Amazing Chocolate Cake--Gluten Free

Often when younger and still occasionally to this day, people would suggest careers that I should consider "when I grow up".  In order of most suggested to least suggested these careers have included:
Medical Doctor
Teacher
Veterinarian
Scientist

*Baker**

Psychologist
Counselor
Professional Dominatrix(!?!)
English Professor (!?!?!?!!)
(I really have no clue why those last two were suggested).

Anyways, the point being that when people have suggested I become a professional baker it has always been in response to this recipe.  I guess that means maybe I shouldn't give away the recipe!?  Oh well. :-)

I originally came up with this recipe so that I could make something for my mother (who is gluten intolerant), however, it was so well received I have made it on numerous occasions for many different types of crowds.

This particular time I made it for my Labmate Jodie's birthday.  Jodie likes spicy food and had just gotten back from a trip Ireland, so I changed the recipe a bit to reflect that. Sadly, I don't have pictures of this particular recipe..it was eaten too fast! (I found one picture on a labmates phone from before it was taken out of the pan!)

Gluten Free Chocolate Cake
adapted from epicurious

Ingredients:
cake
1C Water
3/4C Sugar
9tbs Unsalted Butter
12oz Semisweet Chocolate (or Chips), not the cheapest variety
6oz Bittersweet Chocolate (or Chips)
6 Eggs
1tsp Vanilla
2tbs Irish Whiskey
1/4tsp Cayenne Pepper

ganache
1C Heavy Cream
8oz Semisweet (or Bittersweet) Chocolate
1tbs Irish Whiskey
1/2tsp Cayenne (or less for spice averse)

Method:
1. Preheat Oven to 350F and butter a 9-10" springform pan.
2. Bring the water and sugar to a boil in a small saucepan. Once thoroughly dissolved remove from heat and let sit while preparing the rest of the cake. 
3.  Melt butter and 12oz semisweet + 6 oz bittersweet chocolate in a large saucepan over medium heat.
4.  Using a whisk mix chocolate until smooth, the add sugar syrup, again whisking till smooth.  Add eggs one at a time, whisking in between. Finally, add vanilla, 2tbs Irish Whiskey and 1/4 tsp cayenne. 
5. Pour into prepared pan and bake for 50 minutes.  Cool fully before topping with ganache.
6. For ganache, bring heavy cream to a boil and add remaining chocolate to melt. Once smooth, add 1tbs Irish Whiskey and 1/4 tsp cayenne.  Remove from heat and let cool for 5-10 minutes, then pour over chilled cake.  Chill assembled cake until set.  (It is better the next day!)

Enjoy!

PS.  for those looking for a healthier cake I recently made this vegan apple pancake. It was awesome! Light, fluffy and rich tasting and SUPER good for you. I even preferred it over the chocolate cake. :-)

PPS.  I want to be a college professor when I grow up. ;-)

Beer Bread!

This bread is so good that I no longer buy bread, ever.  It is also well-liked by all and one of my most requested recipes. If you love bread but have been afraid to try baking it at home, I urge you to give this recipe a try.

Commercial bread making ovens rely on steam injectors to develop a nice chewy crust.  This recipe manages to achieve the same result by trapping the steam from a somewhat wet dough by using a lidded dutch oven for baking.  The vinegar gives the bread a nice sour touch and the flavor of the bread is greatly influenced by the flavor of the beer used.  I find that a wheat beer or stout give the best flavor.  In this case I used a very hoppy beer that was given to me by a super awesome lab-mate.  The bread tasted really, really hoppy.  I personally loved this flavor, but it might surprise someone expecting a "normal" bread flavor.  If you are not a big fan of beer, a Guinness or a Heff will give awesome flavor without seeming "beer-y".   

Beer Bread. 

Adapted from Nine Bean-rows.

Ingredients:
3 Cups Bread Flour (the highest rated on cooks illustrated is King Arthur)
1 Packet Dry Yeast (I used active dry)
1 tbs Salt
2/3 Cup Warm Water
2/3 Cup Beer
1Tbs vinegar (white, white wine, apple cider, or rice)

Method:
1. Mix together dry ingredients, either in a stand mixer or with a whisk.  Add the warm water to the beer and sprinkle over the dry ingredients.  Add the vinegar and mix (with the bread hook or a wooden spoon) until combined. 
2. Place combined dough in a greased bowl, cover with plastic wrap or a damp towel and let rise 12-24 hrs.  It should rise in a place that is average to warm room temp (65+).  Because it is so cold in my condo that includes turning on the space heater, hopefully this isn't true for you!  It should look airy and slightly wet after rising and should be at least double in size.

3. Lightly flour a piece of parchment paper (not waxed paper, tried that once, no go) and knead the bread around on it until it is easy to shape into a ball.  You may need to add additional flour.  All together this should not take more than a minute or two.  Once shaped into a ball let the bread rise (in a bowl, on the parchment paper) for an additional 2 hours until doubled in size.  This time it should resemble an uncooked loaf.

4. Pre-heat oven to 500F with your cooking pan inside.  This should either be a dutch oven or a large heavy pot that has a lid.  After 30 minutes reduce oven temperature to 425F and add bread (on parchment paper) directly to the pot.  Cover with the lid and bake for 30 minutes.

5.  Remove the lid and bake an additional 10 to 15 minutes until the crust is nice and brown.

If you enjoy the bread there is an entire movement based on this strategy of bread making.  I urge you to try other recipes and let me know how they are!!  There is even a cookbook.  A cookbook that I would love, by the way ;-) ;-)