Flourless Chocolate Cake

Flourless Chocolate Cake - made August 7, 2022 from Everything Chocolate by America's Test Kitchen

12 ounces bittersweet chocolate. broken into 1-inch pieces

16 tablespoons unsalted butter

6 large eggs

1 cup (7 ounces) granulated sugar

1/2 cup water

1 tablespoon cornstarch

1 tablespoon vanilla extract

1 teaspoon instant espresso powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

1. Preheat oven to 275 degrees F. Spray 9-inch springform pan with nonstick cooking spray.
2. In the top half of a double boiler set over hot water, whisk together bittersweet chocolate and butter until completely melted and smooth. Remove from heat and let cool for 5 minutes. 
3. Whisk eggs, granulated sugar, water, cornstarch, vanilla extract, espresso powder and salt in large bowl until thoroughly combined, about 30 seconds. Whisk in chocolate mixture until smooth and slightly thickened, about 45 seconds. Strain batter through fine-mesh strainer into prepared pan, pressing against strainer with rubber spatula or back of ladle to help batter pass through. Gently tap on counter to release air bubbles; let sit on counter for 10 minutes to allow air bubbles to rise to top. Use toothpick to gently pop any air bubbles that have risen to the surface. 
4. Bake until edges are set and center jiggles slightly when shaken gently, 45 to 50 minutess.
5. Let cake cool in pan on wire rack for 5 minutes; run thin knife around edges of pan to loosen cake. Let cake cool on rack until barely warm, about 30 minutes. Cover cake tightly with plastic wrap, poke a small hole in top and refrigerate until cold and firmly set, at least 6 hours or up to 2 days. Remove sides of pan and slide thin metal spatula between cake bottom and pan bottom to loosen, then slide cake onto platter. Let cake stand at room temperature for 30 minutes before serving. 

just out of the oven

Before you even think about making this cake, you have to make sure you have high quality chocolate for it. If you don't, sorry, but don't bother making it or else you won't enjoy it. I'm not normally so definitive (and judgy, no, wait, I am usually judgy) but you can't make something like a flourless chocolate cake with inferior chocolate. The chocolate in this recipe is the star and is used in a large enough quantity that it can't hide behind the other ingredients. 

after chilling overnight

I used Valrhona from Trader Joe's but you can go with any other good-quality chocolate like Lindt, Scharffenberger, Callebaut and so on. Guittard and Ghirardelli are fine; I'm less convinced about Hershey and Nestle but I'll leave that up to you and your taste buds.

The earmarks of a good flourless chocolate cake are the flavor (hence the good chocolate needed) and the texture. Because it doesn't have flour, it isn't going to be cakey like the name "cake" would imply. Instead, it should be dense, rich and smooth. Not light and airy like a mousse, not as slickly creamy like a ganache but firm and creamy but solid.

I tried to do a few closeups so you can see what I mean. I did follow the directions to let the cake batter sit for 10 minutes and then poke out the holes with a toothpick. I also tapped it on the counter a few times to also break up air bubbles and let them come to the surface to be toothpick-pricked out.

As you can see, I was unsuccessful as the air bubbles seemed to come out of nowhere as soon as I put this in the oven. That doesn't affect the taste or texture, just the appearance on top with those baked in air bubbles. Bah. If you want this more aesthetically pleasing, you can always drizzle caramel or white chocolate in thin stripes across the top or dust it with powdered sugar. I left it naked because I'm not that fussy.

You will want to cut these slices thin and small. Because they are rich. I liked this cake but a little goes a long way. It makes a 9-inch pan and could easily serve 9 chocoholics comfortably or 18 normal people. I'm not kidding.

The great thing about this cake is this richness implies great baking skill and that you can churn out very good desserts. Maybe you can anyway but this cake is really easy for even novice bakers. The only thing to watch out for is you're going to be tempted to overbake this because after 50 minutes at 300 degrees, which is how long I baked mine for, this won't look done. But it is. Take it out, let it cool to room temperature, cover and wrap it in plastic wrap and put it in the refrigerator overnight. That's how you'll get that dense, fudgy, smooth texture.

Crumbl Cookies review #30 - Caramel Popcorn and Lemon Poppyseed

Crumbl Cookies review #30 - Caramel Popcorn and Lemon Poppyseed

Before I get into the review of this week's cookies, it might be a little ironic that the week I finally post a review of the cookies actually available this week, it might be my last week for a regular Crumbl run. Yeah, yeah, I've tried that before and it didn't happen. The main reason I might actually break up with Crumbl for longer than 12 days this time is a trifecta of higher cookie prices, the addition of a service fee and the consistent inconsistency of not getting good-quality cookies.

