Flourless Chocolate Cake | A Delightful Oxymoron

"Flour-less" and "cake" are just two terms I could never get to go together in my head. How could a cake have no flour, I wondered. It could hardly be called a cake, could it?

I was wrong. But it took me a long time to get on the flour-less bandwagon. Within the past couple weeks, I made one and ate another.

The first time, I made one with my 10 year-old cooking student. It was a first for both of us. His mother eats a gluten-free diet and so I do try and accommodate her.  The recipe we tried was from All Recipes.  It was good, but not quite as good as the one my sister made when our Tampa daughter came north (!) for a visit.

And now I know why . . . my sister's recipe was baked in a water bath, like cheesecakes are often recommended to be baked. And it had a lot more eggs that had to be whipped until double in volume.

They're both keeper recipes -- the first one is simpler, easy enough for a weekday, and more brownie-like. The second one, duplicated below, from Cook's Illustrated, is just richer, fudgier, just plain ol' more chocolaty!

Both deserve to be topped with a dusting of confectioner's sugar and fresh berries, raspberries, if you want perfection!

Flourless Chocolate Cake
from Cook's Illustrated
8 large eggs, cold
1 pound bittersweet chocolate or semisweet chocolate, coarsely chopped
1/2 pound unsalted butter (2 sticks), cut into 1/2-inch chunks
1/4 cup strong coffee or liqueur (optional)
Confectioners' sugar or cocoa powder for decoration

Adjust oven rack to lower middle position and heat oven to 325 degrees F.. Line bottom of 8-inch springform pan with parchment and grease pan sides. Cover pan underneath and along sides with sheet of heavy-duty foil and set in large roasting pan. Bring kettle of water to boil.

Beat in bowl of electric mixer fitted with wire whip attachment at medium speed (speed 6 on a KitchenAid) until eggs double in volume, about 5 minutes.

Meanwhile, melt chocolate and butter, adding coffee or liqueur, if you want, in large heat-proof bowl set over pan of almost simmering water, until smooth and very warm (about 115 degrees on an instant-read thermometer), stirring once or twice. Fold 1/3 of egg foam into chocolate mixture using large rubber spatula until only a few streaks of egg are visible; fold in half of remaining foam, then last of remaining foam, until mixture is totally blended.

Scrape batter into prepared springform pan and smooth surface with rubber spatula. Set roasting pan on oven rack and pour enough boiling water to come about halfway up side of springform pan. Bake until cake has risen slightly, edges are just beginning to set, a thin glazed crust (like a brownie) has formed on surface, and an instant read thermometer inserted halfway through center of cake registers 140 degrees, 22 to 25 minutes. Remove cake pan from water bath and set on wire rack; cool to room temperature. Cover and refrigerate overnight to mellow. The cake can be covered and refrigerated for up to 4 days.

About 30 minutes before serving, remove springform pan sides, invert cake on sheet of waxed paper, peel off parchment pan liner, and turn cake right side up on serving platter. Sieve light sprinkling of Confectioners’ sugar or unsweetened cocoa powder over cake to decorate, if desired. Top with fresh raspberries or strawberries, too, if you'd like.

Adult Treats: Chocolate Covered Peanut Butter Cheesecake Pops

I'd say these pops were kid pleasers, but -- frankly -- I don't know many kids who are cheesecake lovers. In fact, I've learned that there really are -- I shudder to think! -- people in the world who don't like cheesecake! And I've met quite a few people who don't like peanut butter.

I have, however,  met very few people who don't like love chocolate. Milk, dark, Dutch, semi-sweet, double, white -- doesn't matter. It's one of the reasons we can pack on the pounds around the holidays, why we love to be treated at Valentine's Day (did someone say aphrodisiac?), why we cram Easter baskets with chocolate everything.

But I've never, ever, ever met anyone who didn't think eating something on a stick was just plain fun. Instant party!

So when I was wandering around looking for something new to do with peanut butter and chocolate  these pops immediately caught my attention. When I read through the recipe and saw that they were square pops, not round, I thought my clumsy self just might be able to dip those babies in chocolate without flubbing them up too badly.

(Why I was looking for something new to do with peanut butter and chocolate in the first place, I don't know. Not when I already have this recipe, and this. And probably tons more in my cookbook collections. Must be a disease.)

I was right . . . . a success on all fronts. Great combination of peanut butter and chocolate, cream cheese, portion control.

