2 Flourless Chocolate Tortes (1 Even Has Sweet Potatoes)

I have a lot of dessert in the house that I would like to share with you, so please, have a slice of torte. Or two.

Both of these tortes are notable for what they don't have: No wheat. No dairy. No nuts. They are Passover friendly, suitable for gluten-free diets, and chocolate to boot. What's not to love?

First up is the Mock Chestnut (Sweet Potato-Chocolate) Torte, adapted from a Marcy Goldman recipe. I feel virtuous just saying the name of the recipe -- hey, it's got sweet potatoes -- but there's no mistaking this for anything other than dessert. The torte is rich, but not cloying, and has a wonderfully dense texture that slices neatly, though you can't see that in the picture below.

Mock Chestnut Torte, dusted with cocoa powder for a slightly bitter undertone.

The second torte, which I think I will dub the Vanishing Baked Chocolate Mousse, is adapted from a Robin Miller recipe. It still has a decadent amount of eggs and chocolate, but it feels considerably lighter than the other recipe because it is made without any solid fat. It's surprisingly easy to keep nibbling on the torte ... you know, just to even up the edges.

Baked Chocolate Mousse with a sprinkling of pulverized sugar.

Mock Chestnut (Sweet Potato-Chocolate) Torte

This is essentially Marcy Goldman's recipe, which you can find published on Epicurious and The Washington Post. Goldman recommends topping the torte with a chocolate ganache and decorating it with her Caramel Matzoh Crunch, better known in my household as Matzah Crack. This, I think, would be overkill. Instead, consider dusting the torte with some cocoa, and serve with fresh berries on the side. Serves 12 to 14.

1/2 cup unsalted margarine (Kosher for Passover and/or dairy free, according to your needs)

1/3 cup plus 2 Tbsp granulated sugar

6 large eggs, separated

1 1/2 cups cooked, mashed sweet potatoes (from about 2 large sweet potatoes)

10 ounces semisweet chocolate, melted and cooled (I had a 9-ounce bag of semisweet chips, which I supplemented with an ounce of bittersweet chocolate)

1/4 teaspoon salt

Unsweetened cocoa and fresh berries, for serving (optional)

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees. Line a 9-inch springform pan with baking parchment.

In a large mixing bowl, cream the margarine with the 1/3 cup sugar. Beat in the egg yolks, sweet potatoes, and cooled chocolate.

In a separate bowl, with clean beaters, gently whip the egg whites until they are foamy. Add in the salt, increase the speed on the mixer, and beat the whites, slowly dusting in the remaining 2 tablespoons of sugar, until the whites form stiff, glossy peaks.

Fold one-third of the egg whites into the chocolate batter to loosen it, then fold in the remaining egg whites. Mix thoroughly but gently so you do not deflate the mixture. Transfer the batter to the prepared pan.

Bake for about 40 minutes. When done, the cake will look dry and slightly cracked on top, and the middle will be soft but firm. Cool in the pan for at least 20 minutes before removing the outer ring, and chill the torte for an hour or two in the refrigerator before serving. Just before serving, dust the torte with unsweetened cocoa. Serve alongside fresh berries, if desired.

Vanishing Baked Chocolate Mousse Torte

Adapted from a Robin Miller recipe published by Spry. You can make a Passover version of confectioners' sugar by pulverizing granulated sugar with potato starch in a small food processor. I've seen two different ratios for doing this: 1 cup sugar to 1 Tbsp potato starch OR 2/3 cup sugar to 1 tsp potato starch. Because the quantity of sugar in this recipe is so low, I skipped the potato starch and just pulverized my granulated sugar plain. Makes 12 servings.

4 ounces semisweet chocolate
4 ounces bittersweet chocolate (or use another 4 ounces of semisweet chocolate, as in the original recipe)
8 large eggs, separated
1 tsp real vanilla extract
1/4 cup pulverized sugar (or confectioners' sugar), plus extra for serving

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees. Lightly grease a 9-inch springform pan with a neutral oil and line the bottom with baking parchment.

Melt the chocolate (in a microwave or in a double boiler, over simmering water) and let cool.

Beat the egg yolks in a large bowl until thick and pale. Beat in the cooled chocolate and vanilla.

In a separate bowl, with clean beaters, whip the whites with the sugar until soft peaks form. Fold one-quarter of the whites into the chocolate batter to loosen it, then fold in the remaining egg whites. Mix thoroughly but gently so you do not deflate the mixture. Transfer the batter to the prepared pan.

