Chocolate Desserts
If you love Chocolate as much as I do, today's post is sure to please. Check out the Vegan Tofu Chocolate Cake, the Bittersweet Chocolate Mousse With Fleur de Sel, or any of the other yummy chocolate dessert in today's post. Enjoy!
CHOCOLATE CHURCH CAKE
This comes from Lisa Donovan in The New York Times cooking e-newsletter. Lisa wrote, "Layer cakes are formative for Southerners: They grace wedding tables, shiva gatherings, quinceañeras, baptisms and funerals. Because of this — and because layer cakes may be as close as some will ever get to a holy experience — they’re often called church cakes. This chocolate one is a perfectly moist and stacked rendition of a pudding cake, with just the right amount of richness from the frosting. This formula needs no alterations, but there’s no sense in breaking the tradition of Southern bakers, who personalize recipes as a point of pride. Add pulverized praline to the center, or cinnamon or instant-coffee granules to the batter. Don’t be afraid to make it your own. To make it a true church cake, serve it to those you hold in the highest regard, for celebrations or to simply indulge in the good glory of company."
Yield: One 9-inch layger cake; Time: 1 hour, plus cooling
To view this online, go to https://cooking.nytimes.com/recipes/1023117-chocolate-church-cake.
Ingredients
For the Frosting:
1-1/2 cups granulated sugar
1-1/2 cups heavy cream
8 ounces unsweetened chocolate
6 ounces grams unsalted butter
1 teaspoon vanilla paste or extract
For the Cake:
Nonstick cooking spray
1 cup unsweetened cocoa powder, dark (Dutch-processed) if available, plus more for pans
3-1/2 cups granulated sugar
2-3/4 cups all-purpose flour (see Tip)
2 teaspoons baking powder
2 teaspoons baking soda
1-1/2 teaspoons fine salt
3 large eggs, beaten
1-1/2 cups buttermilk, preferably cultured whole buttermilk
3/4 cup canola or other neutral oil
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
Preparation
Make the frosting: In a large saucepan, bring sugar and cream to a boil over medium heat, stirring occasionally. Reduce heat to low and simmer for 6 minutes. Meanwhile, chop chocolate and cube butter. After the sugar mixture has simmered for 6 minutes, turn the heat off and add chocolate and butter to the saucepan. Stir until everything is melted. Stir in the vanilla. Remove from heat and let cool to room temperature while you make the cake. Do not stir until it has cooled almost entirely, likely for as long as it will take you to mix and bake the cake.
Make the cake: Heat oven to 325 degrees. Coat three 9-inch round cake pans with nonstick cooking spray. Cut 3 rounds of parchment paper to fit the bottom of each pan and line each pan with one. Spray the parchment. Sprinkle the pans with cocoa powder to coat, tapping each pan over the sink or trash can to shake loose any excess.
Meanwhile, in a very large bowl, whisk the sugar, flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Make a well in the center. Bring 1-1/2 cups water to a boil while you prepare your wet ingredients.
Whisk the eggs, buttermilk, oil and vanilla in a medium bowl. Pour into the dry mixture and whisk gently until incorporated. It will be a bit clumpy but gently work it in. Pour in the boiling water to loosen the batter and gently whisk to combine, being careful not to splash.
Divide the batter evenly among the prepared pans. Each pan should hold about 700 grams of batter. (Weighing your batter ensures even cooking and beautiful cake building.) Bake until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out with a few crumbs, 32 to 35 minutes. Set the pans on a wire rack to cool.
When cakes are cooled, revisit your frosting, whisking to thicken and making sure not to overbeat or add any air or fluff to the frosting. Turn the cakes out of their pans and discard the parchment. Trim any rounded top off of each as evenly as possible.
Assemble the cake: Scoop about 3/4 cup of frosting on one layer set on a cake plate, then repeat with the second and third layers. You can refrigerate the cake in between frosting each layer to ensure that your frosting is set and firm so that your next layer will be propped up properly. If the frosting is too soft, the next layer will just flatten the filling. Frost the outside of the cake with the remaining frosting, letting it chill as you go if needed. Use an offset spatula or butter knife dipped in hot water and wiped clean to smooth and shine the finished cake. This cake keeps and is best served at room temperature for up to 2 days. It holds remarkably well in the refrigerator for up to one week and can be served cold.
