chocolate Archives - Page 6 of 7 - What the Forks for Dinner?

Gluten Free Brownies

Gluten Free Brownies

Sometimes in life you meet someone, who through unforeseen circumstances, life throws a curve ball.

I know a young woman at school who is having such an experience. Angela is the daughter of one of my staff at school, she is in her Senior year of High School and has been ill for much of that time. She has gone through a lot this year and has managed to do so with grace and a sense of humor, that I am not sure I would have had at her age…….she is beautiful inside and out. Although she is getting better, she has learned that a gluten free diet may help. As anyone who is trying gluten free knows substitutes, especially for sweets can be a challenge.

I talk about my blog at work, and my staff has listened to me go on and on about whatever it is that I am doing for my blog. They have been my guinea pigs, official taste testers, and sounding boards. I was talking about a request from a friend of mine for gluten free recipes and Angela made a comment that she had tried gluten free brownies and they were awful.

Perusing Pinterest one day, I came across a recipe for a gluten free brownie using of all things, black beans. The original recipe is from Skinnytaste, a food blog that I follow. I wondered if they would taste like a real brownie and how they would turn out. With Angela in mind I made them.

Now, I must admit I was a little scared to taste them, as I have never had much luck with substitutions in baking. I was sooooo very surprised! They were gooey, chocolatey, fudgy, and quite frankly, I don’t know anyone who would be able to tell that they were not regular brownies.

But the real test would be having Angela taste them. Now, I am sure that she was just as leery as I was to eat them, but she did and the look on her face was priceless. She loved them!!!

So, this recipe is for Angela and all of those who are looking for a yummy gluten free brownie 🙂

They are so good you may have to hide them………..

Gluten Free Brownies

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Author: Skinnytaste
Prep Time: 15 minutes
Cook Time: 30 mins
Total Time: 45 minutes
Yield: 16 1x
Category: Dessert
Method: Bake
Cuisine: Amreican

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Ingredients

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1 (14 oz) canned low-sodium black beans, rinsed and drained
2 large eggs
1/2 cup cocoa powder
3/4 cup sugar
1/2 teaspoon oil
1 tablespoon unsweetened vanilla almond milk
1 teaspoon balsamic vinegar
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon of freshly ground coffee or instant coffee
1 cup semisweet chocolate chips, divided

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Instructions

Preheat the oven to 350° F. Grease a nonstick 9 x 9-inch square baking pan with baking spray and line with parchment paper, leaving a 2-inch overhang on all sides.
Blend the black beans, eggs, cocoa powder, sugar, oil, almond milk, balsamic, baking soda, baking powder and coffee in the blender until smooth and pour into a bowl. Fold in 1/2 cup chocolate chips until combined. Pour the brownie batter into the prepared pan. Sprinkle the remaining chocolate chips evenly over the top of the brownies.
Bake the brownies until a toothpick comes out clean, about 30 to 32 minutes. Allow the brownies to cool completely before slicing them into squares.

Keywords: gluten free, brownie, bake, black beans, chocolate

Caramel Cookie Dough Bars

Caramel Cookie Dough Bars

I am not usually a fan of a cookie bar………until I made these Caramel Cookie Dough Bars. All I can say is yum!!!

Shortbread is one of my favorite tastes, a little bit sweet, a little bit salty, and little bit crispy……just an all around tasty treat. Every year for Christmas,once we reached a certain age,my Grandma would buy us a tin of shortbread cookies and wrap them in a dish towel. I loved those tins and the cookies.To this day shortbread always reminds me of my Grandma.

Since this is a layered bar I guess I will need to speak of each layer. Shortbread……check!

Caramel…..it can make anything taste great. Now, I have made homemade caramel many times, but I discovered a little secret…….Dulce de Leche. It’s caramel, in a can, already to go! It’s in the same section as the sweetened condensed milk at the grocery store. If I can save a step,and it tastes great, I say why not! But feel free to make your own for this recipe.

Cookie Dough……I have never made cookie dough without eggs before and since you do not bake these bars, except for the shortbread layer, you need an egg free cookie dough. This one is really good and you don’t have to worry about getting sick from eating it.

Chocolate Ganache…….what can I say about dark chocolate and cream that hasn’t already been said……….it’s a slice of heaven.

Combine all these layers and you get a sinfully rich and delicious bar. Speaking of which, I think there are two still left…………yeah!

Caramel Cookie Dough Bars

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Author: Marty Boyd
Prep Time: 15 minutes plus 30 minutes set time
Cook Time: 35 minutes
Total Time: 1 hour 30 minutes
Yield: 24 servings 1x
Category: Dessert
Method: Bake
Cuisine: American

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Ingredients

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For Shortbread:
2 cups (4 sticks) butter, softened
1 cup sugar
1/4 cup light brown sugar, packed
3 3/4 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
For Caramel:
1 can dulce de leche (by the sweetened condensed milk)
For Cookie Dough:
1 cup (2 sticks) butter, softened
1/2 cup sugar
1 cup light brown sugar, packed
2 tablespoons heavy cream
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup semisweet chocolate chips
For Chocolate Ganache:
1 1/2 cups dark chocolate chips
1 cup heavy cream
1 tablespoon vanilla extract

