Tag: cake

Oat florentine and how to adapt it

I based this nuts and oat florentine on oats and on a variety of nuts. There is lots of space for accommodation around your taste.

Florentine cereal bar

Those tips were posted in a post I placed on this blog and you may not have seen them. Consider them, they are convenient. Now feel free to add other ingredients than oats to your base, for example you can add silvered almonds or corn flakes.

Tip 1 – the “glue” of your oat florentine

In the end, I realised it doesn’t matter too much what you want in it, it is important to make sure you have a good “glue”.  I looked at a number of recipes for that binding mix and opted for my own made with simple ingredients (butter, honey and brown sugar), so no glucose syrup or other fancy items.

Tip 2 – you need salt in your florentine

One thing I did wrong was having a little too much salt. So put salt but go slowly, once added you can’t remove it

Tip 3 – solid ingredients: let yourself go! There are no limitations there. You need to think of the flavours you are combining together, this is crucial but not too hard. if not sure, stick to a few nuts, seeds or dry fruits in addition to the oats.

Mine was a little extravagant as I went through the pantry nuts jars: brazil nuts (cut), shredded coconut, pepitas, walnuts, roasted hazelnuts, macadamia pieces. And some dry cranberries.

Now for he new tips:

Tip 4 – bake your florentine until nice and brown, do not hesitate to go to a nice coloured brown as it means the florentine will be more solid. The caramel is what binds the ingredients together. If it is too light, it will not hold.

Tip 5 – the slice shape is so much easier to handle, but the florentine round shape is pretty.  My round shapes are enormous, too big really but fun!

Ingredients:
  • 250 g of rolled oats
  • 175 g of brazil nuts, cut in pieces
  • 50 g of shredded coconut
  • 100 g of pepitas
  • 100 g of walnuts broken
  • 150 g of roasted hazelnuts, cut in pieces (quarter size roughly)
  • 100 g of macadamia, also cut in pieces
  • 1 tsp of salt
  • Wet mix:
    • 100 g of melted butter
    • 120 g of honey (you may need to heat up the honey if it is solidified)
    • 150 g of brown sugar (or up to 200g if you like them quite sweet)
  • 180 g of dark cooking chocolate gently melted for the top
Method:
  1. Preheat the oven to 170°C.  Line a baking tray or slice tray with baking paper.
  2. Prepare the dry ingredients in a bowl and mix them.  Prepare the wet ingredients in another bowl.
  3. Mix dry and wet ingredients.
  4. if using a slice tin, press the mix to a thickness of 1.5 cm to 2 cm. If doing florentines, use a tablespoon of mix minimum and press down to a 1.5cm thick disc.  The width will depend on the amount of mix.
  5. Bake in the middle of your oven for 1/2h to 40 minutes until nicely brown (the time will depend on your oven)
    Florentine cereal bar
  6. Cool down before covering with melted chocolate. If doing a slice, cut when the chocolate has almost hardened.

Florentine cereal bar

 

Sharing some tested recipes

Today I am sharing some tested recipes. I have not posted for a while.   Not that I have not been cooking.  Rather I did not get a chance to take photos and choose to spend time outdoors more, maybe to offset being so much on a laptop during this increased working from home period.

I have tried quite a few recipes found online, often randomly, at other times simply because I am looking up a specific ingredient.  I will share a few below.

At the same time, I have changed my baguette recipe. It calls for less starter and overall is the same ratio of flour and water. Why that you may ask.  I realised that my baguettes were not getting as many air pockets inside that they used to. The idea was to give the yeast more “food”.  The outcome is great.

Updated baguette recipe

I bake on a weekly basis minimum.  I make nine baguettes per batch.  This works for me, this is the amount I can bake in one go, all on the same oven level.  Some baguettes go to neighbors, others we will freeze on the day of baking and unfreeze as we need them. They come out quite surprisingly well.