Tip
You can substitute an equal amount of a gluten-free baking blend.
CHOCOLATE MOUSSE
I saw something similar to this a few years back and tweaked it a little. For anyone who is sure that he or she won't like tofu, this may be the game-changer.
Ingredients
1 10-12 ounce tub of silken tofu
12 ounce bag of chocolate chips
2 - 3 tablespoons milk (you can use soy milk, if you prefer)
1 tsp vanilla
1 tablespoon maple syrup
Directions
Melt chocolate chips along with the milk over low to medium heat, stirring constantly.
Place silken tofu, melted chocolate chips, vanilla, and syrup into blender. Blend on a medium setting, pulsing if needed to combine.
Pour into 4 bowls or small cups, and let cool for 10 minutes or so.
Dig in! Yum!
DENSE AND DELICIOUS CHOCOLATE CAKE
This is from the October 2006 issue of Vegetarian Times (page 31), and begins, “Wow the chocolate lovers in your life with this fudgy creation that’s as easy to whip up as a cake mix.” Makes 10 servings.
To view this online, click here.
Ingredients
Chocolate Cake
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 cup sugar
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1/4 cup low-fat buttermilk
1 large egg
2 tsp. vanilla extract
1/2 cup brewed espresso or strong coffee
1/2 cup cocoa powder
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, cut into small pieces
Fudge Glaze
2 Tbs. low-fat buttermilk
2 Tbs. cocoa powder
2 Tbs. unsalted butter
1/2 cup confectioners' sugar
1 tsp. vanilla extract
Preparation
Preheat oven to 400F. Coat 9-inch round springform pan with cooking spray. Combine flour, sugar, and baking soda in bowl. Whisk together buttermilk, egg, and vanilla in separate bowl.
Combine espresso and cocoa in large saucepan. Add butter, and bring to a boil over medium-high heat, whisking constantly. Remove from heat, and stir in dry ingredients. Add buttermilk mixture, and whisk until smooth.
Pour batter into prepared pan, and bake 15 to 20 minutes, or until top looks dry but toothpick inserted in center comes out moist.
Meanwhile, make Fudge Glaze: Combine buttermilk, cocoa powder, and butter in medium saucepan, and bring to a boil, stirring constantly. Remove from heat, and stir in sugar and vanilla.
Pierce holes all over cake with skewer or fork. Spread glaze over cake with spatula. Let stand 5 minutes before unmolding, and serve.
BITTERSWEET CHOCOLATE MOUSSE WITH FLEUR DE SEL
This is from Melissa Clark on The New York Times cooking site, as well as in "Briliant Baking" cooking suppliment on Sunday, February 20, 2022. Melissa wrote, "This is an intense, creamy one-ingredient chocolate mousse adapted from the molecular gastronomist Hervé This. The nearly instant recipe contains no cream or eggs, so a complex chocolate can shine. The mousse serves four, and it can be doubled. But even if you’re serving two, don’t be tempted to halve it. More of our favorite Valentine's Day recipes can be found here."
Yield: 4 servings; Time: 10 minutes
This was featured in "For Your Sweetheart, and More," and can be viewed online at https://cooking.nytimes.com/recipes/1014542-bittersweet-chocolate-mousse-with-fleur-de-sel.
Ingredients
285 grams bittersweet chocolate (about 10 ounces), roughly chopped, more as needed (see note)
Fleur de Sel, to taste
Preparation
Create an ice bath in a large bowl using ice and a little cold water. Nestle a smaller bowl in ice bath.
Place chocolate and 1 cup water in a small pot and heat over medium. Whisk until mixture is melted and smooth, about 3 to 5 minutes.
