Flourless Salted Chocolate Pretzel Cake

I feel like pretty much everything I bake is chocolate, even besides the brownies. When flicking through my cookery books I was looking for the ultimate chocolate cake, something super dense and fudgey for a dessert. The difference with flourless chocolate cakes, is just that, they're dense and incredibly moreish. Essentially all the great bits of a brownie but in cake form.

This cake is a little different to those I've made before. Usually a sugar syrup is used in recipes to help keep a cake moist, but in a flourless cake I don't really understand why that would be a problem like this recipe calls for. Anyone know? Sugar aside, this cake is baked in two stages. The first half is baked until just firm, cooled and the remaining batter poured over the top for a second bake. The result gives a crisp base and a dense fudgey topping with a shiny, slightly flaky topping.

F L O U R L E S S   S A L T E D   C H O C O L A T E   P R E T Z E L   C A K E
(Recipe adapted from The Cook and Baker, serves 10)

240g salted butter, chopped

360g dark chocolate, chopped 

pinch of sea salt

285g soft light brown sugar

5 eggs, separated

handful of crushed pretzels, for dusting

• Heat the oven to 180 degrees and grease and line the base and sides of a 9 inch springform tin.
• Melt the butter and dark chocolate in a medium pan over a low heat. Once fully melted take off the heat and stir through a generous pinch of sea salt. 
• In a small pan, melt the sugar in 60ml of water and bring to a gently boil. Pour the syrup over the chocolate mixture and beat in the egg yolks.
• Whisk the egg whites on a medium speed until stiff peaks.
• Fold the egg whites into the chocolate gently until combined.
• Pour half of the batter into the tin and bake for 30 minutes, until a skewer inserted comes out clean. Remove from the oven and leave to cool fully.
• Pour over the remaining batter and bake for 25 minutes.
• Leave to cool completely once more before removing from the tin and scatter the crushed pretzels over the top to decorate. 

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Coconut and Blueberry Gluten Free Cake

I've always been curious about coconut oil, and just how good it is to bake with. Many prefer it to regular fats for its nutritional values but just what difference does it make to the taste? We've all heard by now about melting points and that coconut oil pretty much trumps the rest with one of the highest. But in baking, this means cakes will have a lightness you won't be able to achieve with butter. Just substitute it one on one with your regular quantity of fat and gently melt in a pan or microwave before adding it to your ingredients. Admittedly, the coconut flavour isn't suited to all recipes but you can always use half butter and half coconut oil to limit the fat in any recipe.

And something I've not heard too much about, coconut flour (unless I've been living in a shell). I tend to swap any flour with ground almonds as a gluten free alternative if needed. I love the moistness and flavour it gives, particularly in brownies. But I'm not a fan of regular gluten free alternatives like rice flour. I just can't get the substitute quantities right, and to be frank, the taste is just not right. My research tells me that as coconut flour is so absorbent you need much less flour as it will soak up all your liquid ingredients. You'll also need more eggs to help bind everything together.

Essentially, coconut flour is low in carbohydrates and non-inflammatory unlike other grain free options so is much easier to digest. Although it would seem that substituting quantities is difficult, its definitely worthwhile for the added healthy fats it includes and as its high in fibre.

And so, here it is, a tried and tested recipe that introduced me into the world of coconut flour. This cake is almost virtuous so I'm just going to help myself to another slice...

Holland and Barrett online is my new favourite place for baking supplies! I didn't know how many coconut ingredients existed.

C O C O N U T   A N D   B L U E B E R R Y   G L U T E N   F R E E   C A K E
(Serves 6-8)

4 eggs
125g soft light brown sugar
100g coconut oil, melted
50g coconut flour
1tsp gluten free baking powder
50g desiccated coconut
200g fresh blueberries
220g cream cheese
120g icing sugar
zest of 2 lemons

• Heat the oven to 180 degrees and grease and line the base and sides of three 6 inch sandwich tins (or one 7 inch deep round tin).
• Whisk together the eggs and sugar on a medium speed until light, fluffy and doubled in size.
• Continue to mix on a low speed and slowly pour in the coconut oil.
• Add in the coconut flour, baking powder and coconut and gently fold together with a spatula.
• Add the blueberries and mix until just combined.
• Pour into the prepared tray, smooth a knife over the top to level and bake for 30 minutes. After this point, turn the heat down to 150 degrees for another 25 minutes, until a skewer inserted into the middle comes out clean.
• Remove from the heat and leave to cool in the tray for 10 minutes before inverting onto a wire rack to cool fully.
• To make the icing, beat together the cream cheese, icing sugar and all but a spoon of the zest until smooth and creamy.
• Sandwich the cakes between layers of frosting and sprinkle the remaining lemon zest on top for decoration.

Thanks to the team at Holland and Barrett for sending over some coconut goodies to inspire this post.