Couple cautions: As I read the recipe, I also read some reviews. Because of them, I used a larger pan than the 8 x 8 originally called for. That made smaller pieces; this is very rich. I will make them again, and next time I will roll the pops in nuts. A minor decadent touch.

Chocolate Covered Peanut Butter Cheesecake Pops
from Food Network Kitchens

Cheesecake:

1 1/2 cups dark brown sugar

1 1/2 pounds cream cheese, at room temperature

1/2 cup heavy cream

2 large egg yolks

1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract

1 3/4 cups creamy peanut butter

Chocolate:

5 tablespoons vegetable shortening

12 ounces semisweet or bittersweet chocolate chips

Special Equipment:

Wooden pop sticks

For the cheesecake: Position a rack in the middle of the oven and preheat to 325 degrees F. Line a 13 x 9 pan with parchment paper letting long flaps overlap on each side. Spritz with nonstick spray.

Break up the brown sugar to remove all lumps. In a stand mixer with the paddle attachment, beat the cream cheese and sugar on medium speed until very smooth. Add the cream and beat slowly; then add the yolks and vanilla mixing until just combined. Gently stir in peanut butter. 

Pour and evenly spread the batter in the prepared pan. Bake for 15 minutes. Open the oven to release some heat, then lower the temperature to 200 degrees F. Continue to bake the cheesecake until the outside is set but the center is still loose, for about 45 minutes. Turn off the oven, and cool cheesecake in the oven for 45 more minutes. Cover and refrigerate at least 8 hours or overnight.

Lift cheesecake from the pan by lifting up thepaper. Transfer to a cutting board. Cut into squares, about 1-1/2 inches. Stick a wooden pop stick halfway into each bar and freeze for one hour.

Meanwhile, put the shortening and chocolate in a medium heatproof bowl. Bring a saucepan filled with an inch or so of warm water to a very slow simmer; set the bowl over, but not toughing, the water. Stir the chocolate occasionally until melted and smooth

Remove from the heat and let cool slightly. (Or put the chocolate and shortening in a microwave safe bowl and melt at 50 percent power in the microwave until soft, about one minute. Stir, and continue to heat until completely melted, about 1 minute more.

Dip the pops in the chocolate mixture and stand on waxed paper to set, about 5 minutes. Chill before serving.

If you really want to be decadent, you could, as The Food Network Kitchens suggest, coat the pops in nuts or candies, too. Peanuts would be great, I think, but I was already feeling way decadent.

The Loneliest Cookie | Chocolate Peanut Butter Cheesecake Bar

Who leaves just one cookie on the plate? What difference is that little bitty piece of sweetness going to make to your waistline when you've already had more than your share? Who leaves just one cookie!?!

Mr. Rosemary does.

An incurable late night snacker with a sweet tooth, he is. He's mindful of what he eats all the rest of the day, but late at night, catching up on whatever golf, tennis, football or hockey event he'd DVR'd, he'll go on the prowl for something sweet. Sometimes it's something salty he goes after. Sometimes it's sweet before the salt.

Sweet or salty, listen to my story:

I had made these chocolate peanut butter cheesecake bars for my brother-in-law's birthday party. My SIL was making a cake, but to make sure there were plenty of sweets all around, I volunteered to bring something extra: these cookies.

I didn't leave myself enough time to photograph any before we left the house, so I sneakily held a few back, and put them in the fridge.

The next day, when I went to get the cookies out for their photograph, I found one lonely cookie, left in the container and put back in the fridge, snugly lidded and all.

He wasn't in the house when I found them. Had he been, he swould have heard me scream -- just a little.

Yikes, how can I take a picture and post it? One little bitty cookie. And I have nothing else ready to post!  And it's been over a week since I put up anything new!

Guess I'll just have to tell the truth.

And the truth is he was saving the last piece for me.

Chocolate Peanut Butter Cheesecake Bars

from The Brown Eyed Baker

Makes 24 Bars

For the Crust:
2½ cups chocolate graham cracker crumbs
2 tablespoons granulated sugar
½ cup unsalted butter, melted

For the Peanut Butter Cheesecake:
16 ounces cream cheese
1 cup granulated sugar
½ cup creamy peanut butter
3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
4 eggs
½ cup whole milk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

For the Chocolate Glaze:
6 ounces milk or semisweet chocolate, finely chopped
1½ teaspoons vegetable shortening 

1. Make the Crust: Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Whisk together the graham cracker crumbs and sugar. Add the melted butter and toss together with a fork until the crumbs are all evenly moistened. Press the crumbs into the bottom of an ungreased 9×13-inch baking pan. Bake for 8 to 10 minutes; remove to a wire rack and cool.

