.... this will give you 4 cake layers that are about 8x11.5 inches.... and about 1/2 inch thick.

If freezing, wrap cake layers tightly with plastic wrap, making sure you place a piece of parchment paper between layers so the cakes don't stick together. The cake layers can be frozen for up to a month. 

COFFEE SYRUP

Directions:

1. In a medium saucepan, add water, sugar, and coffee. Bring to a simmer, then turn heat off.

2. Allow to cool completely. Set aside. 

CHOCOLATE GANACHE

Directions:

1. Place cream in a medium sauce pan. Bring cream to a simmer, turn heat off and add chocolate. 

2. Allow chocolate to sit in the hot cream for 3-5 minutes.

3. Whisk chocolate ganache until smooth and add rum extract... or vanilla to taste. Set aside to cool and thicken, until you can easily spread it. I left mine at room temperature for a few hours.... so it thickened to a frosting consistency. 

FRENCH BUTTERCREAM: ( I ended up making half the amount (for one set of cake)... using only 3 egg yolks)

Directions:

1. Place your room temperature yolks in a mixer  bowl. Using the whisk, whip the yolks for five minutes on high speed... or until they appear light in color and a bit foamy.

2. In the meantime, while the mixer is going... make sugar syrup. 

3. Combine the sugar and water in a medium saucepan with a spout (if you have one). Heat syrup to 248 degrees F. If you don't have a saucepan with a spout, then immediately pour the syrup into a pyrex measuring cup with a spout. 

4. With the motor off, start drizzling the syrup into the yolks a little at a time, then whip the mixture for a bit on low(gently)... so as not to splatter it all onto the sides of the bowl, as it will harden and make sugar threads. Then drizzle a little more of the sugar syrup, run the machine a little, stop, drizzle... and repeat until all the syrup is incorporated. Whip the yellow egg foam until it’s cool to about room temperature.

5. When egg foam is cooled, start adding your butter, a piece or two at a time until it’s all in. Add the coffee extract, espresso powder and vanilla.

SWISS MERINGUE BUTTERCREAM ( I ended up making half the amount (for one set of cake)... using only 3 egg whites)

Directions:

1. Place the egg whites and sugar in a large metal or glass bowl (can use your mixer bowl). 

2. Set the bowl over a pot of simmering water, and whisk, continuously, until the sugar has completely dissolved and the mixture looks opaque.... around 160 deg F.  

3. Remove the bowl from the heat and transfer it to your mixing bowl...  only if you've used another bowl. 

4. Whip on high speed until completely cooled and meringue is at a medium soft peak. Add coffee extract, espresso, rum and vanilla. 

5. Whip in the butter, a tablespoon at a time, until thick and fluffy. If it begins to look curdled (it probably will), continue to whip until it comes back together...  then add in the remaining butter. This process took close to 10- 15 minutes... don't fret if the mixture starts out looking curdled... the longer you beat it, the quicker it will come out smooth and silky.

ASSEMBLE OPERA CAKE

Directions: 

1. Melt 1.5 oz of chocolate until fluid... then take one cake layer, which will be your bottom layer for the Opera, and spread a thin coating of melted chocolate all over all the way to the edges. Place chocolate side down unto a piece of parchment paper. 

Note: The chocolate on the bottom layer will help the joconde cake to release and not stick later on when you cut the assembled Opera cake... it makes it really nice to lift the cake pieces from the plate without any cake pieces being stuck. 

2. Allow chocolate to cool and harden, then remove parchment paper and  cut cake layer in 2 ... to yield 2 pieces that are about 8x11.5 inches. 

3. Cut the rest of the cake layers to the same size. You will have 2 sets of 4 cake layers that are about 8x11.5 inches.

4. Place a piece of parchment paper(or foil) on large plate or tray that is big enough to hold the cake layers flat and leveled. You could use a plastic/wooden board as well.  

5. Working with 1 set of cake layers(4), place the chocolate covered cake layer on the parchment lined plate... chocolate side down.

6. Using a pastry brush soak cake layer with some of the coffee syrup... making sure all the layer brushed well. 

NOTE: Make sure you divide the syrup( I sort of eyeballed it) so you have plenty to go around for all 8 cake layers (both sets)... you don't want one cake layer to be overly saturated while one is barely soaked. 