Anyone who knows me knows I've always been a major proponent of small businesses. And despite Crumbl as a corporation being a multi-million dollar company, their stores are franchised and I consider franchise owners to be small business owners because most of them are. So I understand when they have to raise prices as they've got to run a profitable business or they wouldn't be in business at all. The prices of ingredients have gone up and I want their workers to be paid a livable wage so payroll costs have to be covered; I get it. Plus these cookies are a luxury item and if you can't afford a luxury item, you don't buy it. I'm less blase about the "service fee" which is 2.95% of my total. Are you passing along the costs Visa and Mastercard charge for using a debit or credit card? If so, do I still get charged that 2.95% fee if I pay cash? I suspect so but I haven't tried that out yet. It's also lousy timing to raise cookie prices and institute the service fee the same week, not to mention a sneaky way to nickel and dime the consumer and hope they don't notice a double price increase (spoiler alert: I noticed).

But those things I can suck up because again, luxury item, cookies, don't buy it if you can't afford it or don't want to pay the price, yada yada. What's harder for me to swallow (ha) is the diminishing quality and greater level of inconsistency of the cookies I've been getting lately: more dry, worse texture and, in a few cases, definitely not as advertised by Crumbl when filled cookies don't have filling, toppings are skimpy or whatever else when a $4 cookie is now a $5+ cookie (I always tip; don't suggest I could get the cookies for less if I stopped tipping because I won't - that's a personal choice) so I'm paying more for what may or may not be a good cookie. So that's my 3-paragraph lead-in that (silver lining) I really will be cutting back a lot more on Crumbl and only making it an occasional purchase when the flavor is worth it in terms of the expense and the risk of getting or not getting a good cookie.

Peanut Butter Blossom

On to this week's cookies. Only for me to tell you I don't know what the Peanut Butter Blossom tastes like because I didn't have any. I bought this for my niece and her boyfriend since they're the peanut butter lovers. The cookie looks good and matches what Corporate Crumbl advertised this week so it has that going for it.

I had never had the caramel popcorn before so I was curious to try it. I only ate 1/4 of a cookie as the taste test and shared the rest with my mom, niece and her boyfriend. This one was okay but I think the caramel popcorn on top as a garnish was unnecessary. The caramel drizzle on top softens the popcorn so when you eat it, it comes off as stale since it's soggy from the caramel. The frosting was a little thick for me and sweet so it almost overwhelmed the cookie. 

Caramel Popcorn

The cookie itself was good but I wouldn't get this one again. The cookie base wasn't anything special, the frosting was too sweet and the popcorn garnish comes across as stale. This wouldn't be worth it under the old, cheaper pricing structure and definitely wouldn't be worth it under the new, higher prices.

Lemon Poppyseed

The Lemon Poppyseed was the one I was most interested in trying as I like the flavor combination. Below is the picture and description from Crumbl's website. The description reads: "A zesty lemon cookie packed with yummy poppy seeds then stuffed with a lemony filling and smothered in a lemon almond glaze (Now containing real almond extract)"

The outside of the cookie I got matches the Crumbl website pretty faithfully. The inside does not. The pictures speak for themselves. Apparently my Crumbl either forgot to put any lemon filling inside the cookie or put in so little it baked into the cookie. Either way, it didn't meet my expectations or deliver what Crumbl promised. This happened with the Molten Lava cookie as well; hence my earlier comment about the consistent inconsistency isn't worth the price anymore. Sometimes the cookies are amazing, sometimes they're not. The lack of consistency is a disincentive for me to keep getting their cookies. The quality isn't there consistently but I'm still paying for the cookies and now I have to pay more for the risk that it will or won't be a good cookie. This isn't a risk that I won't like a flavor; this is the risk that the cookie doesn't have what it's supposed to have (filling) or that it isn't made the way it's supposed to be (overbaked, in the warmer too long).

Someone online who I think works or owns a Crumbl suggested I contact my local store about the lemon poppyseed and get another cookie. While I appreciate the suggestion of giving the store the opportunity to make things right, I don't really do that kind of thing, especially for something like a cookie. It's not worth the gas, time or drive back to the store (I didn't discover the no-filling until I got home), I don't want to make the always-nice-and-polite store employees feel bad about it because, hey, it's "just a cookie". 

