Chocolate Cloud Cake

Makes one 8-inch cake serving 6-8 (This is very rich. Cut it into six wedges for decadence or 8 wedges for the more sensible.)

Recipe from Richard Sax via Food52

Husband-Tested in Alice’s Kitchen

This is the cake you make when a special occasion dessert is called for.  This is quite easy to prepare and so indulgently delicious, especially for chocolate-lovers.  You can make the cake in the morning of a party and while the cake is cooling, the pan can be washed and stored away.  When dessert time comes, brew up some coffee and whip the cream.  Wowza!

Cake:

8 oz. (225 g) best-quality bittersweet chocolate, coarsely chopped

½ cup (110 g) unsalted butter, room temperature and cut into 1-Tablespoon pieces

6 large eggs, room temperature

1 cup (200 g) sugar, divided

2 Tablespoons cognac or Grand Marnier

Finely grated zest of 1 orange

Whipped Cream:

1 ½ cups (355 g) heavy cream, very cold

3 Tablespoons powdered sugar

1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

Unsweetened cocoa powder and/or bittersweet chocolate shavings, for decoration

To make the cake, heat the oven to 350F (175C) with a rack in the center.  Line the bottom of an 8-inch (20 cm) springform pan with parchment paper.  (Do not butter the pan and parchment.)

Melt the chocolate in a heatproof owl set over but not touching gently simmering water in a saucepan.  You can whisk it occasionally to help it along.  When the chocolate is melted, remove the bowl from the heat and whisk in the butter until smooth.  Set aside.

In two small bowls, separate 4 of the eggs.  In a large bowl, whisk 2 whole eggs and the 4 egg yolks with ½ cup (100 g) of the sugar just until combined.  Slowly whisk in the warm chocolate mixture.  Whisk in the cognac and the orange zest. 

Using a mixer with a whisk attachment and a separate bowl, beat the 4 egg white until foamy.  Gradually add the remaining ½ cup (100 g) sugar and beat until beautifully glossy, soft peaks form that hold their shape but aren’t quite stiff and dry.  Very gently, fold about a quarter of the beaten egg whites into the chocolate mixture to lighten it, then gently fold in the remaining whites.  Scrape the batter into the prepared springform pan and gently smooth the top. 

Set the pan on a rimmed baking sheet and bake until the top is puffed and cracked and the center is no longer wobbly, 35-40 minutes.  Be careful not to bake the cake beyond this point.

Let the cake cook in the pan on a rack.  The center of the cake will sink as it cools, forming a sort of crater.  This is a good thing!  Let the cake cool completely on a rack.

While the cake is cooling, put the bowl you plan to use to prepare the whipped cream in the refrigerator along with a whisk.  Whipping cream is much easier to make when everything is quite cold. 

Whip the cream, powdered sugar and vanilla in a large bowl with a mixer that has a whisk attachment.  Whip until the cream is billowy, soft (not stiff) peaks form.

Just before you plan to serve the cake, top it with the cream.  Using a spatula, fill the sunken center of the cake with the whipped cream, swirling the cream to the edges of the crater.  Dust the top lightly with cocoa powder.  (If you wish, you can top it with chocolate shavings.)

Run the tip of a knife around the edge of the cake, carefully remove the sides of the pan, and cut into wedges to serve.

Store any leftovers airtight in the refrigerator.  The cake won’t be as presentable and will have a more mousse-like texture. 

Flourless Chocolate-Coconut Drop Cookies (Gluten Free)

Recipe from Everyday Food

Husband-Tested in Marimar’s Kitchen (Alice’s daughter-in-law)

Yield:  2 dozen cookies

While visiting our family in Mexico, my daughter-in-law treated us to these FABULOUS cookies.  The texture was a mix between chewy and crunchy, a perfect cookie bite for chocolate lovers.

3 cups confectioners' sugar (powdered sugar), sifted

¾ cup Dutch-process cocoa powder (spooned and leveled)

½ teaspoon fine salt


¾ cup semisweet chocolate chips (5 ounces)

1 cup roughly chopped toasted almonds (Marimar used a small chopper for this task.)


¾ cup sweetened shredded coconut (Unsweetened would probably work just fine.)

4 large egg whites

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees, with racks in middle and lower thirds. In a large bowl, whisk together confectioners' sugar, cocoa, and salt. Stir in chocolate chips, almonds, and coconut. Add egg whites and stir until combined (do not overmix).

2. Drop dough by rounded tablespoons, 2 inches apart, onto parchment-lined baking sheets. Bake until tops are dry and cracked, 15 to 18 minutes, rotating sheets halfway through. Let cool completely on sheets on wire racks.

Lime Meltaway Cookies

Makes about 5 dozen

Recipe from Martha Stewart

Husban-Tested in Alice’s Kitchen

These cookies are truly melt-in-your-mouth good.  Make a batch or two and freeze the dough logs.  Thaw the logs in the fridge the night before you plan to bake them.  Slice and bake the cookies later when you have need of a perfect treat to go with a cup of hot tea.

¾ cup (1½ sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature

1 cup confectioners’ (powdered) sugar, divided


Finely grated zest of 2 limes


2 Tablespoons fresh lime juice

1 Tablespoon pure vanilla extract


1¾ cups plus 2 Tablespoons all-purpose flour

2 Tablespoons cornstarch


¼ teaspoon coarse salt

Put butter and 1/3 cup confectioners’ sugar in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, and mix on medium speed until pale and fluffy. Add the lime zest and juice and the vanilla, and mix until fluffy.

Whisk together flour, cornstarch, and salt in a bowl. Add to butter mixture, and mix on low speed until just combined.

Divide dough in half. Place each log on an 8 by 12-inch sheet of parchment. Roll in parchment to form a log 1¼ inches in diameter, pressing a ruler along edge of parchment at each turn to narrow log. Refrigerate logs until cold and firm, at least 1 hour.

Preheat oven to 350°F. Remove parchment from logs; cut into 1/4-inch-thick rounds. Space rounds 1 inch apart on baking sheets lined with parchment paper. Bake cookies until barely golden, about 13 minutes, rotating sheets halfway through. Transfer cookies to wire racks to cool slightly, 8 to 10 minutes. While still warm, toss cookies with remaining 2/3 cup sugar in a resealable plastic bag. (I found that putting the powdered sugar in a pie plate and gently tossing the cookies in the sugar worked better and kept the cookies from crumbling.) Cookies can be stored in airtight containers at room temperature up to 2 weeks.