Bake 20 to 25 minutes, or until the torte is almost set but still a little jiggly in the center. The torte will firm up, and deflate, as it cools. Cool to room temperature, then refrigerate to chill completely before removing the torte from its pan. Dust with sugar just before serving, if desired.

Red Devil's Food Cupcakes

Let me address your first observation: No, the cupcakes are not really red. Certainly not the brilliant red you might associate with a red velvet cake -- especially any red velvet cake (or cupcake or cookie) found in a supermarket bakery. If you squint just right, and your lighting is good, you might find that this cake is a dark reddish-brown -- red the way old mahogany furniture is red.

See what I mean?

You can find red-colored cakes just about anywhere these days, and they seem to be a source of much contention in the food-blog world. Red velvet cake is either a Southern specialty, or it’s not (an urban legend links the cake to the Waldorf-Astoria in New York City). The authentic topping is boiled icing, unless it isn’t (cream cheese frosting is widely popular). The cakes get their color from bottled food dye, unless they don’t (beets can provide a natural source of “red”). For all of the talk of old-time recipes, much of the popularity of red velvet cake can be traced to a smart marketing move: The Adams Extract company began distributing a recipe during the Depression era to encourage sales of its vanilla extract, butter flavoring, and red coloring.

Which brings me back to my red devil’s food cake. Devil’s food cake and red velvet cake are linked by common ingredients -- typically cocoa, buttermilk, baking soda, and cake flour, which provides the "velvet" crumb -- and some old cookbooks use the names interchangeably. The recipe that I modified comes from a 1952 cookbook and may have older origins. One notable difference is that devil’s food cakes use more cocoa powder, so they actually taste like chocolate. (This is a good thing.)

If you are fiddling with red velvet or devil's food recipes, you want to pay special attention to the proportion of acidic ingredients (cocoa and buttermilk) to alkaline ones (baking soda). It’s the chemical reaction between these ingredients that leavens the cake. Furthermore, the acids enhance the red pigments that naturally occur in cocoa powder, providing the cake’s faint red tint.

Red Devil’s Food Cupcakes

(Adapted from The Complete American-Jewish Cookbook. Makes 10 cupcakes. Recipe can be doubled.)

Ingredient notes:

• You cannot use Dutch-processed, or alkalized, cocoa in this recipe, as it upsets the ratio of acidic-to-alkaline ingredients.

• To make a buttermilk substitute for this recipe, mix 3/4 tsp white vinegar with enough milk to equal 1/4 cup. Let stand 5 minutes before using.

Ingredients:

1 cup sifted cake flour (measure after sifting)

1 tsp baking soda

1/4 cup natural, unsweetened cocoa, such as regular Hershey’s (see ingredient note)

1/4 cup butter, softened

3/4 cup granulated sugar

1 egg

1/2 tsp vanilla

1/4 cup buttermilk (see ingredient note)

1/2 cup boiling water

Directions:

Line cupcake pans with paper or foil liners. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Whisk together the flour, baking soda, and cocoa, and set aside. Cream butter and sugar. Add egg and vanilla and beat well.

Beat in dry ingredients, alternating with buttermilk, scraping the bowl as necessary and keeping the beaters on low speed to avoid depositing the powdery ingredients over your work surface. The batter will become very thick. Pour in the boiling water and use a whisk to distribute it through the batter evenly. The final batter will be very runny. 

Fill the cupcake liners about two-thirds full. Bake about 22 minutes, or until a cake tester comes out clean. Cool cupcakes completely before decorating. Frost with a vanilla buttercream or frosting of your choice.

Eggs Baked in Hash Brown Cups

We eat a lot of "breakfast for dinner" around here, especially on nights when not everyone is home, so I'm always on the lookout for good main-dish egg recipes. Kit and I had dinner-for-two recently, and these baked eggs were definitely a step up from our more-mundane scrambled eggs and toast. They did have this slightly disconcerting quality, in that they seemed to stare up at us from the plate ...

 
but that problem was easily resolved with a knife.

Besides making for a light supper, these baked eggs would be ideal for a cozy Sunday brunch, and they would not be out of place on an Easter or Passover table. Or on a Halloween table, for that matter (it's the eyeball thing).