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Double Chocolate, Peanut Butter and Banana Cakes

For those times when you absolutely need cake and you need it pretty sharpish.

Forget mug cakes because unless you have an absolutely huge mug, they just won't cut the mustard. Instead you need a blender cake. Throw in a little of what you have in the cupboard, quickly blitz in a blender and bake for 10 minutes. Utterly simple and super speedy.

My favourite combination is banana, peanut butter and double chocolate. But you could substitute the peanut butter for Nutella, Speculoos or any other biscuit spread. Swap the cocoa and white chocolate for whatever chocolate you like and some malt milk powder like Horlicks.

I can't proclaim that these are guilt free, but they are flourless, free of processed sugars and can also be dairy free.

D O U B L E   C H O C O L A T E   P E A N U T   B U T T E R   &   B A N A N A   C A K E S
(Makes 8-10 muffins or mini loaves)

1 medium/large ripe banana, peeled

150g peanut butter, Nutella or biscuit spread of your choice

40g cocoa powder, malt milk powder or custard powder

170g honey (approx. 3tbsp)

1 tbsp vanilla extract

1tsp bicarbonate of soda

pinch of salt

50g white, dark or milk chocolate, chopped

1. Heat the oven to 200 degrees. Fill a muffin tray with cases or grease a silicone one.
2. Throw all ingredients except the chocolate into a blender and blitz until smooth, about 60 seconds.
3. Divide evenly between the muffin cases, about two thirds full and scatter over the white chocolate chunks.
4. Bake for 8-12 minutes. Nearer 8 minutes for a small banana and up to 12 for a larger banana. Keep your eyes peeled!

Muffins improve with moist banana goodness over a few days but they can also be frozen for up to 6 months. You can always defrost in the microwave in emergencies...your future self will thank you!

I'm looking to test out some banana alternatives now, like cooked apple, sweet potato or pumpkin!

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Recipe: Dairy & Gluten Free Salted Chocolate Brownies

In a bid to expand my brownie repertoire, here's some dairy and gluten free ones I've been working on. 

For me, the most important thing is fudge and goo. Its essential for brownies to have plenty of fudge and plenty of goo. I'd put off making this kind of variation for a while thinking they just wouldn't cut the mustard. But you know what, its totally possible. 

Ground almonds help to keep everything super moist. Dark chocolate and dairy free spread make them super rich but still dairy free. I added a scattering of Maldon salt flakes to cut through the richness and partly because I love salted chocolate so much.

The dairy free spread I opted for was Pure sunflower spread, it takes less time to melt meaning that you're much closer to having a whole batch of brownies made in under 30 minutes.

And so, onto the recipe...

Dairy and gluten free salted chocolate brownies
(makes 8-10 large brownies)

3 medium eggs

275g light soft brown sugar

175g Pure sunflower spread

300g dark chocolate (dairy free)

1 tsp vanilla extract

good pinch of Maldon salt flakes

175g ground almonds

1. Heat the oven to 180 degrees and grease and line a 20x34cm brownie tin.
2. Gently whisk the eggs and sugar until just combined, set aside.
3. In a small pan, melt the butter over a low heat. Once melted, remove from the heat and add the chocolate. Stir until fully melted and incorporated.
4. Whisk the eggs and sugar once more, this time until pale and fluffy, about 3-5 minutes.
5. Pour in the chocolate mixture and vanilla and beat until combined.
6. Tip in the salt and ground almonds and gently fold until the mixture is just combined.
7. Pour into the prepared tin, smooth the top and bake for 22-25 minutes.
8. Once cooked, the brownies should have a smooth flaky top and a little wobble in the middle. Leave to fully cool for the brownies to firm up.

The best and easiest way to slice brownies is straight from the fridge. That way they'll be firm enough to neatly slice and when back to room temperature they'll be deliciously fudgey again.

Thanks to Pure for sending me a sample of their spread!

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Recipe: Flourless Almond & Amaretto Chocolate Cake

I'm always in the mood for a slice of chocolate cake, or two.

Recently I've been trying to curb my sweet tooth a little. Chocolate and biscuits are the first thing I reach for when I'm hungry rather than having a proper balanced meal. Oops.

Surprisingly (or not) I only managed a week before baking a chocolate cake for the weekend. And I'll skim over the fact that I only lasted a few days before pouring a whole bag of mini eggs into my mouth. Because, well mini eggs!

And, another surprise, as much as I LOVE mini eggs, there's nothing that can beat homemade. Have 2, 3 or even 4 slices and I'm pretty sure it's 'better' than having something shop-bought with all those suspect ingredients.

Well that's my reasoning anyway. Seems a bit rich blogging about a recipe for chocolate cake and healthy food choices. But that's my life!