Immediately pour melted chocolate into the bowl in the ice bath. Vigorously whisk chocolate mixture by hand until thick, 3 to 5 minutes. The chocolate should be fluffy and form a mound when dolloped with the whisk (it should generally have the texture and appearance of mousse). If the mixture does not thicken, add a bit more chopped chocolate and remelt over the heat. Spoon into serving bowls and garnish with fleur de sel.
Tip
For a lighter mousse, use 265 grams of bittersweet chocolate or just add more water.
QUICK VEGAN CHOCOLATE PIE
This is from Jolinda Hackett on The Spruce Eats. Jolinda wrote, "This super easy chocolate peanut butter tofu pie, similar to a French silk pie, is vegan and can be prepared in just a few minutes. Just be sure to use vegan chocolate. Use a gluten-free pie crust and this vegan pie can easily be made gluten-free as well.
"This one is a classic recipe that's been floating around vegan circles for decades now. Sure, you can make vegan pies much fancier than this one (with much more expensive and unique ingredients), but we like to keep it old school and simple, from time to time. Plus, all of these ingredients are things you can easily keep on hand, and once you've tried this recipe a few times, you can probably whip it up off the top of your head.
"It's tofu as a base, chocolate chips (check the ingredients if you're vegan), and peanut butter for flavor and a little bit of soy milk to mix it all together. Blend, bake, chill, and done.
"Be sure you use semisweet chocolate chips in this recipe since there's otherwise no sugar. It's not a supersweet recipe, even with the semi-sweet chocolate chips, but the richness of the peanut butter more than makes up for it, in my opinion. If you're used to super-sweet desserts, you might disagree, or, you might be pleasantly surprised with just how much you like it.
"Enjoy your chocolate tofu peanut butter pie."
Cook Time: 0 minutes; Total Time: 5 minutes; Servings: 8; Yield: 1 pie
To view this online, go to https://www.thespruceeats.com/quick-vegan-chocolate-pie-3376759.
Ingredients
1/2 cup chocolate chips
1 (12-ounce) package silken tofu, or firm tofu
1/2 cup peanut butter
2 tablespoons soy milk
1 pre-made pie crust
Directions
Melt the chocolate chips over low heat, stirring frequently to ensure the chocolate doesn't burn.
You can use a double boiler if you have one.
Once the chocolate is melted, blend together the silken tofu, peanut butter, chocolate, and soy milk in the blender until smooth and creamy, adding a bit more soy milk if necessary.
Pour into pie crust and refrigerate until firm, at least one hour.
VEGAN TOFU CHOCOLATE CAKE
This is from Ashley Adams on The Spruce Eats. Ashley wrote, "Prepared with silken tofu in place of the eggs and butter called for in traditional recipes, this chocolate cake is one of the healthiest around, yet still so tasty. Frost with whatever dairy-free frosting suits the occasion.
"Although many recipes that call for silken tofu require that you drain the liquid from the box before using, for this recipe just open the box and pour both the liquid and tofu into the blender as directed in Step 3.
"This recipe makes one two-layer 9-inch cake."
Prep Time: 10 minutes; Cook Time: 30 minutes; Total Time: 40 minutes; Servings: 4; Yield: 1 cake
To view this online, go to https://www.thespruceeats.com/vegan-chocolate-cake-1000681.
Ingredients
1-3/4 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 cups unsweetened cocoa powder
1-1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1-1/2 teaspoons baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 (12.3-ounce) box firm silken tofu
1-1/4 cups maple syrup
3 tablespoons canola oil
1 cup almond milk
1/3 cup boiling water
Directions
Gather the ingredients.
Preheat the oven to 350 F. Lightly oil or grease (with dairy-free soy margarine) 2 (9-inch) round cake pans. Set aside.
Sift together the flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in a medium-sized mixing bowl. Set aside.
Process the tofu in a blender until creamy. Add the maple syrup and oil and process until smooth.
Stir the tofu mixture and almond milk into the dry ingredients. Add the boiling water and continue to stir until the batter is just combined. (The batter should be fairly smooth but will still have some lumps in it.)
Pour the batter into the prepared pans and bake for about 25 to 30 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center of the cakes comes out clean.