The updated recipe is HERE.

sourdough baguettes sourdough baguettes

 

Tried from scratch

I have been getting these gorgeous grape tomatoes from our weekly fruits and vegetable delivery. I was trying a way to display them in a dish where these tomatoes are the hero of the dish.  The idea was to make a tomato tarte.  In practice, the taste was amazing, but the bottom was too soggy the first time. The second time, I added some ricotta as a bottom layer which seemed to sponge off the juices. I also baked it at the lowest level in the oven.  Get started with your version, for me, this is still a recipe in development.

BreadNbutterkids BreadNbutterkids

Tried online recipes…and yes, all chocolate-based…

Cocoa powder biscuits

I found this recipe of cocoa cookies when looking at how to use a large quantity of cocoa powder (actually raw cacao) I have at home. This has been adopted by my children, batch four is now baking!

 Oven-baked thick crepe

This was a recipe I tried for dessert for our dinner on the 14th of July.  I remember getting the feed from GoodFood and being curious about this recipe.  That evening, we also had snails in its parsley garlic butter as an entree! That recipe is for another day.

While crepes are a national food in France and come with regional variations, this oven-baked version is not a traditional dish. The recipe is fund and worth a try. Ours puffed up on one side which had a pretty cool effect.  For the chocolate sauce, I did not do a ganache (i.e. I did not use cream), we had run out of cream. I made a water-based chocolate sauce. I think it is better for this dessert, it is lighter.  I really liked the dark chocolate vs orange taste contrast.

Hazelnut chocolate torte

That chocolate hazelnut cake recipe is from BBC Food. I can’t remember how I stumbled on it. It is a similar type of cake to the one from Flour & Stone, which recipe is already on this blog and has become a favorite. It is gluten-free.  Verdict: a very good cake, more compact than the Flour and Stone one and similarly rich.  While I used a milk chocolate ganache for the topping, my preference is dark chocolate, just a matter of preference.

 

 

 

Roasted almond and chocolate slice

This roasted almond and chocolate slice is very easy to make and quick. The difference from the more frequent almond cake base is the amazing aroma that comes from having toasted carefully the almond meal!

You will need a 20 x 20 cm slice tin or brownie tin for this slice.

Ingredients:
  • 180 g of caster sugar
  • 4 large eggs (that means from a box of 12 eggs weighting 700 g min)
  • 200 g of  almond meal
  • A few drops of good vanilla extract
  • 100 g of melted butter (I use salted butter, the choice is yours)
  • Chocolate top: 150 g of dark chocolate and 70 g of butter
Method:
  1. Heat up the oven to 170°C.
  2. Place the almond meal in a large thick based frypan on medium to high heat (no need for anything else!).  While constantly moving the almond meal around slowly with a wooden spoon or wooden spatula, allow it to toast to a nice golden brown. Remove from the heat when you reach the colour and immediately transfer to a bowl (else the almond meal will further darken). Careful, this is hot.
  3. In a food mixer with the whisk (or by hand with a wide whisk!), whisk together sugar and eggs until light and fluffy like a mousse.
  4. Add the vanilla extract.
  5. Slow down the speed of the mixer if using one. Add the melted butter. Then add the roasted almond meal once it has cooled down.
  6. Line the tray with baking paper (use a bit of butter to help it stick well on the sides). Pour the bottom mix into the slice tin.
  7. Bake until light brown (you can insert a skewer to check or simply press the top of the base with the tip of your fingers, it will slightly spring back). Remove from the oven. Leave in the tray.
  8. Melt the chocolate and  70 g of butter. Once melted, mix until smooth, then pour over the base and use a spatula to spread across the base.
  9. Leave to cool until set. If you are short of time, place the tray in the freezer for 20 minutes.
  10. Cut into slices.  The slices keep well for a few days in an air-tight container. Do not refrigerate.

barre amande et chocolat

Gateau de Mamiche

The Gateau de Mamiche is a rich, textured chocolate cake.  Mamiche is my grandmother. This cake was one of her signature dishes, one that us, granchildren, really liked.

This cake needs to be cooled completely or almost before it is unmoulded or it will break.  It is very important to have the sugar well melted with the chocolate and butter before proceeding further into the recipe.  The oven temperature must be reasonably low to allow the cake to cook slowly and reduce the butter  to accumulate too much on top of the cake.  I have tried a few methods of mixing the ingredients, it seems that the best one is the most simple one: all in one pot type of approach.

