A chocolate cloud with four ingredients.

Here is a lovely chocolate souffle cake that requires just four ingredients.  The recipe is from the Gourmet "archives" (February, 2001) and was, for the most part, super simple.  I would encourage you to find the finest quality ingredients (i.e. natural eggs and classy expensive chocolate).  The most annoying thing is the multiple bowls needed, but really that's just an excuse to pull out all your nice ones and enjoy the process.  Actually, the only truly inconvenient bit was having to whip two separate elements in the same mixer -- the second being egg whites, (which means you need a perfectly clean, temperature neutral base to get that task done.)  But I wouldn't let that be a deterrence.  It's a sexy treat that comes together in an elegant way and pairs beautifully with all kinds of sauces or sides.  I love, too, that it's flourless, so all your gluten free friends can indulge, too.  ;)  xxoo


Ingredients:
2 sticks (1 cup) unsalted butter, cut into pieces
9 ounces bittersweet chocolate (not unsweetened), chopped
6 large eggs, separated
2/3 cup plus 1/2 cup superfine granulated sugar

To make this cake:

Put a small roasting pan filled halfway with hot water in bottom third of oven (to provide moisture during baking), then preheat oven to 325°F. Butter a 10-inch springform pan and line bottom with a round of parchment or wax paper. Butter paper.

Melt butter and chocolate together in a heavy saucepan over low heat, stirring, then remove from heat. Beat together yolks, 1/3 cup sugar, and 1/2 teaspoon salt in a large bowl with an electric mixer until thick and pale, and ribbons form when beater is lifted, about 6 minutes. Beat whites at medium speed with cleaned beaters in another large bowl until they just hold soft peaks. Gradually add 1/3 cup sugar, beating until whites just hold stiff peaks. Stir warm chocolate mixture into yolk mixture until combined well. Stir one fourth of egg whites into chocolate mixture to lighten, then fold in remaining egg whites gently but thoroughly.

Pour batter into springform pan and bake in middle of oven (do not place springform pan in pan of hot water) until a tester inserted in center comes out with crumbs adhering, about 1 hour (a crust will form and crack on top of cake as it bakes). Transfer to a rack and cool 10 minutes (cake will "deflate" as it cools). Run a thin knife carefully around edge of cake, then remove side of pan. Cool cake on bottom of pan 30 minutes, then invert onto another rack or plate. Remove bottom of pan, then carefully peel off parchment. Invert cake onto a serving plate.

Recipe, bakers sugar and pretty aqua water glass.

Butter and chocolate combine on the stove.

I like brown eggs, but I know that's psychological.

Combining the sugar and egg yolks to cream.

All creamy and ready to go.

Chocolate and sugary eggs about to meet.

The egg whites folded into the chocolate / creamed egg mixture makes it a true souffle.

Almost there.

Chocolate souffle cake.

Stewed bitter cherries with amaretto liquor makes a yummy and totally winter ish sauce side - but you could do anything.

Chanel style sweet treat for your weekend.

These seem totally Lagerfeld, no?  Happy Saturday. The sun is kinda out and I'm about to go bounce around a track and then get coffee with the husband.  Tonight - stuffed pork chops with apricot and almonds.  Also, I think we're going to go look at a waterfall with a dear guitarist man friend from NY.  I think I'll wear my new faux mink scarf.  Holla.

Cupcakes from Le Cupcake (Santa Monica)



A sorta healthy cupcake.

Because these cupcakes don't call for frosting, and because they use egg substitute & low fat buttermilk, and because dark chocolate is good for us -- I'm declaring this recipe healthy.  I'm going to make them for a breakfast party.  And serve yummy strong coffee alongside ...

birthday luv to my birthday girl. U know who u are ;)

Ingredients:

1 cup all-purpose flour (about 4 1/2 ounces)

1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa

1 teaspoon baking soda

1/8 teaspoon salt

2/3 cup granulated sugar

1/4 cup butter, softened
1/2 cup egg substitute
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/2 cup 1% low-fat buttermilk
1 1/4 ounces dark (70 percent cocoa) chocolate, finely chopped
2 tablespoons powdered sugar

Picture from recipes.com

Preparation:   Preheat oven to 350°.  Lightly spoon flour into a dry measuring cup, and level with a knife. Combine flour, cocoa, baking soda, and salt; stir with a whisk.  Place granulated sugar and butter in a large bowl; beat with a mixer at medium speed until well combined (about 3 minutes). Add egg substitute and vanilla, beating well. Add flour mixture and buttermilk alternately to granulated sugar mixture, beginning and ending with flour mixture. Fold in chocolate. Spoon batter into 12 muffin cups lined with muffin cup liners. Bake at 350° for 18 minutes or until cake springs back when touched lightly in center or until wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean. Remove from pan; cool completely on a wire rack. Sprinkle with powdered sugar just before serving.

Rose Cake.

Pictured cake by Ron Ben-Israel .  Photo credit: Ngoc Minh Ngo.
(Clearly our cakes will never turn out this professional, but layering organic rose petals will create a similar look.)

Rose Petal Cake: This recipe is simple and delicious.  Perfect for a girl thing. Ingredients: 1 Cup butter softened 1 1/3 cups white sugar 5 very large eggs 1/2 teaspoon salt 1 teaspoon almond extract 1 1/2 ounces finely chopped almonds 3 teaspoons rose water 2 drops red food coloring 2 cups all purpose flour Instructions: Preheat oven to 350 degrees, grease a nine inch tube pan. Cream the butter very well. In a separate bowl beat sugar and eggs together until they have doubled their volume. Sift the flour and add it along with the salt gradually. Fold in creamed butter. Divide batter into two equal parts, in one part add the almond extract and the ground almonds. To the other part add the rosewater and the red food coloring, place batters alternatively into the prepared pan. Bake at 350 degrees for 50 to 60 minutes. Let cake cool then remove from pan and dust with confectioners sugar. A thought : if you add just a tad of red food coloring into two cups of whipped cream, you'll have your frosting.  I like to make the top of the cake pink and then decorate with white rose petals.

Yesterday's birthday cake.

My husband turned another year wiser yesterday so I went and found an XL piece of red velvet cake from the Kingfish Cafe to bring home to him.  I liked the look of it against our countertop and the brightness of the candles.  And btw, it's game back on, as far as RightNowLove is concerned.

Obsessed with Cassata Cake



Photo Courtesy of CreampuffsinVenice

 Obsessed.  I would like a piece of cassata cake & a cup of espresso & the November Vogue right now.  Cassata is a very cool word for a sweet Italian sponge confection puffed up with some sort of filling & often dressed with nuts and candied fruits.  Seattle's Columbia City Bakery makes their cassata with multiple layers of white cake brushed with Marsala wine, tricked out with an orange flower-scented ricotta filling and covered in a thin sheet of almond paste. Ummm, yes.  Yes, yes.  Please enter my mouth now.  Here is a link to a recipe that looks pretty straight forward, though I haven't yet tried it: CASSATA CAKE.     I want to become a little Cassata baker: the girl that brings it to her neighbor's birthday party, decorated offbeat with Italian inspired pastel dots & funny vintage plastic pieces.  (Also, wouldn't it be a lovely / different sweet for this holiday season?!  It seems so much more original than cupcakes or tiramisu or pumpkin tart.)