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Happy birthday to me (or how to gain 10 lbs in 5 days)

This past Friday was my birthday. Plans were originally minimal but the festivities started early. On Tuesday, we had a flourless chocolate cake at work, baked by my boss's husband. Her husband's recipe is a particularly scrumptious one (and secretive - I have been trying to get the recipe from him for a couple of years now). It is also so rich that the total servings listed as 12 on the recipe are actually more like 30. Even after everyone at work had a sliver, I was still left with over half a cake for myself (the remains of which are now in my freezer for later).

After several other food-centered (but non-birthday related) events at work between Tuesday and Thursday, Friday was the beginning of my long weekend and my actual birthday. I planned ahead to make this Flourless Chocolate Hazelnut Cake. After assembling but before trying any of it, I had an impromptu lunch with my friend Cindy at Olive Garden. Saturday consisted of yet another lunch with some other friends at my favorite Indian restaurant, Curri, along with more cake (because I was sharing it with everyone that I could find). And finally, Sunday consisted of lamenting the fact that my jeans are snug and marked my return to normal eating habits (which will hopefully remedy the jean situation quickly).

Now, to bring my focus to this most amazingly delicious cake...

The recipe called for white sugar which I substituted with coconut palm sugar (purchased at Natural Grocers, my new favorite alternative grocery). This is the first time that I have ever used coconut palm sugar, and while the verdict seems to be out as far as whether if affects your blood sugar levels less than regular sugar or not, my final cake was mildly sweet and the flavor had a depth that I have never experienced before in any other baked items. I think I am definitely going to have to experiment with this ingredient some more.



Here's a pic of ALL of the chocolate included in this cake, along with the coconut palm sugar and hazelnuts. I chose whole raw hazelnuts over hazelnut meal because they were WAY less expensive. Gluten-free baked goods tend to be a little on the crumbly side, but crumbliness was minimal in this case. I was a little concerned about how dry the cake itself felt but in the end, what I interpreted as slightly dry turned out to be perfect.


I have also never made chocolate ganache before but it was much more simple to do than I expected. In the end, this cake was amazing! And this is the overall consensus, not just mine. Many flourless cakes are dense and heavy, but this one was light and had a heavenly texture. I will definitely be making this cake again.

Possible alterations to it might include:
White cake rather than a chocolate cake (omit the chocolate in the beginning)
Pecans or almonds rather than hazelnuts (taken from suggestion on the original recipe)
Additions to the mousse such as Grand Marnier, praline, or berries
White chocolate ganache instead of dark

Comments

  1. Looks to die for!! Fax me a piece, will you?

    ReplyDelete
  2. Absolutely! :) ...They do make 3D printers now. I'm guessing the 3D printed version wouldn't be quite as yummy though. Where is Star Trek technology when you need it?

    ReplyDelete

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