Serve this cake as a mid-afternoon snack, a party treat or an element of dessert.

Serves 8+

Ingredients:
  • 250 g of 70% dark cooking chocolate
  • 250 g of butter
  • 250g of caster sugar
  • 250 g of flour
  • 2 eggs, yolks and whites separated
Method:
  1. Butter and flour a log tin. Heat up the oven on 160°C.
  2. In a saucepan, place the butter and chocolate and allow to melt on low heat, mixing to ensure it does not burn. Add the sugar and mix until fully dissolved.
  3. Add the egg yolks. Mix
  4. It is now time to add the flour, mixing from the middle forming little circles extending.
  5. Beat the eggwhites to snow and fold in gently.
  6. Pour the batter in the tin. Place in the oven and cook for 40 minutes or until a skewer inserted in the middle comes out without chocolate.
  7. Allow to cool the gateau de Mamiche in the tin before turning on the serving dish.

dense chocolate cake dense chocolate cake

Gateau battu

The gateau battu is a local specialty from the Somme area. Apparently it originated from the township of Abbeville, a place not far from where I grew up.  My mother always said that it was a good cake to use the extra eggs you may have. Assuming you have hens and up and downs of egg supplies!

The gateau battu tastes a little bit like a brioche, not as sweet and not as buttery.  It is great for mid afternoon tea (especially for the kids!) or at breakfast, toasted or not with a little jam. This cake is much less work than a brioche and quite easy to do. You will need a special tin for it.

The cake’s name has been translated to “whipped cake”.  As you will see on my photos, I cut slices, while traditionally it is to be cut from top to bottom.

Preparation time: about 20 minutes, rising : up to 2 hours, cooking : 20 minutes

Ingredients:
  •  4 egg yolks
  • 1 egg white
  • 150 g flour
  • 25 g white caster sugar
  • 15 g of fresh yeast or 7 g of dry yeast
  • 100 g of butter
  • 1/4 glass of cognac (or milk)
Method:

If you have a dough mixer, use it, it is always easier. If not, use a large bowl.

  1. Place the flour in a bowl and make a well in the middle (i.e. a hole). If using dry yeast, add it and mix it to the flour now (then make the well).
  2. Add in the well, the melted butter, sugar, cognac or milk, and a pinch of salt (omit is using salted butter)
  3. Dilute the fresh yeast in warmlike water and add to the well.
  4. Add the egg yolks
  5. Mix the dough slightly for a minute or so.
  6. Beat the white to snow and add the eggwhite to the mix.  If using the dough mixer, mix until the dough forms a smooth dough and separate from the wall of the bowl.  If mixing by hand either use a “pull the dough and punch in the middle technique” or pour the dough on the work bench and knead it for about 10 minutes or until it forms a nice smooth dough which doesn’t stick to your fingers.
    Tip: it is quite a wet dough and will not have the strength a brioche dough would have.
  7. Butter and flour the tin.  Place the dough in it and allow to rise until it reaches the top (a bit more than double).
  8. Heat the oven to 170°C. Brush the top with egg yolk wash (a yolk beaten with a tablespoon of water).

gateau battu et confiture gateau battu Picardie gateau battu Picardiegateau battu Picardie gateau battu et confiture

 

Hazelnut chocolate torte (GF)

This is simply divine! This recipe of hazelnut chocolate GF torte is from Nadine Ingram, the owner of the Flour and Stone bakery in Woolloomooloo.  As the title suggests it is gluten free .  The cake is quite filling and will feed a little crowd!  This recipe has been published before, but if you like it, there is a book coming at the end of 2018 I was told by Nadine herself.

It is important that you use good quality chocolate. See the tips given all along the recipe, they will help a lot.

