Thursday, May 31, 2012

No Dairy, No Gluten, No Problem. Chocolate Truffle Cake


   Things have been a bit crazy around here of late. Not crazy in a bad way, but still busy, busy. I was shocked when I realized I hadn't posted anything for a week. Where had the time gone? We've been working hard writing a TV pilot, (now doing revisions) and have been consumed with that and haven't been consuming much else. Thus, not a lot of cooking going on at our house. Not a lot of entertaining either. So last night we invited the neighbors from down our little road... only 3 houses on it... over for dinner. Since we've been hitting the computer really hard I decided to roast a chicken and have a farm style meal. Easy, summery, simple.

   I fixed a cooling Watercress Soup to start. Chicken roasted with lemon, Baby Potatoes Roasted in Parchment Paper, easy creamed spinach with ricotta salata and nutmeg, green beans with spring onions, mushrooms and some of my home-cured gunaciale. But what for dessert? This was a pretty straight forward meal. Strawberry shortcakes rolled around my head, there was always the old standby of ice cream, and then I was cruising through Twitter when I saw "It".

   Vegan Chocolate Truffle Cake, had been tweeted by my friend The Tomato Tart. She'd gotten the recipe from Ashley The Dairy Free Cook. The recipe was one of the easiest things I'd seen in awhile (I liked that,) I already had all of the ingredients, (I liked that even better,) plus it gave me a chance to use my new OXO digital food scale. "Cooking" time was 15 minutes and the dessert not only can be made ahead,  it needs to be made ahead. At least 6 hours in the fridge (or over night) are needed to set it properly.  Truly a carefree dish. Plus it serves about 8 to 10 people since all one needs is a small piece to satisfy. I made a couple of modifications from the original recipe and I think this cake is one of those desserts that's very pliable. I other words, it easily adapts to whatever one can imagine, always a good thing.


Vegan Chocolate Truffle Cake



Here's What You Need:

12 oz of good quality semi-sweet dairy free dark chocolate.. 53 to 65%
here's a little data about chocolate numbers and what they mean
1 cup plus 4 Tbs of full fat coconut milk
1/4 tsp of sea salt
cocoa powder for dusting

Here's What To Do:

Chop the chocolate coarsely and put it in a heat proof bowl, Set it aside.
Grease a small loaf or brownie pan with non dairy (soy) margerine.
Line the greased pan with parchment paper. Let the paper gap over the sides by about an inch. Set it aside.
In a small pot heat the coconut milk and salt mixture until it just starts to boil. Steam should be coming off the coconut milk but no bubbles should be popping.
Pour the hot coconut milk over the chopped chocolate in the bowl and let it sit for 5 minutes.
After 5 minutes take a metal spoon and making quick circular stirring movements, start at the center of the bowl and blend everything together.
Mix it together for about 3 to 4 minutes. The chocolate should be dark, shiny and well blended when you're done.
Pour the blended chocolate into the parchment lined pan.
Press a piece of plastic wrap down on the surface to prevent the chocolate from forming a skin and put it into the fridge to chill for at least 6 hours or overnight.


During this time the chocolate will firm up.
To serve, remove the plastic wrap and  place the pan upside down on a plate. Lift off the pan and peel away the parchment paper.
Dust the cake all over with unsweetened cocoa.


Pour a little pool of raspberry coulis on a plate lay a small slice of cake in the middle of it.


Place a bit of whipped topping on the cake and serve it up. What you are seeing here is lightly sweetened whipped cream since we're  not being vegans tonight. One could easily use a vegan whipped topping for the same effect.

This cake is really a treat, and so easy to make that I know it's going to be a stake for my vegan and gluten free friends.
How did the neighbors like it?


This much.

   This really got me back in the groove and I'm going back to my regular posting schedule because being home doing revisions even when it's gorgeous Summer weather out, gives me the perfect excuse to experiment in the kitchen.

   Coming up next,  I get healthy again. Green beans for a fast and easy diner party treat. Follow along on Twitter @kathygori

14 comments :

  1. Wow KAthy your recipes always amaze me how unique they are and now a healthy one that is over the top too! WOW!!!

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    Replies
    1. I got the original recipe from The Dairy Free Cook and Tomato Tart, I put my own little modification on it. It;ls really a keeper recipe. A friend of mine here in Sonoma made it for her kids Jr. High graduation party last night and loved it

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  2. This looks delicious! I've been checking out the recipes on your blog and everything looks great. I love all of your pottery as well. I'm also a huge fan of clay cooking. :)

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    Replies
    1. Thanks so much! Paula Wolfert started me on my clay collection by giving me my first clay pots. Indian food (and everything else) tastes so much better in clay!

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  3. Look at that fudgy goodness! This cake sounds sooooo good =)

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    Replies
    1. it tastes great too. The secret is getting the best possible chocolate you can get your hands on

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  4. Delicious cake with wonderful photographs. Everything looks so tempting.

    Mina
    http://www.givemesomespice.com

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks, my husband takes all the pictures and is rewarded with food!

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  5. Delicious cake with wonderful photographs. Everything looks so tempting.

    Mina
    http://www.givemesomespice.com

    ReplyDelete
  6. This sounds amazing! Like a giant decadent truffle just waiting to be indulged in! Love that it is vegan as well :)!

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  7. Sound cool and really looking very delicious..

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  8. Wow Kathy, that looks Amazing

    James-

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  9. This is SOOOOOOOO awesome. I just smiled reading this recipe. Thanks so much!

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  10. This looks incredible! I will be trying it tonight and will let you know how it goes. It's hard to find vegan desserts that are easy to make, AND crowd-pleasers. I have high hopes for this beautiful cake :)

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