Allow the cakes to cool in the pans for about 15 to 20 minutes on a wire cooling rack before removing from the pans to finish cooling on the cooling rack. Once cakes are completely cool, frost with a dairy-free frosting.
CHOCOLATE CHURCH CAKE
This comes from Lisa Donovan in The New York Times cooking e-newsletter. Lisa wrote, "Layer cakes are formative for Southerners: They grace wedding tables, shiva gatherings, quinceañeras, baptisms and funerals. Because of this — and because layer cakes may be as close as some will ever get to a holy experience — they’re often called church cakes. This chocolate one is a perfectly moist and stacked rendition of a pudding cake, with just the right amount of richness from the frosting. This formula needs no alterations, but there’s no sense in breaking the tradition of Southern bakers, who personalize recipes as a point of pride. Add pulverized praline to the center, or cinnamon or instant-coffee granules to the batter. Don’t be afraid to make it your own. To make it a true church cake, serve it to those you hold in the highest regard, for celebrations or to simply indulge in the good glory of company."
Yield: One 9-inch layger cake; Time: 1 hour, plus cooling
To view this online, go to https://cooking.nytimes.com/recipes/1023117-chocolate-church-cake.
Ingredients
For the Frosting:
1-1/2 cups granulated sugar
1-1/2 cups heavy cream
8 ounces unsweetened chocolate
6 ounces grams unsalted butter
1 teaspoon vanilla paste or extract
For the Cake:
Nonstick cooking spray
1 cup unsweetened cocoa powder, dark (Dutch-processed) if available, plus more for pans
3-1/2 cups granulated sugar
2-3/4 cups all-purpose flour (see Tip)
2 teaspoons baking powder
2 teaspoons baking soda
1-1/2 teaspoons fine salt
3 large eggs, beaten
1-1/2 cups buttermilk, preferably cultured whole buttermilk
3/4 cup canola or other neutral oil
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
Preparation
Make the frosting: In a large saucepan, bring sugar and cream to a boil over medium heat, stirring occasionally. Reduce heat to low and simmer for 6 minutes. Meanwhile, chop chocolate and cube butter. After the sugar mixture has simmered for 6 minutes, turn the heat off and add chocolate and butter to the saucepan. Stir until everything is melted. Stir in the vanilla. Remove from heat and let cool to room temperature while you make the cake. Do not stir until it has cooled almost entirely, likely for as long as it will take you to mix and bake the cake.
Make the cake: Heat oven to 325 degrees. Coat three 9-inch round cake pans with nonstick cooking spray. Cut 3 rounds of parchment paper to fit the bottom of each pan and line each pan with one. Spray the parchment. Sprinkle the pans with cocoa powder to coat, tapping each pan over the sink or trash can to shake loose any excess.
Meanwhile, in a very large bowl, whisk the sugar, flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Make a well in the center. Bring 1-1/2 cups water to a boil while you prepare your wet ingredients.
Whisk the eggs, buttermilk, oil and vanilla in a medium bowl. Pour into the dry mixture and whisk gently until incorporated. It will be a bit clumpy but gently work it in. Pour in the boiling water to loosen the batter and gently whisk to combine, being careful not to splash.
Divide the batter evenly among the prepared pans. Each pan should hold about 700 grams of batter. (Weighing your batter ensures even cooking and beautiful cake building.) Bake until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out with a few crumbs, 32 to 35 minutes. Set the pans on a wire rack to cool.
When cakes are cooled, revisit your frosting, whisking to thicken and making sure not to overbeat or add any air or fluff to the frosting. Turn the cakes out of their pans and discard the parchment. Trim any rounded top off of each as evenly as possible.
Assemble the cake: Scoop about 3/4 cup of frosting on one layer set on a cake plate, then repeat with the second and third layers. You can refrigerate the cake in between frosting each layer to ensure that your frosting is set and firm so that your next layer will be propped up properly. If the frosting is too soft, the next layer will just flatten the filling. Frost the outside of the cake with the remaining frosting, letting it chill as you go if needed. Use an offset spatula or butter knife dipped in hot water and wiped clean to smooth and shine the finished cake. This cake keeps and is best served at room temperature for up to 2 days. It holds remarkably well in the refrigerator for up to one week and can be served cold.