For 10-12 people.  You will need a 22 cm diameter round cake tin (springform for easy removal if available to you).

gluten free chocolate hazelnut
I took this photo at a local festival where I sold a few cakes, baguettes and ceramics of my production
Ingredients:

For the torte:

  • 250 g of good quality dark chocolate minimum 60% cocoa solid (if in Australia, the only choice is the Nestle 70% Plaistowe from supermarkets)
  • 200 g of full hazelnuts
  • 50 g of hazelnut meal (you can use almond meal as a substitute, I use hazelnut meal in my cake)
  • 225 unsalted butter, soft
  • 200 g of caster sugar
  • 6 eggs (referring here to eggs of 60-70 g size each)

For the chocolate ganache and topping:

  • 150 g of good quality dark chocolate minimum 60% cocoa solid, roughly chopped
  • 150 mL of pure cream (or sour cream)
  • 60 g toasted hazelnut, skins removed (use the same method than described below to obtain those)

Tip: if using couverture chocolate for the ganache, only use a 55% cocoa content, there is high risk of seizure with a 70% couverture chocolate.  NB: chocolate like Nestle Plaistowe are compound chocolates and will not size. 

Method:
For the cake
  1. To roast the hazelnuts, place them in a tin and in the oven at 160°C for 20 minutes. THen place in a clean tea towel and rub until all skins have fallen off. Set aside.
  2. Line a 22 cm tin base and sides with baking paper.
  3. Using a food processor, place the chocolate in the food processor and process until as fine as possible. You should get little pieces of about 3-5 mm.
  4. Do the same with the roasted hazelnuts (only those for the cake).
  5. Combine the chopped chocolate and hazelnuts with the hazelnut meal.
  6. Using an electric mixer with the paddle attachment, cream the butter and 2/3 of the sugar on medium speed for about 3 minutes.  Continue to beat and add the egg yolks one at the time.
  7. Now add the hazelnut-chocolate mix on low speed and mix for a minute to combine. Transfer the mix in a large bowl.Tip: Use an oversized bowl, it will make mixing the egg whites much easier here.
  8. Beat the egg whites to snow (either clean AND dry very well your previous food bowl or use another one). Only beat until soft ribbon form, then add still beating the rest of the sugar. The meringue should be thick and glossy, however not than thick that is becomes solid, it should still be fluid. You should be able to fold it around with a spatula.
  9. Using a large spatula, fold the meringue through the hazelnut starting with 1/4 of the quantity first, then adding the rest in 2 or 3 parts.  Each time, don’t overdo it.  This is important or the batter may separate (the hazelnuts are quite oily). It is fine if there are some white meringue streaks as they will be mixed up with the next insertion. The last time needs to be fully mixed.Tip: the first part of the meringue you insert will be more “mixed” than “folded” through as the mix is quite dense to start with.  Use the width of the large bowl to spread the meringue over the mix before folding the mix on itself.
  10. Pour the batter in the prepared tin.  Tap the tin a couple of time on the kitchen bench to remove any potential air bubbles.  Bake for one hour or until the centre of the cake is stable when pressed with your fingertip (i.e. no longer wobbly).
  11. Remove from the oven, allow to cool down in the tin.  When ready to dress, unmold gently and place directly on the serving dish (top up).
For the ganache
  1. Prepare the ganache by cutting the ganache chocolate in small pieces. Place in a larger bowl.    Bring the cream to a boil. As soon as it is boiling, pour over the chocolate and cover (with a plate for example). Allow to melt on its own for a few minutes and stir to homogeneise.
  2. The ganache should be thick paste-like consistency.  Using a small spatula, spread roughly over the cake and put the remaining roasted full hazelnuts on top.

Do not place this cake in the fridge (except if it is really hot and the ganache is melting, generally cakes become hard and much less tasty when put in the fridge). This cake keeps well for a couple of days.

gluten free chocolate hazelnut

 

Autumn cooking. Today lets speak about pears

Autumn or early winter cooking, what does this means for you? I heard yesterday someone saying this was the return of roasts in their households. For some others it is chestnuts in the fire-place or a glass of red wine by the fire.  For me at home it is the return of pears, lemons, chestnuts, apples, wild mushrooms and in terms of dishes this is the return of soups and more slow cooked meat dishes or casseroles.