Picture from Crumbl's advertising of the lemon poppyseed

On one hand, it's good I'm not a "Karen" who is high maintenance on a store. On the other hand, I think this makes me a worse kind of customer for Crumbl because I ended my transaction with them on a bad note for me and because of it, I will be giving them less business in the future. I'm sure my local store would rather I give them the opportunity to make things right and keep on being a frequent customer. But the reality is I'm not going to complain about every cookie I don't feel was up to standard and they had their chance the first time to sell the "right" cookie that was advertised. If this was the first time it happened, I'd cut them more slack. But it isn't the first, second, third or even fourth time.  At some point, it isn't worth the hassle and as a customer, I'm going to move on. I think I'm at that point with Crumbl.

Picture of the lemon poppyseed I got

Creamy Parmesan Spinach Orzo from Life as a Strawberry

Creamy Parmesan Spinach Orzo - made August 8, 2022 from Life as a Strawberry 

2 cups uncooked orzo pasta

2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

2 green onions, chopped (I substituted a regular onion - my mistake)

1 clove garlic, minced

salt and pepper to taste

2 tablespoons flour

1 3/4 cups milk

2 cups fresh spinach, roughly chopped

1 cup shredded parmesan cheese

1. Cook orzo in very salty water until al dente. Drain and set aside.
2. Heat olive oil in a medium-sized pot over medium heat. Add green onion and garlic. Saute, stirring, for about a minute until onions have softened and garlic is fragrant. Add salt and pepper, stirring to combine.
3. Add flour and stir to combine. Let cook for 30 seconds to cook out any raw flour tastee.
4. Add milk to the pot, a little at a time, whisking constantly to work out any lumps. Cook, stirring occasionally, until sauce has thickened and reached a low simmer, about 5-8 minutess.
5. Add chopped spinach to sauce and stir to combine. Add parmesan cheese. Stir until cheese has melted and sauce is smooth. Add cooked orzo to sauce and toss to coat. Turn off heat and serve immediately.

Another orzo recipe, similar to the last one I posted with spinach and parmesan cheese. You know when I do very similar recipes one after the other, that means I have the same ingredients to use up. This is like the Italian Sausage Orzo but also noticeably different since it doesn't have the sausage in it so it can easily fit in on a meatless day. It's made with whole milk instead of heavy cream so it's also a bit lighter.

I have to say though that it's also a bit more bland. I used a regular onion instead of green onions and erred further by not cooking the onion enough so they didn't soften enough and instead made the dish a little crunchy. I don't mind the flavor of onions but definitely don't like their texture unless they've been cooked and softened enough to blend with the pasta. Which they didn't here but that was user error on my part. This was okay but I think it would've been better with some mild or spicy Italian sausage to add more flavor. But hey, I did end up eating more spinach that I usually do.

Seriously Fudgy Homemade Brownies from Sally's Baking Addiction

Seriously Fudgy Homemade Brownies - made July 26, 2022 from Sally's Baking Addiction 

3/4 cup unsalted butter

4 ounces semisweet chocolate, coarsely chopped

2 cups granulated sugar

3 large eggs

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

1 cup (82 grams) unsweetened cocoa powder

1 cup (125 grams) all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon salt

1 1/4 cups chocolate chips, optional

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line a 9 x 13 pan with foil and lightly spray with nonstick cooking spray.
2. In the top half of a double boiler set over hot water, melt butter and 2 ounces semisweet chocolate, whisking until completely melted and smooth.
3. Remove from heat and add granulated sugar, eggs and vanilla extract, whisking until completely combined.
4. In a small bowl, whisk together cocoa powder, flour and salt. Add to melted chocolate mixture, stirring with a wooden spoon until combined. Fold in remaining semisweet chocolate and chocolate chips if using.
5. Bake 25-30 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the corner comes out clean but a toothpick inserted near the center comes out with a few moist crumbs. Do not overbake. Remove from oven and let cool before cutting and serving.

I think I need to remake these again and leave off the Nutella Crunch topping so I can give the "plain" brownies an honest rating. Because I love this topping so much, I'd probably eat it off cardboard.

Nevertheless, I *think* this was a good brownie. It might not have been as fudgy as it should have been but that was user error. Meaning I turned the oven off and meant to leave the brownies in there for another 2 minutes to make sure it wasn't too underbaked. 10 minutes and a few answered emails later, underbaked wasn't a problem. Yes, I forgot it in the oven. And also, yes, good thing the oven was already turned off. But still, these baked longer than I intended.

That didn't seem to have done it too much harm, according to the people I shared these with but I think they too loved the topping so they forgave any deficiencies in the base. So I'll log the recipe here for now with a reminder to myself to come back another time and bake just the brownie (and to bake them properly without forgetting them in the oven). Recipes from Sally's Baking Addiction are usually on the mark so I'm sure the original brownie would be just fine without the topping.