If you are not crazy about the fried-egg look, you could fill the hash brown cups with beaten eggs to make a scrambled or quiche-like center, though I did not test the recipe that way.

Eggs Baked in Hash Brown Cups
(Adapted from Everyday Food and various Internet recipes. Suitable for Passover and gluten-free cooking, but always check your food labels. Serves 2 to 3; should double easily.)

2 tsp olive oil, plus extra for greasing and sauteing
About 2.5 cups frozen, unseasoned hash browns, thawed
Salt and pepper to taste
1/2 cup diced red bell pepper
1/4 cup sliced green onion
3 Tbsp grated cheddar cheese
3 large eggs

Preheat your oven to 475 degrees. Lightly grease 3 ramekins (about 6-ounce capacity) or jumbo muffin cups.

Mix the thawed hash browns with the 2 teaspoons of olive oil, salt, and pepper. Divide the mixture evenly among the prepared ramekins. Press the hash browns firmly and evenly against the bottom and sides of each cup. Bake 15 minutes or until slightly golden.

Meanwhile, saute the red bell pepper (using a little olive oil or cooking spray, if necessary) until slightly softened, about 4 to 5 minutes. Stir in the green onion and cook 1 minute more. Remove vegetables from heat.

Divide the vegetable mixture among the cooked hash brown cups and top each cup with about 1 tablespoon of cheese. Bake 2 minutes. Remove from oven.

Carefully crack an egg into each cup. Bake 8 to 12 minutes, until the whites are set and the yolks are done to your liking. Remove hash brown cups from ramekins and serve at once.

Say, kids, what time is it?

In baseball circles, it's time to report to Spring Training. In political circles, it's a preview of silly season. And in crop circles (ha!), it's time to sign up for a summer CSA share.

We are back with Connor's for a fifth season, and expect to be posting weekly from mid-June to mid-October.

If you are new to the world of community-supported agriculture, check out my tips post. CSA isn't for eveyone, so I'm happy to field questions from the undecided.

Baked Vegetarian Egg Rolls

If you are looking to duplicate restaurant-style egg rolls, this recipe probably isn't the one for you. "Baked" will not taste like "fried." But these egg rolls are good on their own terms: light, crispy, and a cinch to make. They're seasonal, too, both in terms of produce (cabbage) and holiday (Chinese New Year is around the corner). An added benefit (especially if you have been nibbling on these): The egg rolls can be made virtually fat free, depending on your brand of egg roll wrappers and whether you use canola oil or cooking spray.

Baked Vegetarian Egg Rolls
(Adapted recipe. For a shortcut, substitute 2 cups cole slaw mix for the shredded cabbage and carrots. Makes 8.)

Canola oil or cooking spray
1 cup shredded or chopped green cabbage
1 cup shredded carrot
1 cup mung bean sprouts, coarsely chopped if especially long
1/2 cup chopped water chestnuts (approximately one-half of an 8-ounce can)
1/2 tsp grated fresh ginger
1 Tbsp soy sauce
2 Tbsp water
1/2 Tbsp corn starch
2 green onions, sliced
8 egg roll wraps
Additional water for sealing egg rolls

Heat a teaspoon of oil, or use cooking spray, in a large slope-sided skillet or wok over medium heat. Add the cabbage, carrots, bean sprouts, water chestnuts, and ginger to the skillet and cook, stirring frequently, for about 4 minutes or until the vegetables begin to wilt slightly but retain crispness.

Combine the soy sauce and water; stir in the corn starch thoroughly so there are no lumps. Add this mixture to the pan along with the green onions and cook for 1 to 2 minutes, or until the sauce thickens. Remove the vegetable mixture from the heat and let cool.

Preheat your oven to 400 degrees. Spray a baking sheet with cooking spray.

Fill each egg roll as follows: Position the wrap in front of you so that it looks like a diamond. Place two rounded tablespoons of filling across the lower section of the wrap, avoiding the edges. Fold the bottom up over the filling, then fold in the two sides. Moisten the top edges of the wrap with a little water (a small pastry brush is useful here) and roll the wrap up, sealing the flap. Place each filled egg roll, flap-side down, on the baking sheet. Spray the top of each egg roll with cooking spray (or brush lightly with canola oil).

Bake 8 to 10 minutes, then turn the egg rolls over. Bake another 5 to7 minutes or until crispy and golden brown. Serve with duck sauce, Chinese mustard, or a soy sauce-based dipping sauce of your choice.