Pears variety in Australia

The main stream pear varieties are  the beurre bosc pear,  the packham pear and the corella pear.   Those varieties are also referred as “european pears”.  The William pear comes from the beurre bosc and is a northern America pear where it is known as the barlett. It is classified as a european pear.

There is a good fact sheet on the varieties and their availability through the Apple and Pear Australia Limited (APAL) website.

The beurre bosc is elongated golden to  pear varietylight brown skin pear.  The skin is quite thick, the flesh is compact , yet very tasty.

 

 

 

pearThe william pear arrives earlier in the season, late summer to early autumn.  It is of medium size, not so elongated as the beurre bosc with quite a round belly.  The william is green when unripe and becomes yellow with or without red parts when ripe. It is a good pear to eat raw, it can also be cooked.

 

The packham pear is a parent of thepear variety william pear and looks quite like it. It is a medium so large size pear, green when unripe and a beautiful yellow when ripe.  When ripe it is juicy and very tasty.  The pear is consumed raw or cooked.

 

 

 

pear varietyCorella pears are quite small, yellow to red in colour.  Their flesh is juicy and milder in flavour than the william, beurre bosc or packham pear.  This pear variety is also good both for cooking and raw.

 

There is also the nashi pear also called “asian pear” variety  which is currently found on markets. The nashi pear is small, quite round, of light colour. It is very juicy with quite a bland taste.

Pear & Nutmeg Cake with Chocolate Sauce

I loved for a while those cake with the pears standing upright directly inside the cake. So last week, apparently it was my “mother’s day cake” made by me for me ….and family.

The cake recipe is based on a “quatre quarts” recipe, a French classic cake where flour, sugar, eggs and butter are at equal weight.  I decreased the quantity of sugar, swapped a little flour for hazelnut meal (which I don’t think made much of a difference), added cocoa and a little nutmeg. The pears can be pre-cooked in a sugar syrup if not ripe, else, it is not necessary to cook them.

The cake is cooked until just set, which will leave the middle soft and gooey.  The cake is served with a warm chocolate sauce.

pear chocolate dessert pear chocolate dessert pear chocolate dessert

The recipe is HERE.

 

 

Standing pear chocolate cake with its sauce

For this standing pear  chocolate cake, you will need some small pears, preferably ripe, although not so much they crumble in your fingers.  If your pears aren’t ripe, you should cook them partly in a sugar syrup . Note, there are many ways with sugar syrups for pears, for example, if you don’t have any wine for the poaching, you can use orange juice.  The flavour will be different but still beautiful.

As for the nutmeg, I was experimenting and probably put a little too much (1/2 teaspoon) which was not overbearing but maybe not to everyone’s taste. I have reduced it in the recipe. You could also put a pinch of cayenne pepper or medium chilli powder.

pear chocolate dessert

Ingredients:

For the cake

  • 5 small ripe pears, peeled and cored from the bottom, stem on
  • 4 eggs (about 60 g each)
  • 160 g of sugar
  • 200 g of butter, melted
  • 30 g of hazelnut meal
  • 140 g of plain flour
  • 1 tsp of raising powder
  • 1/4 tsp of freshly grounded nutmeg
  • 60 g dutch cocoa

For the chocolate sauce (from Pierre Herme):

  • 250 ml of water
  • 125 ml of cream
  • 130 g of dark 70% chocolate
  • 70 g of sugar
Preparation:
  1. Line the bottom and side of a springform pan, about 25 cm wide (it can be less but no wider).
  2. Preheat oven to 170°C.
  3. Mix the eggs and sugar until quite moussy. Add in melted butter, nutmeg, cocoa powder and hazelnut meal.
  4. Add in the flour and raising powder.
  5. Pour the batter into the lined mould, placing on pear in the middle and the other pears evenly as a ring.  Make sure there is batter underneath each pear.
  6. Bake until just set (about 30-40 minutes, it varies between ovens), the cake will show a few cracks on the sides and the top does not appear wobbly when the cake tin is slightly pushed.  Allow the cake to cool down a little (or more if time allows) before transferring to a serving plate.   The cake will collapse in the middle as it should still be gooey.
  7. To prepare the chocolate sauce, cut the chocolate in small pieces.  Place in a thick based saucepan the water, sugar, cream and chocolate.  Slowly heat up and stir until smooth with a wooden spoon. Bring to boiling point and simmer while stirring constantly until the sauce becomes unctuous and covers the back of the wooden spoon.  Use the sauce hot, or allow to cool at room temperature and use warm.  The excess sauce keeps in the fridge for two weeks.

