Lighter Flourless Chocolate Cake

Well, hey there, all!  Happy Friday to ya :)

Just popping in to give you a deliciously decadent while at the same time light and airy dessert to try this weekend.  Or whenever.  But you should try it.  

I wish I had taken a picture of a slice, but when I turned around to do so, the cake was annihilated.  That should tell you something ;)

Lighter Flourless Chocolate Cake

serves 12

4 ounces dark chocolate (60-72% cacao), in small pieces

¼ cup butter

¼ cup nonfat yogurt

3 eggs (or you could sub Eggbeaters)

1/3 cup white sugar

¼ teaspoon salt

½ teaspoon vanilla

For serving:

1/2 slivered almonds

1 tablespoon powdered sugar

fresh raspberries, blueberries, or strawberries

Directions

Preheat oven to 325 degrees F. Spray a 9-inch round cake pan with a nonstick cooking spray. Line the bottom of the pan with parchment paper and spray again on top of the parchment paper. Place chocolate and butter in a bowl. Place over a pot of barely simmering water. Gently heat until the chocolate is melted. Whisk in yogurt and set aside.

In a large mixing bowl, beat eggs and sugar with an electric mixer until thick and fluffy, about 4 minutes on high speed. Stir in salt and vanilla then gently fold in chocolate. Do not overmix. Pour into prepared pan. Bake 30-35 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center of the cake comes out clean. Dust with powdered sugar and top with berries and almonds.

recipe adapted from Fitsugar

Have a lovely weekend!  See you Monday with a budget friendly pantry meal!

If You Like Piña Coladas...

...then you are going to love this cake!  I think even Jimmy Buffet would be a fan :)

Kind of a weird fact:  My husband does not like cake.  Like he turns down birthday cake.

Isn't that odd?  

Well, he looooves this cake.  It's the only exception to his no cake rule.  I made it for Easter at his request.

I guess it is not your average cake.  It is super moist, rich and decadent.

But I do have a secret about it...

It's sort of a diet cake.  And it is probably the easiest cake to put together on the planet.

Check it.

Skinny Piña Colada Cake

makes one 9x13 cake

• reduced sugar (or sugar free) yellow cake mix
• 1 regular sized can of crushed pineapple
• 3/4 little can of fat free condensed milk
• 1/2 tsp of coconut extract
• 1 regular sized tub of fat free Cool Whip
• optional-shredded coconut for the top

1. Dump your cake mix in a bowl.  Add the entire can of crushed pineapple (do not drain).
2. Beat until combined with hand mixer.
3. Bake per the instructions on the box.  Cool.
4. Once the cake is cool, combine the condensed milk and coconut extract in a small bowl.  Poke holes in the cake with a toothpick (or fork) and pour the mixture over the cake.
5. Top with Cool Whip and chill.

Be sure to make this for a party and watch it disappear.

Note: I cut my piece with a biscuit cutter, just for the sake of prettiness ;)

Chai Latte Chocolate Chip Mug Cake

I think I may have said a time or two how much I love single serving desserts.

Especially the ones that cook in a minute or less.

I don't really buy snack cakes or other such tempting yumminess, because then I would eat them.  So I always say that I don't keep "good stuff" in the house.

But, I have the ingredients to make good stuff, and with a little effort comes cake (a sort of healthy cake, at that).

So this mug cake is actually pretty scrumptious, despite it's gross appearance.

I used a latte mix for the chai flavor and it made some foam around the cake, much like a latte ;)

Here's where I got my chai flavor:

Found these at Walmart in a pack of 8 (I think) for about 3 1/2 dollars, which is cheaper than what I would pay at Starbucks for one soy chia latte.

See what I mean about the foamy, gross appearance.  Ewww in looks, but Yummmm in flavor and texture!

Make it!

Chai Latte, Chocolate Chip Mug Cake for 1

1 tbsp powdered chai tea latte mix

3 tbsp flour

3 packets of turbinado sugar (sugar in the raw)*

3 tbsp almond milk

1 tbsp applesauce

1/4 tsp baking powder

pinch salt

1/4 tsp vanilla extract

1/4 cup mini chocolate chips

Mix all the ingredients in a small bowl and pour into a greased (microwave safe) mug or ramekin.  Bake for 55-60 seconds in the microwave & let it cool for 5 minutes.

Invert on a plate or eat it out of the mug & enjoy!

*If you don't have sugar in the raw, use 3 tsp of regular sugar or 2-3 Splenda packets, to taste.

Here's some other single serving desserts to check out:

1 Minute Baileys Chocolate Cake

Mini Layered Pumpkin Pies

Apple Crumble Pie for One

Single Serving Fudge Cake with Peanut Butter Frosting

Single Serve Birthday Cake

Four Cookies

Family Fridays (on a Monday): Mississippi Mud Cake

No, I haven't lost my mind.  I know it is Monday.  The universe did not want me to post this on Friday for some reason.