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Instructions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Generously coat a 9×13 baking dish with cooking spray and line with parchment paper, leaving a 1-inch overhang on two sides.  To make the shortbread, beat butter and sugars for 2-3 minutes until light and fluffy. Add in flour and salt and mix on low until just combined. Press the dough into prepared pan. Bake at 350 for 30-35 minutes until edges are slightly browned.
For the caramel layer: Spread caramel evenly over the shortbread crust. Place in freezer for about 15 minutes.
To prepare cookie dough, beat butter and sugars on medium speed for 2-3 minutes until light and fluffy. Add heavy cream and vanilla and mix well. Add flour and salt and mix on low speed until just incorporated. Stir in the mini chocolate chips. Spread cookie dough on top of caramel layer using a spatula to smooth dough into an even layer. Refrigerate the dough while you prepare the chocolate ganache.
Chocolate Ganache Layer: Place 1 cup chocolate chips and heavy cream in a glass bowl. Microwave in 30 second intervals until chocolate is melted. Remove from microwave and add remaining chocolate chips and vanilla and stir until smooth and silky. Pour the ganache over the cookie dough layer and chill until set, about 30 minutes.
To remove bars from pan, grasp the edges of the parchment paper and lift out the entire block. Place on a cutting board and use a large sharp knife to cut into 2-inch squares. Refrigerated in an airtight container, bars will keep for up to 3 days.

Keywords: chocolate, cookie dough, dessert bar, bake

This recipe was adapted from http://www.kevinandamanda.com/recipes/dessert/cookie-dough-billionaire-bars

Chocolate Stout Bundt Cake

Chocolate Stout Bundt Cake

Maybe my site should have been called What the “Forks” for Dessert?……..hmmmm. My renewed love of baking has me making desserts……ALOT!!!!!

After making Corned Beef Tacos and Rueben Pizza, I had one Guinness Stout beer left from all the corned beef I cooked………Just toss the corned beef into a cockpot and cover it with the beer……..no muss…….no fuss. Except for that extra beer. Tim and I are teetotalers, so what to do with that beer? Chocolate Stout Bundt Cake……… who would think a chocolate cake made with beer………..not me!

Pinterest is a wealth of information. I came across a recipe for a Chocolate Stout Cake. The original recipes was from Fine Cooking, but I tweaked it just a bit…….I really did not think a beer in a dessert would taste very good, what a surprise …….even the batter was yummy. I know, you are not suppose to eat stuff with raw eggs in it, but in my life time I have eaten copious amounts of raw batter dough, and lived to tell the tale.

But seriously, the elderly, infants, and those with impaired immune systems should not eat any foods with raw eggs in them due to the risk of Salmonella.

Back to my little cakes………..they came out moist and the beer must have made the chocolate………more chocolaty. I made mine in individual size, but you can make one big cake in a regular size bundt pan if you wish. A simple chocolate glaze makes the Chocolate Stout Bundt Cake an elegant looking, chocolate dessert fit for St Patty’s Day or anytime you want a fancy dessert.

Chocolate Stout Bundt Cake

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Author: Marty Boyd
Prep Time: 15 minutes
Cook Time: 50 minutes
Total Time: 1 hour 5 minutes
Yield: 10 servings 1x
Category: Dessert
Method: Bake
Cuisine: American

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Description

My take on the Fine Cooking version.

Ingredients

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1–1/4 cups stout, such as Guinness (don’t include the foam when measuring)
1/3 cup dark molasses
1 2/3 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 cup unsweetened natural cocoa powder (extra for dusting the pans)
1–1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoons baking soda
1/2 teaspoons salt
1 1/4 cups unsalted butter, softened at room temperature
1–1/2 cups packed light brown sugar
3 large eggs
6 oz. semisweet chocolate, very finely chopped
For the glaze:
3/4 cup heavy cream
6 oz. semisweet chocolate

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Instructions

Pre-heat the oven to 350ºF. Spray a 10- or 12-cup bundt pan (or twelve 1-cup mini bundt pans) with cooking non stick cooking spray and then lightly coat with sifted cocoa powder. Tap out any excess cocoa.
In a small saucepan bring the stout and molasses to a simmer. Remove the pan from the heat and let stand while preparing the cake batter.
Sift together the flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, baking soda, and salt into a large bowl. Cream the butter in a large bowl on medium speed ( stand or hand mixer) until smooth, about 1 minute. Add the brown sugar and beat on medium speed until light and fluffy. Scraping the bowl as needed. Beat in the eggs one at a time. On low speed, alternate the flour and stout mixtures. Scraping the bowl as needed.Then beat at medium speed until the batter is smooth. Stir in the chopped chocolate.
Spoon the batter into the prepared pan (or pans), spreading evenly. Tap pan on table a few time to remove air bubbles. Bake until a wooden skewer inserted in the center comes out clean, 45 to 50 minutes (about 25 -30 minutes for mini cakes). Set the pan on a rack to cool for 20 minutes. Invert the cake onto the rack and remove the pan. Let cool.
Make the glaze:
Bring the cream to a boil in a small saucepan over high heat. Remove the pan from the heat and add the chocolate. Let stand for 1 minute and then whisk until the chocolate is melted and smooth. Let cool for 5 minutes.
Drizzle cakes with glaze and then let cool.

Keywords: stout beer, chocolate, cake, bake, bundt