Tip-  transferring the cake can be a little tricky.  I use the removable metal bottom of a tart tin as a very large spatula. 

Tip – Keep the cake at room temperature if leftovers (i.e. not in the fridge).

pear chocolate dessert

Simple recipes for outdoors afternoons

Going to the beach or to a park? Going for a little bush wonder?  These  pages point you out to simple recipes for outdoors afternoons.  Add this to fruits and/or crudity and you are ready to go!  Great little snack for kids always on the move!

To go straight to the new recipe of the week, go to “le cake” or simply HERE.  I did it today for the local children music performance and manage to get a good photo before going (the cake was still hot when e arrived there).  Use those at other time for lunch box or get-together, garanteed to go!

The madeleines

This one if probably my favourite for  excursion: no cutting required, easy to handle, small size and quite popular.  The recipe for the basic version is HERE, you can vary and incorporate variations, one of them is with strawberries and rosemary (recipe HERE).

 

The log cake called “le cake”

I promised this recipe a while ago.  For me, it is childhood memories of delicious afternoon snacks. Le cake (sic in French) is a log cake , a simple butter cake flavoured with lemon or sultanas or candied fruits.  This is the new recipe of the week! Check the recipe HERE.

easy log cake

The palets bretons

Palets bretons are a type of french biscuits.  You need to start the recipe the day before,  even better, as they keep for a couple weeks, make them in batch dring the holidays season and use as required!  Again, pretty simple to make! Recipe HERE.

palet breton

Chocolate chip cookies

Another favourite in our family, no need to look at another recipe.  I have posted on them recently.  Look HERE.

cookies au chocolat gourmants
Chocolate chip cookies, here in giant version

 

 

 

 

 

 

Reine de Saba

La Reine de Saba or The Queen of Sheba is a beautiful chocolate cake.  It is great for many occasions: morning and afternoon tea, accompaniment of a dessert cream, lunch box or parties birthday cake. I have also used it as a basis for a birthday cake (a crocodile chocolate cake).

You will find some versions of this cake which have almond meal instead of flour. It is also delicious, not as light though. I liked this one from the goodfood magasine.

Ingredients
  • 150 g of white or caster sugar
  • 100 g of plain flour
  • 2/3 sachet of raising powder or 2/3 teaspoon if using it from the box
  • 150 g of dark cooking chocolate (if you are using a 70% cocoa chocolate, decrease the chocolate quantity to 120 g, it would be too strong for children).
  • 120 g of butter
  • 4 egg yolks and 4 egg white beaten to snow.
Method
  1. Heat the oven to 180 °Celsius.
  2. Butter and flour a tin, or butter and line.
  3. Melt the butter and chocolate together.
  4. Mix in the sugar, then the egg yolks one at the time.
  5. Add the flour and raising powder together, being careful not to create any lumps.
  6. Fold in the egg whites (in snow) gently.
  7. Transfer to the baking tin and insert in the oven.
  8. Cook until dry in the center (20 to 30 min depending on ovens and thickness of the cake in the tin)

 

 

 

Butter-free chocolate cake

This is pretty much as guilt free as chocolate cake go: no butter and pretty low sugar. What I like with this butter-free chocolate cake is that it is also much easier to digest than a traditional chocolate cake.  Why? How?  Simply by replacing the butter by very (like very) thinly grated zucchini (a.k.a. courgette).  And if you are on a gluten-free diet, you could also replace the little flour in there by GF flour.