I misplaced my camera cord and was super busy, so I figured I'd wait until Monday to post.

Not the end of the world, right?

Yes, I'm trying to convince myself right now.  I know you don't care.  You just want some yummy recipes :)

Here's one that comes from my Aunt Norma.

Aunt Norm (as I call her) is one of the best story tellers I know.  I don't mean that in a lying sort of way.  She actually recounts events in a fascinating way.

She has lots of stories to tell, because she loves to travel all over the world.  Her and my Uncle Bob are on a cross country RV trip as we speak.  Um, or as we type.  No, as I type.  Yeah.

So this is her Mississippi Mud Cake that she used to make my cousin Matt on his birthday every year.  My Mom has also made this recipe a time or two.

I don't think either one has desecrated it with heart cookie cutters, though.  That's my contribution.

Mississippi Mud Cake

makes a 9x13 cake

1 cup butter

1/3 cup cocoa

4 eggs

1 cup coconut

2 cups sugar

1 1/2 cups flour

1 tsp vanilla

1/2 cup chopped walnuts

1 small jar of marshmallow creme

Combine all ingredients and beat with a mixer.  Bake at 350 degrees in a greased 9x13 dish for about 45 minutes.

When cake is still hot, top with marshmallow cream and cool for about an hour.

Frosting recipe

1/2 cup butter

1/3 cup cocoa

1/2 cup walnuts

6 tbsp milk

1 box confectioners sugar

Stir all of this up and top the cake.  Garnish with walnuts or sprinkles ;)

Cut it into hearts with a cookie cutter before icing if you want.

Thanks, Aunt Norm for the recipe!

It's Not Even My Birthday

No, it's not my birthday, but I made a tiny cake last night. I was celebrating...cake. Yeah, that's it.

I made this in two ramekins, then piled them on top of each other with some icing. If this doesn't make you feel like dancing, I don't know what would.

Here's the recipe if you need a tiny cake in your future.

Mini Golden Butter Cake

Cake:
1 egg
2 tablespoons sugar
2 tablespoons butter, melted
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
1/4 heaping teaspoon baking powder
Pinch of salt
1 1/2 tablespoons milk

Icing:
3 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
3 tablespoons cocoa
1 cup sifted powdered sugar
1 1/2 tablespoons milk
1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
Sprinkles (optional)

To make cake:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Grease 2 ramekins.
Whisk together egg, sugar, melted butter and vanilla. Add in the flour, baking powder and salt and combine. Stir in the milk. Divide the batter evenly among the two ramekins.
Bake for 17-19 minutes.

To make icing:
Whisk together butter and cocoa; add in powdered sugar, milk and vanilla until smooth. Top with sprinkles if desired.

This cake is super buttery and delish. You might need to share it with someone, because it is too rich for one person (but if you are up for the challenge, go for it!).
Recipe adapted from here.

Friendship Tastes Like Cake

Weird title, huh? Well it is finally day 10 for my sourdough starter & I decided to use it to make a cake. Refer to my earlier post to see how to make a starter.



Here's the recipe:

Day 10: Follow the directions below:

1.Pour the entire bag into a nonmetal bowl.
2.Add 1 1/2 cup flour, 1 1/2 cup sugar, 1 1/2 cup milk.
3.Measure out 4 separate batters of 1 cup each into 4 1-gallon Ziploc bags.
4.Keep one of the bags for yourself, and give the other bags to 3 friendship along with the recipe.
REMEMBER: If you keep a starter for yourself, you will be baking in 10 days. I'm keeping one starter and thinking of how to adapt it to be a savory bread. More on that later.
Should this recipe not be passed onto a friend on the first day, make sure to tell them which day it is when you present it to them.

Here's my starters ready for sharing:



BAKING INSTRUCTIONS:

1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees F.

2. To the remaining batter in a bowl add the following:

3 eggs (I used 3/4 c Egg Beaters)
1 cup applesauce
1/2 cup milk (I used almond milk)
1 cup sugar ( I ran out of sugar and used Stevia substitute here)
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
2 cups flour
1-2 boxes instant pudding (I used 2 boxes of chocoalte)

3. Grease 2 large loaf pans-or bundt pan

4. Pour the batter evenly into the pan(s).

5. Bake for one hour or until the bread loosens evenly from the sides and a toothpick inserted in the center of the bread comes out clean.

I made a quick chocolate glaze using the following:

3 tbsp cocoa, sifted
2 tbsp butter
1 cup powdered sugar, sifted
3 tbsp hot water

Enjoy a slice!


Recipe & idea from: http://www.friendshipbreadkitchen.com/amish-friendship-bread