The easiest chocolate cake you'll ever make and it's Gluten Free!

Over this past summer I made 2 of these, 1 for a bbq and 1 for camping--yes camping (we eat well even out in the boonies)!  I've made this at least 14 times over the past 8 years and it's always a crowd pleaser; decadent like a dark chocolate truffle morsel and if topped off with home made creme fraiche and accompanied by a cup of bold rich coffee, you'll mmm and ahhh with satisfaction. If you're looking for a fluffy moist cake--this isn't it. 

I feel alittle guilty when people gush over this cake because its the easiest chocolate cake to make outside of a boxed one. The hardest part for me is being patient enough to let the ganache frosting cool down enough to work with.

Ingredients (16 slices):

1/2 cup of water

1/4 teaspoon of salt

1 1/4 cup white sugar

18 oz of dark bittersweet chocolate (I use the large Trader Joe's bittersweet without almonds bar.)

1 (2 sticks) cup unsalted butter

6 large eggs

Directions:

Preheat oven to 300 degrees

Grease and lightly flour (for gf use white rice flour) 1 10" round cake pan. Now time to prepare the water bath. Simply take a larger pan; it can be a deep baking tray or roasting pan; and place your cake pan smack in the center. Notice the depth of your cake pan? Take the cake pan out and fill the larger pan/tray with water until the water would reach 1/2 way up your cake pan. Place the water filled tray/pan into the oven and let it preheat to 300 degrees. Water baths in baking is a technique used when trying to prevent or reduce a delicate batter from cracking, commonly used when making a ricotta or cheesecake.

Over medium heat, heat water, salt and sugar until melted.

Melt chocolate in a double broiler stirring constantly or in a microwave. If using a microwave be sure to melt in 1 minute intervals stirring between each interval. If the chocolate burns. . .sadly start over. Pour melted chocolate into mixing bowl.

Cut the butter into 6 sections per stick and slowly add into melted chocolate bowl. Blend using an electric mixer set on the lowest setting, pour the hot water/sugar/salt mixture and mix. Add the eggs 1 at a time until all 6 are well blended into the batter. 

Pour the batter into your prepared cake pan. Carefully slide your water bath out of the oven, place on stove or countertop and place your cake batter pan in the water bath making sure water doesn't splash onto the batter. Place tray/pan into oven.

Bake for 45 - 50 minutes. Caution, the center will still look a bit wet but not to worry it'll set up overnight. Take the cake out of oven place it on the counter to cool for at least an hour--do not remove from cake pan. Place pan in the fridge for at least 8 hours or overnight before frosting with the ganache. 

To frost, remove cake from pan by setting the bottom of the pan in hot water for about 30 seconds. Run a butter knife along the sides of the cake and pan to loosen. Cover the top of the cake pan with your decorating plate or tray and flip over. 

Frost using ganache (ganache recipe at the bottom of the link) and decorate with fresh raspberries. Chill in the fridge for 4 hours (or in the freezer for 2) before serving. Keep leftovers covered in fridge. 

Fe, Fi, Pho, YUM!!!!!

My family loves a piping hot bowl of Vietnamese Pho especially on cold PNW days, it's comforting, flavorful and filling. Mighty Moe's German palate loves Pho even more than I, he gets a type of euphoria after eating it (his words not mine)--thank goodness it's gluten free! My mother often makes a huge stock pot of it when we visit her. Thanks to the growing popularity, there are quite a few Pho places in the Seattle and Eastside areas and we frequent the Pho Express in Bellevue whenever we need a quick bite. I hadn't realized I haven't posted a recipe until the other day. 

Pho is a Vietnamese  soup traditionally made from a fragrant meat stock which has been simmering on the stove along side a large onion and spices. Some people use their own spice blend but I use a spice packet from the local asian store and don't miss a thing. The stock must simmer for at least 2 hours and up to 5. Once ready it's then poured over rice noodles,  thin slivers of raw beef slices then topped with fresh basil, soy beans and a squeeze of lime. I know I said raw meat, but it's perfectly safe you see. The meat is sliced so thin that the hot broth poured over it cooks the raw meat (In the photo above I didn't pour over the top for photogenic reasons). Traditional sauces are Hoisin and Siraccha--some put the sauces directly on top of the soup and others have it on the side in a dipping bowl or plate (I do both). The sauce enhances the tender meat and adds a sweet and spicy kick to the steaming hot soup.

Ingredients:

1 large yellow onion, peeled and halved

1 small yellow onion, peeled and sliced thin

1 packet Pho Spices

1 Gallon of water

1 1/2 to 2 pounds of stewing bones (pork, beef or chicken) 

1 pound thinly sliced beef 

1 bunch of basil leaves

1 1/2 cup fresh bean sprouts

1 lime cut into wedges

Hoisin Sauce

Siraccha Sauce

1 package of dried rice flour sticks

Directions:

For the broth, fill large soup stock pot 1/2 way to top with water (a gallon). Add a whole peeled onion chopped in half. Add your soup bones. I used beef back bones and a small portion of pork shoulder to use for slicing. Commonly ox tail, beef neck, pork ribs are used but you can use whatever you find at your local grocer. Add Pho spice packet. Bring to a rolling boil then reduce heat to a simmer. There will be a bit of a "gritty froth" from the meat, please use a hand strainer and carefully remove as much of the froth as possible. We are aiming for a pretty clear broth.