7. Place about 3/4 cup of the buttercream unto the soaked cake layer... and using an offset spatula spread buttercream evenly to the edges of the cake.... making sure the buttercream is as level as you can get it to be. 

8. Add a second layer of cake, soak with coffee syrup and add about 1/4 cup of the chocolate ganache (which has thickened and is spreadable). Spread ganache evenly to the edges.

9. Add a third layer of cake, soak with coffee syrup and add another 3/4 cup of coffee buttercream, spreading the buttercream evenly to the edges.

10. Add the last layer(4th) of cake, soak with coffee syrup and spread a VERY thin layer of ganache,..  this is just to smooth out the cake layer to an even and smooth surface... so it will be ready for the melted chocolate glaze. Place in the fridge to chill and harden.

11. Repeat process with the second set of cake layers....

Note: you may have some buttercream and ganache leftover, just freeze those for another use.

CHOCOLATE GLAZE... to be made only after both sets of cakes have been layered and refrigerated.

Directions:

1. Melt chocolate and whisk in melted butter. Spread about half  the chocolate glaze on one set of cakes, Using an offset spatula, carefully spread the melted chocolates evenly over the entire surface, working quickly so that the chocolate doesn't harden( I left my chocolate to cool down a bit and it is a bit harder to spread cleanly)... try not to go over it too much with the spatula, so it stays shiny.

2. Repeat the process with the second cake and spreading most of the remaining chocolate glaze... you probably won't use all of the glaze. I reserved some and placed it in a small sandwich bag to use for the top decoration (writing out the OPERA name, you could do whatever decoration you like, a music note, a few lines, etc... or you could add an edible gold leaf).

3. Using a long sharp knife trim the edges of the cake.

4. Allow the chocolate glaze to set a little, and then using a knife, score the cake in whatever size pieces you want. Write the Opera word, if desired, with the chocolate glaze or any other melted chocolate (can use white chocolate), or decorate as desired. Repeat the process with the second set of cake.

5. Place Opera cake in the fridge to chill further... the cake is easier  to cut when buttercream is chilled and layers are set. The top chocolate glaze will harden, but you can use a sharp knife dipped in hot water (then wiped) for an easier and cleaner cut.  Wipe knife between every cut. The opera cake is always best after several hours (overnight is best)... 

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Gluten-Free Chocolate Chip Cookies... with almond flour.

Gluten-Free Chocolate Chip Cookies... with almond flour. I'm always looking for good gluten-free desserts, GF desserts that can easily pass for regular desserts. Recently I thought of making some GF chocolate chip cookies.... just because cookies are always a dessert that most folks enjoy. But when looking to make a gluten-free version, I wanted the cookies to taste like real chocolate chip cookies.... and I also wanted them to look like chocolate chip cookies. 

Immediately I thought of the big bag of almond flour I had in my freezer. Why not substitute the all-purpose flour in a regular chocolate chip cookie recipe with almond flour? It should work, as almond flour works extremely well in most cake and cookie recipes. And since I was still playing around with the ingredients, I decided to substitute the butter with coconut oil... lowering the coconut oil a tad bit, as I felt there was plenty of "fat" in the almond flour.

In general, cookie dough benefits from a resting time... especially so when working with nut flours. Decided to implement the idea in this cookie dough recipe as well. After mixing the dough, I let it rest in the freezer for a few hours, giving the almond flour plenty of time to absorb the liquids. The dough would also be firm enough to scoop and form into cookie dough balls. I did end up tossing in some chopped pecans, because I love the textural difference nuts provide, but it's definitely optional. 

Initially, I had meant to bake the cookies at 350 deg F., but somehow had my oven heating at 375 deg. F from another baking project... and forgot to lower it. I guess 375 deg F it was... but 350 might be better:). And so my experiment baked up beautiful gluten-free chocolate chip cookies. Slightly crispy, yet chewy... with loads of chocolate and no white flour. They were delicious! Sorry about the lighting in the pictures... baked these at night:). Hope you enjoy...