And now to the point. This cake is deliciously nutty, moist and a little boozy. Feel free to swap ground almonds for hazelnuts and Amaretto for Frangelico or whisky. Whatever takes your fancy. The cake can be stored for 4-5 days in an air-tight container so can be made ahead of time if you need.

Flourless almond and Amaretto chocolate cake
(Recipe adapted from Scandicilous Baking)

4 eggs
250g caster sugar
100g unsalted butter, melted
50ml Amaretto
50g cocoa powder (plus extra to finish)
2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp vanilla salt (see note)
200g ground almonds

Heat the oven to 180 degrees and grease and line a 23cm round cake tin.

In a mixer, whisk the eggs and caster sugar together until pale and fluffy, approx 5 minutes. Continue to whisk on a low speed whilst adding the butter, Amaretto and cocoa powder in stages, alternating between each until incorporated. Tip the baking powder, vanilla salt and ground almonds in and fold in with a spatula until just combined. Don't fold too much and overwork the mix.

Pour into the prepared tin, smooth the top and bake in the centre of the oven for 35-40 minutes. Once cooked, the edges should start to come away from the sides and a skewer inserted into the middle will come out clean. Remove from the oven and leave to cool for 10 minutes. Remove from the tin and place on a wire rack to cool fully. Dust with a generous helping of cocoa powder or icing sugar and serve with strong coffee and Amaretto spiked cream!


N.B. Vanilla salt -  great to balance out sweet flavours when baking, but its not completely necessary. Feel free to use a small pinch of salt and a dash of vanilla extract instead. Alternatively, make a jar ahead and use in everything you bake! Recipe here from Joy the Baker.

Here's some other great recipes using nut flours from some blogger friends...

Chocolate and chestnut torte from Franglais Kitchen, here.
Popping candy brownies made with almonds from Emily's Recipes and Reviews, here.
French chocolate cake from Vagabond Baker. here.

Wheat Free Almond & Coffee Cake

I was so happy with the results of a recipe from one of my favourite new books I decided I wanted to be able to use it for a base in future wheat free cakes. 

So here's my almond chocolate cake, with coffee buttercream. 

Wheat-free Hazelnut Cupcakes

When one of your favourite London bakeries publishes a book, you get it. 

The secret recipe of my favourite brownies in Town and of course the Curly Wurly cake that stole the show on Eurovision this weekend are now mine!

In a conscious bid to add more wheat-free recipes to my blog I chose to try out this hazelnut cupcake recipe. Completely and utterly worth it. This is by far the most moist cupcake you'll ever find and I'm enjoying the left over buttercream for breakfast, its that good.

So here's the recipe...

Devilishly Delicious Deserts: Limoncello Syllabub

   I really love spending time in the kitchen, but sometimes I just don't have the time or energy to spend stirring, whisking and folding. On Saturday night, I really was not in the right frame of mind to be creating fancy deserts for visiting family members. Instead, I spent 10 minutes making a Limoncello Syllabub. Sounds impressive, I know...

Limoncello Syllabubs
(serves 6-8)
     500ml Devilishly Delicious Sicilian Lemon Pot
     250g Mascarpone
     75ml Limoncello (or similar)
Pour the lemon pot pack into a saucepan and bring to the boil. Simmer on a low heat for 2 minutes. Meanwhile, whisk together the Limoncello and mascarpone until soft peaks are formed. Fold the lemon into the cream and pour the mix into desert pots or ramekins. Leave to chill for 2 hours, or even overnight.

Just before serving, I swirled some lemon curd on each, sprinkled with lemon zest, blueberries and mint leaves to finish.

Within minutes, my family had finished these and no one even suspected that they were a vegetarian and gluten free desert. If I hadn't have told them, they wouldn't have even doubted that I'd made them.

These syllabubs were so light and fresh, perfect after a big meal. The Limoncello cuts through the cream and gives a strong lemon warmth. My family are Limoncello fans and always order a desert similar to this at our favourite local Italian restaurant, their only comment...next time more Limoncello! It is entirely optional though, as is the mascarpone.

Devilishly Delicious are a brand that create restaurant quality desert packs for consumers to be able to create their own deserts at home. All you do for each desert is heat in the pan for a few minutes, pour into ramekins and chill for 2 hours. But, you really have the chance to get creative.

The four desert packs in the range include; Sicilian Lemon Pot, Pot au Chocolat, Crème Brûlée and Panna Cotta. They also have a range of fruit coulis available in; Mango, Sour Cherry, Raspberry and Green Apple.

You can find them in Lakeland, selected Waitrose stores or Ocado online. Alternatively, use their store locator found here.

Although Devilishly Delicious kindly sent me these sweet treats, I really enjoyed both the making and eating of them. I can honestly say that I am going to buy some and keep them in the cupboard for those last minute moments. And for every other moment because I've been dreaming of their chocolate pots ever since...

Next, I'll post my Amaretto Chocolate pot recipe!