Once your stock is ready (depends on your patience but please be sure the meat is falling of the bone), prepare your steak strips by slicing thinly or use pre-sliced beef (I use Costco's thin slice). If you also used a pork shoulder like I did, remove from pot and slice thin. Wash your bean sprouts, basil and chop white onion very thinly (not the onion from the pot). Cut your lime wedges and take out your hoisen and siraccha sauces. 

Prepare your dried white rice noodles per package directions, strain and put a healthy portion into large soup bowls. When I say large soup bowl, I'm hoping you have asian soup bowls because you really do need some room for all the goodies that go into this dish.

Arrange a few pieces of the raw steak strips, sliced cooked pork and stew bones ontop of the rice noodles. Pour the fragrant broth into the bowl to cover the meats. Add a few of your fresh onion slices, basil leaves, bean sprouts, squeezed lime wedge and sauce is so desired at this time. Whip out your chop sticks and soup spoon and savor the rich warming soup. Ahhh homemade Pho and oh so very much of it!

Does the GF conversion chart work?

I stumbled upon this handy conversion chart a few months ago and decided to give it a little test. I made 2 batches of my banana zucchini bread (since my garden is spewing out zucchini like mad), 1 batch with my old tried and true recipe and the other batch using the gluten free conversion chart. I taste tested each and have to say for this type of bread, it works fairly well. The texture and flavor are good and I was hard pressed in a blind tasting to tell the difference. The only glaring difference in my opinion was the rise of the loaves making the GF version alittle bit denser. However, I think I took the GF batch out a little too early. Either way this is a recipe keeper and I'll be using it as my go to recipe during the fall baking season. Hopefully I'll be sharing a delicious pumpkin loaf recipe soon. For now enjoy!

The chart I'm referring to (thanks to http://www.gygi.com/):

Ingredients:

3 eggs
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1/2 cup plain yogurt or mayo (blame my mom for the mayo)
2/3 cup packed brown sugar
2/3 cup white sugar
1 cup grated zucchini
3 ripe bananas mashed
2 1/3 cup white rice flour
2/3 cup and 2 tablespoons potato starch
1/3 cup and 1 tablespoon tapioca starch
1 3/4 teaspoon of guar guar or xantham gum
(Note for those not gluten sensitive: Original recipe uses 3 1/2 cup all purpose flour)
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup chopped walnuts


Directions:
Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Line loaf pans with wax paper, grease and flour. If you aren't worried about a possibility of cross contamination, omit the wax paper.

My targets for this mission.

In a large bowl add the bananas and zucchini, eggs, oil, brown sugar, white sugar, vanillia extract, yogurt, oil, cinnamon, baking powder and using electric mixer, beat until well blended. 

Beat in the flours and fold in the walnuts.

Divide batter between the two prepared loaf pans. The one on the left below is the GF version. 

Bake for approximately 50 minutes or until toothpick test comes out clean. Allow to cool and slather with butter. 

As you can see the GF version didn't crack nearly as much as the original version. I have to say the GF loaves I made were in a silicone pan which allowed for width expansion while the original was baked in a metal pan. It did indeed make a difference in the rise, but how much I'm not sure. I'll know next time I bake this recipe. I'm also noting that GF baked breads take about 5 to 10 minutes longer to bake. Readers, if you perform your own swop tests please share with me your outcomes. 

Blissfullicious Battered Fish--and it's Gluten Free--Hooray!

I feel as though I've won a small battle with this recipe. I'm not a big fried food eater but let me tell ya, a world without being able to eat battered halibut or cod is just. . . .there are no words. As I've posted in the past, my sister and I used to travel almost 2 hours away for fish and chips because they were that good, so when I developed a copy cat recipe saving us time and gas I felt like a champ! 

When Mighty Moe concluded after 3 weeks of going GF that his body felt years younger, visions of fried fish and fluffy bread flashed fleetingly before my eyes. QUICK I had to do some reworking and researching! I took my beer battered gluten recipe and used rice flour instead of all-purpose, club soda instead of beer and presto! It's not as light as the batter I hearted before but these were good, like really good--crispy, flavorful and yes it does rival any gluten ones at the restaurants. I see no reason why this recipe can't be used for onion rings or fried zucchinni. . .add some cayenne and chili sauce and friends we have a batter for spicy chicken wings!!