You will need:

1/3 coconut oil, room temp. solid, not melted 

3/4 cup brown sugar, packed

1/4 cup sugar

1 ex-large egg

2 tsps vanilla extract

1/2 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp kosher salt

2 1/4 cups almond flour

1 cup hand-chopped dark chocolate (or chips)

1 handful chopped pecans, optional

Directions:

1. Beat together the coconut oil and sugars until combined thoroughly and smooth.

2. Add the egg and vanilla, mixing until smooth.

3. Whisk together the almond flour, baking soda and salt. Add to wet ingredients. Mix until fully incorporated.

4. Add chopped chocolate and fold in.

5. Cover bowl with plastic wrap and refrigerate for a few hours or overnight... or freeze for a couple of hours.  

• Preheat oven to 375 deg F
• Line baking sheet with parchment paper

6. Remove cookie dough from fridge (or freezer). Form in 1 inch balls. Place cookie dough balls on parchment lined baking sheet. Flatten cookie balls slightly.

7. Bake in pre-heated 375 Deg F oven for 8-10 minutes, or until lightly golden. 

8. Remove pan from oven and allow cookies to cool somewhat in pan( cookies can be fragile when hot) before lifting them off the sheet pan... and cooling on wire rack completely.

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Romanian Amandina Cake...

Romanian Amandine Cakes... rum/caramel soaked chocolate nut sponge cakes. It has literally taken me 5+ years(and 500! recipes) to finally post a popular Romanian dessert ... the Amandina. Throughout my years of blogging, I've had many requests to post an Amandina recipe. Always being reluctant to make desserts that are laden with too much sugar and butter, I've postponed it for quite some time. And I know I've said this many, many times... but it's true, the sugar and butter amounts in a recipe will affect my decision in attempting it or not. Most times I skip over a recipe if I find it a bit heavy. However every once in a blue moon, I end up attempting such a recipe:)... 

Somehow, I can't leave well enough alone... so I try to tweak recipes. I find myself lowering the butter, sugar and egg amounts, if at all possible. And if it's possible, then I certainly will:). You know, I think most desserts really don't need all that butter and sugar. It's unnecessary really. And I truly believe that... a true baker might not agree with me though:). 

So when I embarked on making the traditional Romanian Amandine, well, I knew I'd want the recipe to be delicious... but without the "extra" butter and sugar. Of course, it wouldn't be delicious, without some butter and sugar:)... because butter + sugar = flavor. However, I thought I could get away with lowering some of the eggs normally found in sponge cakes by adding some leavening. It took a bit of research, adjusting and finally starting the Amandine recipe. 

While researching all sorts of European dessert recipes, I found that cakes, such as the Opera, Dobos, and other layer cakes relied heavily on sponge cakes. I loved how techniques varied when making a typical "sponge" cake...  from  the joconde(with nuts), to the genoise(beaten whole eggs), to the regular sponge cake(with or without leavening), they all had their own role. So I researched some more and found an amandina recipe that used a "joconde"-like sponge cake, but with added leavening. While most amandine recipes online are based on a chocolate sponge cake, I felt the amandina cake layers should be a bit different, more special than just a chocolate cake .... and so I went with a nut based sponge cake with leavening. The nuts would add a ton of flavor as well as texture.

The buttercream  was my worst fear... all that butter:)! However, I knew I couldn't get away without it, so I settled on a buttercream that's not so popular... the German buttercream. I loved it because it relied mostly on a custard and not so much butter as other buttercreams. I suppose I could have eliminated the eggs entirely from the custard(making a cooked flour frosting)...  it would make the cream even lighter. But I chose to add the eggs, just because this recipe won't be made that often:)... and I felt I had cut enough of the butter and sugar in the overall recipe.

German buttercream can be a bit finicky... the buttercream can separate(look curdled) if the custard and butter are not close in temperature(if custard/butter is too cold). There's a little tip that usually fixes it, and that's to warm up a bit of the buttercream and then whip it again... that extra heat normally brings the buttercream back together. As for the glaze, well, I thought it would work best with a thinned out ganache...

Now the Romanian amandine are quite moist, the sponge cake is usually moistened with a rum flavored syrup. If you didn't know, Romanians love their rum. You'll find the rum flavor in a ton of Romanian desserts, I suppose as you would find vanilla in American desserts. It's that popular. And even though the amandine, as the name implies, should have a predominant almond flavor, it's been changed to other flavors over time... coffee can be added, rum as I mentioned, or even just vanilla. 

