flourless chocolate cake with cranberries

by on November 22, 2012

Happy Thanksgiving guys, I hope you all had a great day. My day started with morning coffee in my bed, the sun was shining and I had this comforting certainty for once not to hurry through the day. I had this chocolate cake with cranberry for breakfast and some delicious turkey later. And in between I just wasted the day, read some magazines, listened to music, went for a walk, drank more coffee and talked with Mr. F about meaningless but important things.

As it was just the two of us for Thanksgiving this year, but I still liked the idea of keeping it  ‘traditional’, I skipped the whole bird but couldn’t resist and went for a German recipe for turkey legs. As there is no way of taking a sexy picture of a turkey leg under time pressure, the problem was, I would get in big trouble, if I would make Mr. F stop eating because I need to take some pictures. I hope you understand… so let me know if you are interested in the recipe and I’ll post it in the comments or write you an email.

This being said, let’s talk about cake. Yes you are right I did it again: cranberry. We just had cranberry and apple tart with coconut streusel last time but the thing is, I went a little nuts with this berries and bought a 3 lb. bag which is sitting in my refrigerator. So we had a lot of cranberries in every kind of manner around here. Last weekend I made a cranberry bread with chocolate pieces, though I liked it very much, my guts said: more chocolate. I went back and forth with a brownie recipe and finally decided to go really chocolatey. This flourless chocolate cake is very rich, dense and a little crumbly. I chopped the cranberries in a food processor for just a few seconds, but you can chop them by hand of cause, if you like. They bring an interesting tartness to the cake, which goes so well with the sweet richness. Is it just me or do this cranberry pieces on top look like bacon bites? Well it’s not bacon, sorry for those I have to disappoint right now. Though I already had bacon covered with chocolate, a bacon chocolate cake seams to me kind of gross. Don’t ya think?

flourless chocolate cake with cranberries

ingredients

  • 130 g / 9 Tbsp. unsalted butter
  • 200 g / 7 oz. semisweet chocolate*, cut in pieces
  • 4 egg whites
  • 4 egg yolks
  • 130 g / 2/3 cups granulated sugar
  • 140 g / 5 oz. ground hazelnuts
  • 2 Tbsp. natural unsweetened cocoa powder
  • ½ tsp. salt
  • 150 g / 1 ½ cups fresh cranberries, chopped

for the glaze:

  • 80 g / 2.8 oz. semisweet chocolate
  • 1 Tbsp. unsalted butter
  • 40 g / 1/3 cup chopped dried cranberries

instructions

  1. Preheat your oven to 200 C / 400 F and grease your 24 cm / 9 inch springform pan.
  2. Melt chocolate and butter in double boiler or microwave oven and let cool.
  3. Beat egg yolks and sugar until pale. Add melted chocolate with butter and mix shortly.
  4. Add hazelnuts, cocoa powder, salt and cranberries and stir with a wooden spoon or rubber spatula.
  5. Beat egg whites until stiff peaks form and fold into batter.
  6. Transfer batter into springform pan and spread evenly. Bake for 25 to 30 minutes. Cake will still be soft in the middle and firm than cold.
  7. For the glaze: melt remaining chocolate with tablespoon butter and spread evenly over cake and sprinkle with chopped dried cranberries.

some notes

*I used a mix of different kinds of chocolate, you should use at least one with 45% cocoa but not more than 60% cocoa content.

Number of servings (yield): 12

{ 6 comments }

cranberry and apple tart with coconut streusel

by on November 17, 2012

I never got the right understanding about cranberry sauce on Thanksgiving. We never connected well. Come on it’s a berry, although I never would put a raw cranberry in my mouth (never again, I learned it the hard way) I consider a cranberry as something sweet or at least in the category for sweet stuff. And don’t get me started with another Thanksgiving variation: sweet potatoes, which I adore and eat at least once a week but topped with marshmallows, no thanks, I’ll pass. Yes that’s me saying this and I am the one who loves baked camembert with lingonberry jam. This lady is full of contradictions. Maybe not even a lady, maybe I just get tangled up in contradictions.