Ingredients:

6 to 8 pieces of Halibut (pieces should be at least 2 1/2" wide x 3" long x 1/2" strips)
1 cup of club soda or GF beer (Yes you can use GF beer)
1 1/3 cup of rice flour for batter
1/4 cup of rice flour for dredging 
1 teaspoon gf baking powder1 teaspoon garlic powder
1 teaspoon Old Bay seasoning
1/2 teaspoon dried parsley
1/2 teaspoon dried or fresh dill 
1/2 teaspoon salt
Fresh cracked black pepper to taste
1 egg
1 lemon cut into wedges
Horseradish Tarter Sauce
Oil for frying (vegetable)

Directions:
Wash and pat dry the fish (if using frozen fish, defrost and gently squeeze out excess water). Cut into strips. 


In a medium sized mixing bowl add all the dry ingredients and whisk in the club soda and egg. The batter should be as thick as waffle batter, add more rice flour as needed. 

Heat oil in frying pot or fryer to 375 degrees, please do use a thermometer to check temperature--otherwise you'll have a soggy or burnt mess. Tip: To prevent fish from sticking to the bottom, layer them over your fries, onion rings etc. If making fresh fries, start them now as to cook them halfway before adding the fish. If using frozen fries add them right before the fish. 

On a separate plate add 1/4 cup rice flour, dredge a piece of fish coating both sides. Dip completely into the wet batter and add to prepared hot oil ontop of the fries, onion rings etc. 

Fry each piece until golden brown and drain the excess oil by placing in metal drain basket or with paper towels. Tip: For a crispier texture use a basket.


Serve with salad or fries and your favorite tarter sauce and lemon wedge. Or serve on gluten free buns with lettuce and tomato - easy fish filet sandwich. I'll post the GF bun in the next few days. 

If you would like to make your own horseradish tarter sauce, here's my recipe (scroll down to bottom of the linked page).

If you do decide to try this recipe, I encourage you to subscribe and share your experience and tips, together we can eat just as blissfulliciously as others!

Finally a New Name!

Switching this blog from "The Naughty Chef" to "Blissfulliscious." Over time (because it's lots of work) I will be switching out the photos and design elements to reflect my new name. After several hours googling I'm happy to have a name that isn't being used by another fellow blogger. Whew, I feel like a new woman! 

You'll also see a few changes, I'll be posting gluten free recipes and recipes with gluten free alternatives. Not to worry, I know some of you really enjoy some of my old recipes that contain gluten--those will stay. But because of Mighty Moe's newly discovered dietary needs I'll be concentrating mainly on gluten free blissfullisciousness! Just a quick update to let you know that it's been about 3 months and he says 90% of his aches and pains (which he has suffered through for well over 5 years) have disappeared since we started deleting gluten from our diets. He has Fibromyalgia and after alot of research I read that going gluten free may help--well it has done wonders! With him being in the construction field, Fibromyalgia not only affected his well being but his livelihood. I've read the benefits going gluten free has on those suffering from Celiac Disease and am so happy it also benefits those with Fibromyalgia. I am also opening up subscribers so people can comment and share. Please do become a subscriber otherwise it's just me blabbering to myself! Not to worry, I'm not a spammer in any way. Having subscribers will help motivate me to blog more. Warm fuzzies are also welcomed. :)

So far I am not gluten intolerant but have chosen to cut gluten from my diet whenever I can. We eat as a family around here and it doesn't make much sense to cook separately, besides it can't be that hard right? Ha! I won't lie, it's difficult and a bit overwhelming when you first start. I'm 3 months in and am still running across recipes I'm having to rework. We were never big on frozen dinners or fast food so it hasn't been devastating, but a mission to revisit recipes and learn. I've read those who are not gluten sensitive or intolerant shouldn't go completely gluten free and I haven't. One out of 15 meals I eat may contain some gluten--when Mighty Moe is out of town I'll eat my favorite french bread, naan etc., mostly because I haven't found suitable gf recipes for them yet. 

I've joined some GF groups on Facebook and it amazes me some of the stories I've read of peoples experiences since going GF. Who knew such a wholesome thing as wheat and gluten could damage so many people. Those like my brother-in-law have a hypothyroid and he's been gluten and sugar free for a year. I can't even imagine having to avoid sugar as well, poor guy. 

Speaking of recipes, there are many gf ones out there and boy have I tried many of them. Some good, some horrible. It's a texture thing for us (for example Udi's products doesn't do it for us). When testing out bread recipes it's very hit or miss. Fortunately I do have alot of experience working with rice and tapioca flours due to Asian cruisine and have been able to tweak some recipes I already had or that I've recently tried. I haven't posted in the past few months because I didn't want to post anything I tried that I didn't think was a winner, going gf is an investment and I for one don't want anyone to waste their precious ingredients on a bad recipe. I do have a few that I will be posting shortly and I feel good about them. By the way GF Bisquick is awesome, but as my mother would say super "SPENSY!" I have found a recipe for it and will share it along with the link to the creative gal who came up with it.