Tip
You can substitute an equal amount of a gluten-free baking blend.
CHOCOLATE MOUSSE
I saw something similar to this a few years back and tweaked it a little. For anyone who is sure that he or she won't like tofu, this may be the game-changer.
Ingredients
1 10-12 ounce tub of silken tofu
12 ounce bag of chocolate chips
2 - 3 tablespoons milk (you can use soy milk, if you prefer)
1 tsp vanilla
1 tablespoon maple syrup
Directions
Melt chocolate chips along with the milk over low to medium heat, stirring constantly.
Place silken tofu, melted chocolate chips, vanilla, and syrup into blender. Blend on a medium setting, pulsing if needed to combine.
Pour into 4 bowls or small cups, and let cool for 10 minutes or so.
Dig in! Yum!
DENSE AND DELICIOUS CHOCOLATE CAKE
This is from the October 2006 issue of Vegetarian Times (page 31), and begins, “Wow the chocolate lovers in your life with this fudgy creation that’s as easy to whip up as a cake mix.” Makes 10 servings.
To view this online, click here.
Ingredients
Chocolate Cake
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 cup sugar
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1/4 cup low-fat buttermilk
1 large egg
2 tsp. vanilla extract
1/2 cup brewed espresso or strong coffee
1/2 cup cocoa powder
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, cut into small pieces
Fudge Glaze
2 Tbs. low-fat buttermilk
2 Tbs. cocoa powder
2 Tbs. unsalted butter
1/2 cup confectioners' sugar
1 tsp. vanilla extract
Preparation
Preheat oven to 400F. Coat 9-inch round springform pan with cooking spray. Combine flour, sugar, and baking soda in bowl. Whisk together buttermilk, egg, and vanilla in separate bowl.
Combine espresso and cocoa in large saucepan. Add butter, and bring to a boil over medium-high heat, whisking constantly. Remove from heat, and stir in dry ingredients. Add buttermilk mixture, and whisk until smooth.
Pour batter into prepared pan, and bake 15 to 20 minutes, or until top looks dry but toothpick inserted in center comes out moist.
Meanwhile, make Fudge Glaze: Combine buttermilk, cocoa powder, and butter in medium saucepan, and bring to a boil, stirring constantly. Remove from heat, and stir in sugar and vanilla.
Pierce holes all over cake with skewer or fork. Spread glaze over cake with spatula. Let stand 5 minutes before unmolding, and serve.
BITTERSWEET CHOCOLATE MOUSSE WITH FLEUR DE SEL
This is from Melissa Clark on The New York Times cooking site, as well as in "Briliant Baking" cooking suppliment on Sunday, February 20, 2022. Melissa wrote, "This is an intense, creamy one-ingredient chocolate mousse adapted from the molecular gastronomist Hervé This. The nearly instant recipe contains no cream or eggs, so a complex chocolate can shine. The mousse serves four, and it can be doubled. But even if you’re serving two, don’t be tempted to halve it. More of our favorite Valentine's Day recipes can be found here."
Yield: 4 servings; Time: 10 minutes
This was featured in "For Your Sweetheart, and More," and can be viewed online at https://cooking.nytimes.com/recipes/1014542-bittersweet-chocolate-mousse-with-fleur-de-sel.
Ingredients
285 grams bittersweet chocolate (about 10 ounces), roughly chopped, more as needed (see note)
Fleur de Sel, to taste
Preparation
Create an ice bath in a large bowl using ice and a little cold water. Nestle a smaller bowl in ice bath.
Place chocolate and 1 cup water in a small pot and heat over medium. Whisk until mixture is melted and smooth, about 3 to 5 minutes.
Immediately pour melted chocolate into the bowl in the ice bath. Vigorously whisk chocolate mixture by hand until thick, 3 to 5 minutes. The chocolate should be fluffy and form a mound when dolloped with the whisk (it should generally have the texture and appearance of mousse). If the mixture does not thicken, add a bit more chopped chocolate and remelt over the heat. Spoon into serving bowls and garnish with fleur de sel.