While I posted the amandine recipe as I made it, you can certainly adapt it  and make it your own. Make a simple sponge cake, moisten it with a syrup, layer it with your buttercream of choice, even a whipped ganache would work, and glaze it as simply as you like. Add flavors that you prefer... you don't need to use rum, if you don't care for it. But this is my version... a combination of flavors we like, not overly sweet, though sweet enough... and not overly buttery, so it falls heavy. And although I've used a few teaspoons of rum, I don't think it's too overpowering... at least not for us:). 

This is a recipe my husband totally approved of, so I'm finally posting an amandina recipe I'm happy with. And so... here is my 500th recipe. It's hard to believe I've posted so many recipes! Who knows, maybe I'll make this dessert again... in a couple of years:). However, I'm still planning on baking a few other classical cakes. Actually, there's a particular cake that's been on my mind for some time now... hoping to one day cross it off my bucket list:). Hope you enjoy...  

        

Note: This took 2 days... By the end of the second day, I had had it in the kitchen.... I guess I'm not much of a baker:). But on the 3rd day, after my very first bite, I fell in love with the recipe... it was so totally worth it. Not too sweet, nor overly buttery. Just right.

My piped buttercream looks a bit soft... I ended up refrigerating the amount I reserved for piping, so when I needed to pipe it, well, it had hardened. I warmed it up again... maybe a bit too much:). 

Tip: Serve the amandine, the day after making  them, as the flavors are at their best... and serve close to room temperature.

You will need: Cake and soaking syrup adapted from Prajituria... German Buttercream idea inspired in part by BraveTart and chocolate custard portion of buttercream by Food and Wine. Glaze was mine... typical thinned out ganache:). I'd recommend using the scale amounts for better accuracy.

Nut Sponge Cake:

Caramel water

50 grams (1/4 cup) sugar

250 ml (1 cup) water

4 ex-large eggs( room temp.)

250 grams (1 cup+3 TBS) sugar

2 tsps vanilla extract

1/4 cup oil

200 grams finely ground walnuts/pecans (I used 50 grams pecans, I'm sure almonds would work)

250 grams (1 2/3 cups+1 TBS) all purpose flour (I accidentally used bread flour)

1 1/2 tsp baking soda

Caramel/Rum Soaking Syrup:

50 grams (1/4 cup sugar)

250 ml (1 cup water)

2 tsps rum extract

German Chocolate Buttercream

1 ex-large egg

1 egg yolk

3/4 cup whole milk

2 tsps cornstarch

2 tsps rum extract

1 tsp instant coffee

 240 grams (2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened 

Chocolate Ganache Glaze

250 ml heavy whipping cream

250 grams chopped chocolate( I used 50% milk +50% semi sweet chips)

Directions: 

Make Sponge Cake Layers: 

• Line and butter a 12 x 17 inch sheet pan with parchment paper
• Preheat oven to 375 deg F

1. Using a food processor, grind nuts till fine. Set aside.

2. In a sauce pan, add sugar, heat on medium heat and melt sugar till amber in color and all sugar is dissolved... swirl the pan to evenly melt the sugar, being extra careful to not burn sugar. Take pan away from heat and add water ... it can splatter, so be careful. Use a whisk to combine... you might get some hard caramel, but it will dissolve as it sits. Set aside to cool.   

3. In a bowl, combine flour and baking soda, whisk mixture to aerate. Set aside

4. Using a whisk attachment, beat eggs and sugar on high till light and fluffy... about 2 minutes.  

5. Add vanilla extract, oil and nuts. Fold gently to combine.

6. Add cooled caramel water and combine until just mixed. Don't overmix.

7. Sift flour mix 1/3 at a time over egg mixture and using a whisk(or a spatula) gently fold in  the flour, being careful not to deflate the mixture too much.

8. Pour batter in prepared pan, lever batter with a spatula, and give the pan a gentle tap on the counter to release any large bubbles.

9. Place pan on center rack in preheated oven and bake 13- 15 minutes or until golden and toothpick comes out clean.

10. Remove sponge cake from pan and allow to cool, cut cake vertically, in 2 equal parts. 

Note:You can at this point freeze cake for assembling Amandine another day if you like.... which is what I ended up doing. Just wrap well.