Anyway I am sucker for fresh and seasonal food and get excited about most of the farmers market finds and that includes cranberries too. These days you can find them everywhere, tempting bright red and yet tart. They are a great source of vitamin C and fiber and a lot more good stuff. Hence cranberries are very healthy and not just beautiful in a sauce. Today they come in company with just a few sour apple pieces, together they are a nice tart contrary to the buttery of the crust and sweetness of the streusel. If you don’t have any apples on hand, don’t bother, just skip them.

cranberry and apple tart with coconut streusel

ingredients

for the crust

  • 220 g / 1 ¾ cups all-purpose flour
  • ¼ tsp baking powder
  • ¼ tsp fine salt
  • 70 g / 1/3 cup granulated sugar
  • 110 g / ½ cup unsalted butter, cold, cut in pieces
  • 1 large egg

for the filling

  • 300 g / 3 cups fresh, washed cranberries
  • 70 g / 1/3 cup granulated sugar
  • 3 Tbsp. water
  • 2-3 small tart apples (like Granny Smith)

for the streusel

  • 110 g / ½ cup unsalted butter, softened
  • 70 g / 1/3 cup granulated sugar
  • 100 g / 1 1/8 cups unsweetened coconut flakes
  • 2 Tbsp. all-purpose flour

instructions

  1. Add flour, baking powder, salt, and sugar in your food processor with a blade attached and pulse a few times to mix the ingredients. Add butter and pulse again. Add the egg and pulse again, the dough should be crumbly but hold together than squeezed. Don’t overwork or the dough will become tough. Knead shortly with your hands, form a disk, cover with plastic wrap and put in your refrigerator for at least 30 minutes up to one day.
  2. Preheat your oven to 350 F and grease your tart pan.
  3. Add cranberries, sugar and water into a small saucepan over medium high heat. Cook until the cranberries popped and look like jam, stir frequently and reduce heat if it starts to burn. Takes about 7 to 10 minutes to thicken.
  4. Peel and core the apples and cut into thin slices.
  5. Mix all ingredients for the streusel.
  6. Roll dough between two pieces of plastic wrap, lifting plastic wrap as needed. Place dough into tart pan and cover with apple pieces. Spread cranberry jam evenly over apples. Sprinkle with coconut streusel and press gently.
  7. Bake 35 minutes and let cool on a rack.

some notes

You can use a 20 x 30 cm / 12″ x 8″ tart pan or a 28 cm / 11 inch springform pan.

Cooking time: 35 minute(s)

 

{ 6 comments }

christmassy cranberry fool

by on December 16, 2011

The December in Germany is a very special month, it is a time full of Christmas market visits, there you meet friends for one or actually some more cups of hot Gluehwein (mulled wine). For 24 days we open a small package from our Advent calendar and the four weeks before Christmas we have a nice Advent wreath with four candles on our table. Not to mention the cookies and sweets, plates with these goodies are everywhere, a trap for even the ones on a heathy diet.
Christmas eve is not only the end of the long christmas party marathon, it is also for nearly every German the most important holiday of the year.
It is the night you spend with your family: kids being anticipated and not able to sit still, you fight a battle in your kitchen but somehow you always win, the tree is finally up and decorated, the last gifts has to be wrapped (sad but true). We used to annoy my parents with ongoing asking: when is dinner gonna be ready? You can feel the rising tension…
Just before all hell breaks loose, the food is on the table, it’s the moment to celebrate. The grown ups clink their glasses and finally it’s the real Christmas eve.
Some families have a delicious German potato salad and Bockwurst (sausage) but my family always goes for a feast. We use to have lots to choose from and several kinds of everything: fish, meat, side dishes and gravy. I don’t think I ever managed to taste all of this!