Tip
For a lighter mousse, use 265 grams of bittersweet chocolate or just add more water.
QUICK VEGAN CHOCOLATE PIE
This is from Jolinda Hackett on The Spruce Eats. Jolinda wrote, "This super easy chocolate peanut butter tofu pie, similar to a French silk pie, is vegan and can be prepared in just a few minutes. Just be sure to use vegan chocolate. Use a gluten-free pie crust and this vegan pie can easily be made gluten-free as well.
"This one is a classic recipe that's been floating around vegan circles for decades now. Sure, you can make vegan pies much fancier than this one (with much more expensive and unique ingredients), but we like to keep it old school and simple, from time to time. Plus, all of these ingredients are things you can easily keep on hand, and once you've tried this recipe a few times, you can probably whip it up off the top of your head.
"It's tofu as a base, chocolate chips (check the ingredients if you're vegan), and peanut butter for flavor and a little bit of soy milk to mix it all together. Blend, bake, chill, and done.
"Be sure you use semisweet chocolate chips in this recipe since there's otherwise no sugar. It's not a supersweet recipe, even with the semi-sweet chocolate chips, but the richness of the peanut butter more than makes up for it, in my opinion. If you're used to super-sweet desserts, you might disagree, or, you might be pleasantly surprised with just how much you like it.
"Enjoy your chocolate tofu peanut butter pie."
Cook Time: 0 minutes; Total Time: 5 minutes; Servings: 8; Yield: 1 pie
To view this online, go to https://www.thespruceeats.com/quick-vegan-chocolate-pie-3376759.
Ingredients
1/2 cup chocolate chips
1 (12-ounce) package silken tofu, or firm tofu
1/2 cup peanut butter
2 tablespoons soy milk
1 pre-made pie crust
Directions
Melt the chocolate chips over low heat, stirring frequently to ensure the chocolate doesn't burn.
You can use a double boiler if you have one.
Once the chocolate is melted, blend together the silken tofu, peanut butter, chocolate, and soy milk in the blender until smooth and creamy, adding a bit more soy milk if necessary.
Pour into pie crust and refrigerate until firm, at least one hour.
VEGAN TOFU CHOCOLATE CAKE
This is from Ashley Adams on The Spruce Eats. Ashley wrote, "Prepared with silken tofu in place of the eggs and butter called for in traditional recipes, this chocolate cake is one of the healthiest around, yet still so tasty. Frost with whatever dairy-free frosting suits the occasion.
"Although many recipes that call for silken tofu require that you drain the liquid from the box before using, for this recipe just open the box and pour both the liquid and tofu into the blender as directed in Step 3.
"This recipe makes one two-layer 9-inch cake."
Prep Time: 10 minutes; Cook Time: 30 minutes; Total Time: 40 minutes; Servings: 4; Yield: 1 cake
To view this online, go to https://www.thespruceeats.com/vegan-chocolate-cake-1000681.
Ingredients
1-3/4 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 cups unsweetened cocoa powder
1-1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1-1/2 teaspoons baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 (12.3-ounce) box firm silken tofu
1-1/4 cups maple syrup
3 tablespoons canola oil
1 cup almond milk
1/3 cup boiling water
Directions
Gather the ingredients.
Preheat the oven to 350 F. Lightly oil or grease (with dairy-free soy margarine) 2 (9-inch) round cake pans. Set aside.
Sift together the flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in a medium-sized mixing bowl. Set aside.
Process the tofu in a blender until creamy. Add the maple syrup and oil and process until smooth.
Stir the tofu mixture and almond milk into the dry ingredients. Add the boiling water and continue to stir until the batter is just combined. (The batter should be fairly smooth but will still have some lumps in it.)
Pour the batter into the prepared pans and bake for about 25 to 30 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center of the cakes comes out clean.
Allow the cakes to cool in the pans for about 15 to 20 minutes on a wire cooling rack before removing from the pans to finish cooling on the cooling rack. Once cakes are completely cool, frost with a dairy-free frosting.
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