Make Caramel/ Rum Soaking Syrup:

1. In a sauce pan, add sugar, heat on medium heat and melt sugar till amber in color and all sugar is dissolved... swirl the pan to evenly melt the sugar, being extra careful to not burn sugar. Take pan away from heat and add water ... it can splatter, so be careful. Use a whisk to combine... you might get some hard caramel, but it will dissolve as it sits. Stir in rum extract. Set aside to cool.   

Make German Buttercream:

1. In a bowl, whisk, egg , yolk,  sugar and cornstarch. Set aside.

2. Heat milk in a sauce pan until small bubbles around the edge of the pan are evident... scalding the milk.  

3. Remove scaled milk from heat and slowly add to egg mixture, whisking to combine to temper the eggs.

4. Place tempered egg/milk mixture back in sauce pan.

5. Heat egg custard mix on medium heat, whisking all the time, until  it thickens and starts to bubble slowly... and then heat for another 30 seconds or so after that to cook out the cornstarch.    

6. Remove from heat and stir in chopped chocolate, whisk to combine and then add the rum and instant coffee. 

7. Allow custard to cool completely, covering with a plastic wrap on the surface so it won't form a skin. Place in  refrigerator to cool thoroughly if needed. 

Note: You will need to bring the refrigerated custard back to room temperature when mixing it with the butter, as you want the custard and butter to be at about the same temperature, otherwise the buttercream can separate. 

8. Line the inside of a 13x9 pan with plastic wrap leaving some overhang enough to eventually cover the cake layer. Place one cake layer in pan and using a pastry brush soak cake layer using only half of the caramel/ rum syrup. Set aside while you finish buttercream.  

9. Using a whisk attachment, beat butter until light and fluffy.

10. Add custard in small amounts to the butter while mixing to fully incorporate the custard... continute adding custard and mixing till all of the custard is used up and buttercream is light and fluffy. If at any time the buttercream looks a bit curdled, or separated, this may be because the butter and custard were not at the same temperature... one was probably too cold. As a fix, you may want to remove the mixer bowl and place the bottom of the bowl in some hot water( bain marie style) for a bit to warm the cream gently... and then whip it again... it should get rid of any separation. 

11. Remove about 3/4 cup of the buttercream and set aside... that is, if you want to make the buttercream swirls on top of each amandina.  

12. Using an offset spatula, spread the rest of the buttercream evenly over soaked cake layer. 

13. Place second cake layer on top of the buttercream and repeat soaking cake layer with the second half of the caramel/rum syrup. 

14. Bring the plastic wrap over the entire cake and refrigerate(or freeze) until cream is hardened. It is easier to slice cake neatly when mostly frozen.

15. Remove cake layers from fridge and trim edges. Cut in small squares... about  2x2 inch squares.

Make Chocolate Ganache Glaze:

1. Heat whipping cream to a boil, remove from heat and add chocolate. Whisk until fully combined and smooth. 

2. Allow ganache to cool and thicken, to thick pourable consistency. I placed  mine in the freezer and whisked the ganache every 10 minutes or so... until the ganache was the proper pourable consistency(it took some time in the freezer). Use 1 cake to test the consistency of the ganache before covering all of the amandine. You don't want the ganache to be too thin or it will run all over  the cakelets.  If at any point the ganache is too thick to pour evenly, then heat it gently a bit, and whisk to thin it out a bit more...

3. Spread about 1 1/2 TBS ganache over cake square using the back of the spoon to cover the whole surface and allowing some of the ganache to fall slowly over the edges. Repeat with all squares. 

4. Drizzle lines of any reserved ganache over each square, if desired... or add a bit more melted dark chocolate  to a bit of the ganache(or even use some whipped cream) to drizzle a darker chocolate lined variation. 

5.  Place the reserved buttercream in a piping bag with favorite tip and pipe small mounds in the center of each glazed amandine. 

6. Refrigerate amandine so glaze hardens a bit. 

7. Remove amandine from fridge and allow to get to room temperature before serving.

NOTE: Amandine are best the following day as the flavors improve overall. Just bring to room temperature before serving.  They also freeze amazingly well... freeze amandine on a sheet pan until hard(best if each is placed in a cupcake liner) then place in container of choice, covered. 

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