Mind Altering Dessert

I like to take bits of my baking to my trainer. Yep, nothing like corrupting the healthy person with lots of butter.  In response to my last treat, I received this email.

"Your cookies were great. I assumed that they would be heavy, but they were really light and moist. Thanks for sharing. I think I still like the flourless cake the best though. That was mind altering, because I just didn’t know that flour in cake was just getting in the way of all the good stuff. I hear that learning new things wards off Alzheimer’s, so thank you for that too."

Now who wouldn't love getting an email like that!

So why am I corrupting my poor trainer with Flourless Chocolate Cake? Well, I blame my son's teacher. Hey, someone has to take the blame and it sure isn't going to be me! My son (and soon my daughter) attend a wonderful Montessori school near my home. Like most schools, this school has an annual auction. As I racked my brain for ideas, I struck on one that shows up at our United Way auction every year, desserts. I put together Six Months of Desserts, menu created between the winner and myself. And shockingly, someone wanted them. My son's teacher to be exact. This auction was packaged with Six Months of Pies provided by the head of school. Yes, there's a reason I love my son's teacher. She loves desserts, who couldn't love her. In April we began our journey into desserts and as it was also her birthday month, I felt a chocolate cake was in order. But Crazy Woman that I am, I can't go with just a chocolate cake. Nope, must go flourless.




I originally found this recipe in Cooks Illustrated. I adore Cooks Illustrated. I even applied for a job there once, making my resume look like their magazine. Yes, I really wanted a job there. But I never heard from them. Sad for me. I'm guessing the resume may have shouted scary woman. I made it for a dinner party a few months after it came out. It hurt people. It was so rich and heavenly. People talked about it for ages afterwards.

I now own A Year in Chocolate: Four Seasons of Unforgettable Desserts by Alice Medrich, the creator of this little slice of evil, I mean heaven. I highly recommend you check out this book.

Alice Medrich has been kind enough to put a copy of this recipe online.

Ultimate Flourless Chocolate Cake

The day I made the April dessert for Miss April, she requested raspberry, so rather than adding coffee, I added Chambord to her cake and then made a nice Raspberry Coulis. I made a second cake for my family using orange liqueur. The whole house smelled of Raspberry as her cooked, but we didn't really smell the orange in ours. Of course, this did not stop us from eating it.

To make things even more fun, Lucy "helped" by licking the bowl. I think my little girl may have gotten tipsy with the alcohol in the mix. She left no chocolate to be found anywhere as she fairly crawled into the bowl to clean it. That's my girl!

And my trainer? Well, I'm working on my next corruption. I mean, helping her ward off Alzheimers.