Gluten Free Chocolate Cake

An irresistible gluten free cake made with healthy dark chocolate and ground almonds. Smothered in a rich and thick chocolate ganache. Bake it in the oven or pressure cook it! 

Ingredients of Gluten Free Chocolate Cake

180 gm dark cooking chocolate

100 gm butter

3/4 cup sugar

Salt, a pinch

1/2 cup cocoa powder

2 Tbsp ground almond

3 large eggs

1 tsp vanilla

For the chocolate ganache:

100 gm chopped chocolate

100 gm cream

 

Preparations

Line the bottom of a 7-inch cake tin with parchment paper.

Melt chocolate and butter in a heavy saucepan over medium low heat. Stir until chocolate and butter are melted and smooth.

Add sugar, salt and almonds and reduce heat to low. Now add cocoa powder and stir.

Remove pan from heat. Whisk in eggs, one at a time. Give the mixture a good whisk until it looks smooth and glossy and pour vanilla essence in the end.

Pour batter into prepared pan. In a heated cooker pour sand to about 1/4 th the depth and cover with foil. Place the cake pan in the cooker and cover the lid for about 30 minutes.

In case you want to bake this cake in an oven. Bake it for 25 minutes at 180 degrees C.

The center of the cake should be just firm to the touch. Leave the cake to cool down completely (About 2 hours).

 

Glaze with chocolate ganache.

For the chocolate ganache:

Boil the cream. Pour it over the chopped chocolate and mix it till the chocolate melts completely. Your ganache is ready!

 

 

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Eggless Brownies

 Ingredients

75 gm butter, at room temperature, cut into pieces (5 tbsps see notes)

150 gm dark cooking chocolate, 70% to 75%, finely chopped (see notes)

1/4 cup cocoa powder (21 gm)

1 cup caster sugar (190 gm)

1/3 cup freshly boiled water (80 ml)

1 tsp vanilla extract

1/4 cup thick, plain  curd (55 gm)

3/4 cup all-purpose flour (90 gm, see notes)

2 tbsp cornflour/cornstarch

1/4 tsp salt if using unsalted butter

It's important to stick to these ingredients and measurements for the perfect brownies.

Instructions

• Preheat the oven to 175 C. Line an 8-inch square baking pan with non-stick baking paper, leaving a little overhang.
• Add the butter, chocolate and cocoa to a heat-proof bowl placed over a pot of simmering water, taking care that the bowl isn't touching the water. Stir often till melted and smooth. If a few small lumps of chocolate remain, take the bowl off the heat and stir to melt them completely. Set aside to cool for a few minutes.
• In a mixing bowl, combine the sugar and hot water, whisking vigorously till the sugar has dissolved 
• Stir in the vanilla extract, then pour in the melted chocolate mixture. At this stage both liquids will be warm so they'll be easy to stir together with a spoon or whisk, until you have a smooth mixture.
• Now stir in the yoghurt until incorporated, then sift in the flour, salt and cornstarch.
• Fold gently to combine into a smooth batter, using the whisk to break up any flour lumps. Spread the batter into the prepared pan, smoothening the top and making sure it's even all over.
• Bake for 25 to 30 minutes, until you see a crust has formed on top and a toothpick poked in the center comes out with moist crumbs but no wet batter. If you bake it till the toothpick is completely clean, the brownies will be dry and over-baked. Some readers have said the brownies crumbled along the sides and because ovens do vary, you can also start checking for doneness at 20 mins to reduce the chance of over baking.
• Allow the brownies to cool completely at room temperature before lifting them out of the pan using the paper overhang and slice into 16 equal pieces, wiping the knife down after every cut to get neat pieces. I actually recommend slicing these on day two (keep them loosely covered at room temperature once cooled) because the texture improves. When freshly sliced, the center pieces could feel slightly greasy (see notes for more) but by the next day, they're perfect. Chilling the brownies for about 30 minutes before slicing also helps with neater pieces.
• Brownies can be stored at room temperature in an airtight tin for 4 to 5 days (if it's hot or humid, then about 2 to 3 days at room temperature is best), or in the fridge for about 10 days where they will be extra fudgy. They also freeze and thaw beautifully. 

Notes

*I originally used 85 gm of butter in this recipe, but because eggs and fat emulsify together, it is the absence of eggs in this recipe that makes the brownies a little greasy when just out of the oven, not really the amount of butter that I reduced just a little as an experiment. The large proportion of chocolate that creates the fudgy texture also means there's fat from from the cocoa butter which won't emulsify the same way without eggs either. This is why I recommend slicing the brownies only the next day, giving them a chance to become a little drier and firmer at room temperature. 

*Brownies typically don't use baking powder or soda, giving them the fudgy texture. However  sometimes add a small amount of baking powder for some lift, but found that it wasn't necessary in this recipe.  *Measurements are most important for a dry ingredient like flour. When measuring flour (1 cup = 120 gm but it can also vary between 125 gm and 130 gm depending on what chart you're looking at), always add it lightly to the measuring cup, spoon by spoon, without shaking or tapping the cup. Then use the handle of a spoon or knife to level off the top.

https://gscrochetdesigns.blogspot.com. one can see my crochet creations  

https://kneereplacement-stickclub.blogspot.com. for info on knee replacement

https://cancersupportindia.blogspot.com  for info on cancer and health related topics

https://GSiyers home remedies.blogspot.com   is the latest addition to my blogs