2. Make the Cheesecake Layer: Beat together the cream cheese, sugar, peanut butter and flour on medium speed until smooth and creamy. Add the eggs, one at a time, mixing well and scraping the sides of the bowl after each addition. Slowly pour in the milk and then the vanilla extract and beat until combined.

Pour the cheesecake batter over the crust and bake for 35 to 45 minutes, or until the cheesecake layer is set around the edges and still appears slightly soft Chocolate & Peanut Butter Cheesecake Bars

when the pan is wiggled. Allow the cheesecake to cool completely in the pan set on a wire rack.

3. Make the Chocolate Glaze: Combine the chopped chocolate and vegetable shortening in a small bowl and microwave on 50% power in 30-second increments, stirring after each, until completely melted. Spread the melted chocolate evenly over the cheesecake layer. Refrigerate for at least 1 hour, then cut into squares and serve. Store leftovers in an airtight container in the refrigerator.

Hula Hoop the Chocolate Chip Cupcakes Away!

Like any self-respecting home cook (especially one who keeps a blog!), I watch the The Food Network and The Cooking Channel when I can.  You always need new inspiration. That’s in addition, of course, to the half-dozen magazines I get, the 100 + cookbooks that grace my shelves, the myriad clippings I collect (some quite yellowed), the yet-to-be-organized print-outs from the internet, as well as the 50-odd food blogs and websites I try to visit regularly.  That’s a lot of inspiration!

Trouble is, I have trouble working in some kind of routine exercise into that food absorption.  Often, I will watch food shows while I hula hoop.  A half-hour show is perfect for this kind of multi-tasking:  I do my hula hoop for twenty minutes and then concentrate on the show for ten minutes (or maybe fold laundry).

The irony of exercising while slobbering over food possibilities is not lost on me.

A couple weeks ago I was going doing my hula hoop while watching Giada De Laurentiis.  Can’t remember which show.  (Which made finding the recipe just a little bit of a search.) But she made these chocolate chip cupcakes look so irresistible, I was drooling over my hula hoop. 

And I had a couple of real good excuses:  my friend’s birthday was coming up, the grandsons were camping with their parents nearby, and my college girlfriends were coming for a visit, too!  So . . . I made them.  Twice.  And they were doubly delicious.

When Giada said the recipe started with a brownie mix from a box, she only half-apologized and said they were that good. I believed her.  And it's true.   I only made a couple changes from her original recipe:

• I subbed coffee for the water she used.
• I used regular sized chocolate chips instead of the mini-chips she recommended.
• And I added peanut butter to the mascarpone-cream cheese frosting.

A word on the hula hoop:  It really works.  It’s a weighted hula hoop – 4 pounds. 

This is not me.

When I first used it, I had a tough time keeping it going for more than a minute at a time, but I do 20 minutes at a time and although I’m don’t do it all the time, I sure notice when I don’t!  Makes a big difference and really works whittling away my midriff.  Which is a very good thing if you like to eat brownie cupcakes like these.  And I do.

Chocolate Chip Walnut Cupcakes

only slightly adapted from Giada Di Laurentiis

1/2 cup finely chopped walnuts

1 cup semisweet chocolate chips, plus ¼ cup for garnish

1 (21 ounce) box brownie mix (Giada recommended Duncan Hines Chewy Fudge)

2 eggs, room temperature

½ cup vegetable oil

¼ cup brewed coffee

Frosting

4 ounces mascarpone cheese, room temperature

4 ounces cream cheese, room temperature

2 tablespoons smooth peanut butter

3 cups powdered sugar, sifted

Place than oven rack in the middle of the oven and preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.  Line a 12-cup muffin pan with paper liners.

In small bowl, combine the walnuts, 1 cup chocolate chips and 1 tablespoon of the brownie mix.  Toss until the nuts and chips are well coated and set aside. (Doing this helps keep the chips and nuts from sinking to the bottom.)

In large, bowl, mix together the remaining brownie mix, eggs, vegetable oil and coffee.  Stir for 30 seconds until blended.  Fold in the nuts and chips.  Spoon the mixture into the prepare pan.  (Cupcakes will be full.)

Bake for 22 to 25 minutes until a toothpick inserted in center comes out with moist fudgy crumbs.  Cool the cupcakes in the pan for 10 minutes then transfer to a wire rack and cool completely before frosting, about 30 minutes.