After eating too much and we are barely able to move, it’s the time for unwrapping the gifts. Sounds like mission impossible? Watching the happy faces makes the previously gift hunting worth it, every year. Making wishes come true is even better than getting presents.

It’s time for dessert! Sometime we are still sitting on the floor under the Christmas tree, wrapping paper and gifts everywhere, talking, making jokes while eating a sweet goodness.
This christmassy cranberry fool is versatile like Christmas in our house in Germany: tart but also sweet, in a kind of chaotic order, full of color, creamy, fruity and crunchy. Gonna miss Christmas in Germany this year!


christmassy cranberry fool

serves 4 (at least)

340 g / 12 ounce fresh cranberries
100 g / 1/2 cup sugar
1/2 – 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

200 g / 3/4 cup + 1 tablespoon chilled heavy whipping cream
65 g / 1/3 cup sugar
1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
250 g / 1 cup greek yoghurt

125 g / 4.4 ounce butter shortbread

Add the washed (wet) cranberries and 100 g / 1/2 cup sugar to a medium saucepan. Bring to a gentle simmer and cook uncovered, stirring occasionally, over medium / low heat. After 7-10 minutes the cranberries should have popped open, then remove from heat and let cool.
The cranberries thickens even more than cool. Puree with a hand held blender or food processor and add 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon, taste and add more if you like. It should taste tart with a noticeable cinnamon aroma. Cover and refrigerate (this can be made one day ahead).

Crumble the cookies into small bites and make sure to reserve some cookies for the decoration and set aside.

Combine whipping cream and sugar in mixing bowl. Whip to soft peaks then add vanilla extract and continue to whip stiff peaks (do not over beat!). Gently fold in the greek yoghurt. Refrigerate until needed.

In dessert bowls or glasses (whiskey glasses works well) alternate the cream mixture, cranberries and cookie crumbles. Top with the reserved cookies and refrigerate for up to 3 hours or serve immediately.

{ 1 comment }

power balls

by on November 21, 2011

The week before Thanksgiving is a very busy time especially for cooks and hosts, there are cookbooks to study, recipes to choose, shopping lists to write and someone has to go to the grocery to buy all the ingredients. A lot of work but totally worth. Let’s be honest for me as a German these days just don’t have the same meaning like for the majority of the USA but I am willing to participate any possible celebration and won’t pass up an opportunity to party. Traveling and to wine and dine are my favorite hobby.
It seams like everyone is going to visit his family over the holidays and this is why it’s the worst busiest time of the year for traveling. My last years airport nightmare still haunts me in my dreams. This year I can avoid to hop on a plane but I am afraid to stuck in traffic jams around Chicago where we are visiting our friends.

Although I am aware of spending some time on the interstate I wanna prepare myself and escape the fear of starving while squeezed in between two trucks somewhere on a highway around Chicago.

Whenever I am on the road, I make some sandwiches and although I can make some darn good ones, it happens that I bring them home without being touched. They just doesn’t look very appealing after being shacked for hours, I guess that just works for martinis.

Something healthy with a lot of energy, sweet but no sugar, easy to grab and eat while driving, with a lot of flavor… here we go this balls are simply great, easy to make and good for you. Travel safe and have a happy Thanksgiving, y’all.

power balls

15 balls if you use a 15 ml, 1 tablespoon cookie scoop

70 g / 10 dried pitted dates
80 g / 1/2 cup golden raisins
60 g / 1/2 cup dried cranberries
60 g / 1/2 cup shelled pistachio nuts
4 tbsp unsweetened, shredded coconut
1/2 teaspoon toasted sesame oil
1 tablespoon honey
1 tablespoon orange juice

Place everything but 2 tablespoons shredded coconut (save the other 2 tablespoons for later) into your food processor and use the pulse button to chop the ingredients.

Form small balls and roll in the remaining coconut. Portioning the balls is a little sticky but very easy with a cookie scoop.

Can be stored in an airtight container in your refrigerator for several days.

{ 0 comments }

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