So why do we persist in calling it a cake? I have no idea. But I do seem to have everything on hand to make one, so I may just have to give it a shot this weekend, in the name of research, of course!

Flourless Chocolate Cake
from AllRecipes

1/2 cup water
1/4 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup white sugar
18 (1 ounce) squares bittersweet chocolate
1 cup unsalted butter
6 eggs

~ Preheat oven to 300 degrees F (150 degrees C). Grease one 10 inch round cake pan and set aside.

~ In a small saucepan over medium heat combine the water, salt and sugar. Stir until completely dissolved and set aside.

~ Either in the top half of a double boiler or in a microwave oven melt the bittersweet chocolate. Pour the chocolate into the bowl of an electric mixer.

~ Cut the butter into pieces and beat the butter into the chocolate, 1 piece at a time. Beat in the hot sugar-water. Slowly beat in the eggs, one at a time.

~ Pour the batter into the prepared pan. Have a pan larger than the cake pan ready, put the cake pan in the larger pan and fill the pan with boiling water halfway up the sides of the cake pan.

~ Bake cake in the water bath at 300 degrees F (150 degrees C) for 45 minutes. The center will still look wet. Chill cake overnight in the pan. To unmold, dip the bottom of the cake pan in hot water for 10 seconds and invert onto a serving plate.

[image: flickr]

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54 female students participated in the study published by Appetite, a behavioral nutrition journal, though they weren’t actually aware that they were part of a weight loss study.

Researchers told the women they were participating in a memory test, and showed them pictures of a slice of chocolate cake and a flower, and then chocolate cake and an oatmeal cookie. The women who leaned toward the cake picture tended to highly prioritize their health management.

The study shows that even seeing a tempting food reminded women of their weight loss goal, and that the most effective way of putting it in to practice was to put the pictures of the tempting food on the fridge.

[image: sxc]

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The increased demand for gluten free products has been on the rise for many years, and for those who suffer from celiac disease or just want to eat gluten free, these dessert mixes are a great addition to a growing market.

Celiac disease, an auto-immune disorder that causes digestive distress in individuals who eat any form of wheat flours, affects approximately 1 in every 133 people in the United States, including children and adults:

Celiac Disease (CD) is a lifelong, digestive disorder affecting children and adults. When people with CD eat foods that contain gluten, it creates an immune-mediated toxic reaction that causes damage to the small intestine and does not allow food to be properly absorbed. ~ celiac.org

The mixes are made with rice flour in place of traditional wheat flours, which is an acceptable grain for those who suffer from the disease. The products are also produced in a gluten free environment.

Have you tried the new dessert mixes?

[image: betty crocker]

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The award competition was sponsored by Ghirardelli, so you know some good chocolate was going into these creations!

The method for the cake is actually pretty simple and looks amazingly delicious: two melted bars of Ghirardelli 100% cacao bars, butter, flour, salt, eggs, sugar, and vanilla. Once everything is mixed into a batter, she puts about half of it into a bundt pan, and then layers Ghirardelli caramel squares, toasted pecans, and then the rest of the batter on top.

Chocolate California Goldrush Cake
by Michele Cobarrubio

8 ounces (two 4-ounce bars) Ghirardelli 100 percent Cacao Unsweetened Chocolate Baking Bar, chopped
1 cup unsalted butter
3 cups granulated sugar
5 eggs
1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract
1 1/2 cups all purpose flour
1 teaspoon salt
1 bag (5.3 ounces) Ghirardelli Chocolate Squares, Milk Chocolate with Caramel Filling, unwrapped
1/2 cup toasted pecans, finely chopped
1/4 cup powdered sugar

~ Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray fluted two-quart bundt pan with baking style cooking spray. In a one-quart saucepan over low heat, melt butter and both baking bars. Remove from heat when chocolate is almost entirely melted. Continue stirring until chocolate is completely melted. Set aside.

~ In a small bowl, combine flour and salt. Set aside.

~ In a stand mixer on low speed, mix sugar, eggs and vanilla. When these are incorporated, gradually increase speed to medium-high. Beat on medium-high for approximately 10 minutes. Batter will be pale yellow and fluffy. Alternately add chocolate mixture and flour mixture to egg batter, beginning and ending with the chocolate. Mix until just incorporated.

~ Pour half of the batter into prepared pan. Place unwrapped Milk Chocolate Squares side by side around the center of the pan on top of the batter.

~ Sprinkle toasted pecans over the chocolate squares. Pour the rest of the batter in the pan, spreading it evenly over the candy and nuts. Bake cake at 350 degrees for 45 to 55 minutes. Transfer to a wire rack to cool for about 15 to 20 minutes. Invert cake onto serving plate and cool completely.

~ Before serving, dust cake with powdered sugar.

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In the video above, Nigella makes her Old Fashioned Chocolate Cake using standard ingredients – flour, sugar, eggs, cocoa, etc – with the addition of 2/3 cup of sour cream. I love chocolate and sour cream, if it’s done right, and I suspect this gives the cake a perfect tang.

She also makes a chocolate frosting to go on the cake out of melted chocolate, powdered sugar, corn syrup, and more sour cream.

I miss seeing Nigella on the Food Network!

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What’s your favorite kind of chocolate cake? Plain? Molten? Zucchini?

[image: flickr]

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Today’s a chocolate cake kind of day!

[image: flickr]

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This week’s Chocolate Zen is a simple chocolate birthday cake I found on flickr. It was made with a ganache frosting and looks delicious!

[image: flickr]

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This week’s chocolate zen is a chocolate cake from flickr user david nikonvscanon. It looks amazing!

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Five Minute Chocolate Cake

You’ll need:

4 Tablespoons cake flour
4 Tablespoons sugar
2 Tablespoons cocoa
1 Egg
3 Tablespoons milk
3 Tablespoons oil
1 Mug

Instructions:

Mix flour, sugar and cocoa. Spoon in 1 egg and pour in milk and oil, and mix well. Put in microwave for 3 minutes on maximum power (1000watt) and wait until it stops rising and sets in the mug. Tip contents out of mug onto saucer and enjoy!

Make sure you use cake flour – all purpose tends to make it way too dense and thick. A few drops of real vanilla extract also gives it an authentic “cake taste!” Serve with chocolate syrup, whipped cream, fresh fruit, and/or ice cream.

[image: sxc]

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