For the frosting, using an electric hand mixer, beat the two cheese together until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes.  Then gradually beat in the powdered sugar until smooth and spreadable. Then mix in 2 tablespoons smooth peanut butter. Refrigerate frosting until ready to use.  Spread the frosting on top of the cupcakes and garnish with chocolate chips.  Refrigerate until ready to serve, but serve at room temperature.

A Toast of Chocolate to Uncle Jim -- German Chocolate Cheesecake

It had been much longer than I cared to admit since I’d visited my Uncle Jim who’ll be 95 years old this year. He’s my uncle by marriage; he was married to my father’s only sister, my Aunt Mary, whose sensational cooking inspired me to want to be a good cook.

I was grateful when one of my sisters suggested a day trip to his nursing home in Pittsburgh, punctuated by lunch (Church Brew Works) and shopping (Trader Joe’s and McGinnis Sisters.) Grateful and just a little apprehensive.

Like many people, I suppose, I was afraid that he wouldn’t be as I’d remembered him. Of course he wouldn’t!!! Another niece who lives close by and who has been his primary family contact for the last ten years had prepared us for the fact that he was frail and confined to a wheelchair and losing his memory more but was still usually in good spirits.

All my fears were allayed when we found him in a TV room and after we finally approached him and I said, “Hey, Uncle Jim! It’s Rosie!” and gave him a kiss.

I could see in his pale eyes that he did indeed recognize me and he grinned with his typical little chuckle and said “Rosie, kiddo! How are you?” Anyone in their fifties loves to hear themselves called “kiddo.”

We caught him on a pretty good day. We could see that he wanted to be the same gracious man he’d always been. He apologized that he couldn’t stand up to greet his company. He wanted to participate in lively conversation, just as he always had. Well-read and opinionated, with a wry sense of humor, he loved conversation and was a great raconteur himself. But he was always interested in what you thought and what you had to say, too.

He tried to keep up with conversation, he tried to remember all the people and events in the pictures we shared, but became a little frustrated and would drift off and shake his head with a smile that so reminded me of what my mother did as she aged, too.

As I recounted to him how my husband still talks about the lovely evening the three of us once had when he took us out to dinner at his club and dawdled over too many Manhattans and ate the best turtle soup, his eyes sparkled with a little memory and he started breaking apart the Cadbury chocolate bar my sister had given him. He needed a little help and gestured that each of us should have a piece.  He then raised his piece in a toast gesture and we followed his lead and raised our pieces of chocolate,too,  a toast to the memories of family and to the connections that should never fade.

I’m sure that Uncle Jim would have liked this cake. Or at least he would have said so. He was the beneficiary of my aunt’s very best baking and cooking. And he always seemed to swoon over what she made. Her biggest fan. She probably wouldn’t have made this cake because it starts with a mix and she loved baking from scratch. But I didn’t get her baking genes, so this jazzed up cake mix that my sister-in-law Liz first made is something I can do. (This will be my birthday cake, won't it, Liz?)

For you, Uncle Jim.


German Chocolate Cheesecake
This really isn’t a cheesecake; it’s a cake with cheese, but delightfully chocolatey and rich all the same!
from Taste of Home, submitted by Kathy Johnson, Lake City, SD

1 package German chocolate cake mix
2 8-ounce packages of cream cheese
1 ½ cups sugar
4 eggs, lightly beaten
For frosting:
1 cup sugar
1 cup evaporated (not sweetened condensed) milk
½ cup butter, cubed
3 egg yolks, beaten
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
½ cup flaked coconut
1 cup chopped pecans

Prepare cake batter according to package directions. Set aside. In small mixing bowl, beat cream cheese and sugar until smooth. Add eggs; beat at low speed until just combined.

Pour half of cake batter into a greased 9 x 13 x 2 pan. Gently pour cream cheese mixture over and smooth with spatula. Then gently spoon remaining cake batter on top and spread to the edge of the pan.

Bake at 325 degrees Fahrenheit for 70 to75 minutes, until toothpick inserted near center comes out clean. Cool on rack for at least one hour before frosting.
For Frosting:
Combine sugar, milk, butter and egg yolks in heavy saucepan. Cook and stir over medium heat until thickened and a thermometer reads 160 degrees. Stir in vanilla, coconut and pecans. Cool until frosting is spreadable.

Makes 16 servings