Before you start:

  1. You need a good quality cooking chocolate (in Australia, the 70% cocoa Nestle Plaistowe is suitable)
  2. The zucchini: 200 g of zucchini and no more (a bit less is fine). I have now done the cake a few times, trialing a few variations.  The last one used 180 g of zucchini and was fine! However, if you add more (which I also did), the cake loses some of its moisture from a denser texture.  Two hundred grammes zucchini is one average size piece of vegetable.  You need to peel it and remove the ends.  Then weight it. Grate it over a bowl and make sure to keep all the juice.  I was asked the question: can you use the blender. I tried, it works, just a bit much more washing-up than the grater for little saving, your choice.
  3. The flour: the flour weight is only 50 g.  If you go for a gluten-free option, you can either use cornflour but then you need to reduce it to 35 g as corn flour absorbs more moisture than wheat flour, or use one of the GL flour mix.

guilt free chocolate cake

Ingredients:
  • 4 eggs
  • 200 g dark cooking chocolate
  • 80 g caster sugar
  • 200 g thinly grated zucchini (see note above)
  • 50 g plain flour (see note above)
  • 100 mL milk (of your choice)
Method:
  1. Preheat the oven to 180°C.
  2. Butter and flour well a 20 cm round cake tin.
  3. Break the chocolate in pieces and melt with half of the milk.  You can either use the microwave on one minutes settings full power, repeat if not fully melted either with 30 second or another minutes (it depends on the power of your microwave). Once the chocolate is melted, stir until smooth and silky, add the remaining milk.
  4. In a clean bowl, separate the egg yolks from the whites.  Beat the yolks with the sugar until light and fluffy. Add the zucchini (juice included).  Add the chocolate to the mix.
  5. Finally, mix in the flour.
  6. Beat the egg white to snow and carefully fold into the chocolate mix.
  7. Pour into the prepared tin.  Place in the oven, reduce the heat to 160°C after 10 minutes.  The cake should cook in 20-30 mn depending on ovens.  Remove when the centre is no longer wobbly when gently pressed with a couple fingers. Allow to cool down in the tin for five minutes before transferring to the serving dish:  turn over a metal rack and then over the serving dish.

Tip: if you have a child helping you tell them to mix in the flour and cocoa starting from the centre, always touching the bottom of the bowl , let them enlarge the circle as the centre gets darker. This technique will avoid lumps. 

Tip: wondering what happens if you don’t reduce the oven? The cake will cook quicker and can lose a little moisture but not that much, it will still be quite moist. 

And if you are wondering about the taste brought by the zucchini, I will tell that if people don’t know about it, they are unlikely to guess. Once you know, you will possibly note a taste a little more “earthy”, but, to be honest, nothing preventing the cake disappearing in minutes and for zucchini-advert kids to take a second or third helping!

guilt free chocolate cake

The sugar tarte

The sugar tarte, known in Belgium and northern France as “la tarte au sucre” is a tarte based on a yeasted dough, soft brown sugar and cream.  It is very simple to make and you can get the kids involved all along.

sugar tarte

Ingredients:

For the dough

  • 200 g of plain flour
  • 100 g of butter
  • 1 egg
  • 2 tbsp of milk
  • 1 tbsp of caster sugar
  • 10 g of fresh yeast (or 4 of dry yeast)
  • 1 pinch of salt (omit if using salted butter)

For the toping:

  • 125 g of soft brown sugar
  • 1 dL (100 mL) of cream
Method:
  1. In a large bowl, place the flour in the bowl and with a spoon, make a well (a hole in the middle of the flour in which you will place all the other ingredients).
  2. Dissolve the yeast in the warm milk.
  3. Add in the well, the yeast, butter, caster sugar, egg and salt.
  4. Mix until you obtain a nice dough.
  5. Transfer into a large bowl, cover with a clean tea-towel and allow to rise in a warm corner until almost double.
  6. Preheat the oven on 180°C.
  7. Butter and flour your tarte tin. Transfer the dough and using the palm of your hand, spread it gently making a little edge.  in the centre spread the soft brown sugar, then randomly pour the cream.
  8. Bake until the edges are golden brown.
  9. Eat warm or cold (do not place in the fridge).