Crumbl Cookies review #29 - Walnut Fudge Brownie and Lemonade

Crumbl Cookies review #29 - Walnut Fudge Brownie and Lemonade

Still trying to catch up to the current week's Crumbl flavors. This was last week's so I'm getting there. The lineup for last week was (in the picture below: left to right, top to bottom) Fried Ice Cream, Lemonade, Cotton Candy, Old-Fashioned Doughnut, Milk Chocolate Chip and Walnut Fudge Brownie. 

I only meant to try one flavor this week. I was intrigued by the Fried Ice Cream, having never had it before. But it's a chilled cookie and while I always let them come to room temperature before I eat one, some of the online reviews said the topping got stale and was mostly cornflakes. Pass. I don't care for cotton candy and while I figured the doughnut one would be good, it bothers me (yes, I can be bothered by a cookie concept) that the middle is missing to mimic a real doughnut. The middle is the best part of a cookie! I wasn't interested in the Walnut Fudge brownie either as I don't like walnuts and I often find Crumbl's chocolate cookies to be too rich for me. So I was only going to get the Lemonade last week.

Walnut Fudge Brownie

But yes, you'll notice the pictures of the Walnut Fudge Brownie. No I didn't weaken and change my mind. I was out doing errands and there just happened to be a Crumbl nearby that I hadn't tried before. So of course I went to try it. I ordered the Lemonade and when they gave it to me, to my surprise, the Crumbl guy gave me two additional boxes of the Walnut Fudge brownie cookie. Two.

I suspect these were extras they had too much of but I'm not one to look at gift cookies askance so I thanked him, told him "that's so nice of you" and was really glad I always tip when I buy a cookie as I had just gotten 3 cookies for the price of one. And it turns out I did like this cookie. I still don't care for walnuts but the cookie itself was just like a (delicious) brownie, rather than the sometimes too-rich Crumbl chocolate cookie. This store also had the perfect amount of glaze, not too much or too thick. I ate half a cookie and put the other 1 1/2 cookies in the freezer to enjoy later. 

Lemonade

I was full from the unexpected half cookie brownie so I had to wait to try the Lemonade. Which worked out since it was initially chilled and I had to let it come to room temperature.

I loved this cookie. It was the perfect, slightly underbaked texture of a Crumbl sugar cookie although not quite as sweet. The lemonade frosting was nicely tart. There was a little too much frosting for me but not the usual layer of a thickly frosted Crumbl cookie. The frosting complemented the cookie perfectly.

The texture of the cookie base was so good I debated going back the next day to get another Lemonade to freeze for later. I resisted the temptation since I still had 1 1/2 Walnut Brownie cookies in the freezer already (plus a few other random piece of past cookies) but yes, I did think about it. This definitely goes on my list to get again. I also have to keep this particular Crumbl location in mind for a repeat visit, not in the hopes of getting free cookies again (although that wouldn't hurt my feelings) but because they baked both cookies just right.

Crumbl Cookies review #28 - Banana Bread cookie

Crumbl Cookies review #28: Banana Bread cookie, visited August 5, 2022

Someday I'm going to get caught up enough to publish my reviews of Crumbl cookies the same week the flavor(s) I've tried are actually available. Today is not that day. Tomorrow's not looking good either. 

This was from a couple of weeks ago. It was also a week that I could have either skipped entirely or found it was easy to go with just one flavor. I had already had the chocolate caramel before, I don't like mint and chocolate together, I'd rather eat strawberries in their original form than in a cookie and I don't care for peanut butter so it was easy to pass up the monster cookie. Which only left me with one viable flavor. And as you can tell, I didn't skip the week and the only flavor that tempted me was the banana bread cookie. 

This was the display cookie - banana bread

Turns out, I should've skipped this week after all. Not that the banana bread cookie was bad because it wasn't. But it was fully baked which means, while it wasn't exactly dry, it also wasn't moist and didn't have the soft, underbaked texture I prefer in my Crumbl cookies. 

The middle part of the cookie came closest to it but overall, the flavor wasn't anything special and it appears that I don't like bready cookies. Glad I tried it, glad the icing was light, wouldn't get again.

Italian Sausage Orzo from Salt and Lavender

Italian Sausage Orzo - made August 5, 2022 from Salt and Lavender

17.6 ounces Italian sausages, removed from casings

1/2 medium onion, finely chopped

3-4 cloves garlic, minced

1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper flavor

1 cup uncooked orzo pasta

2 cups chicken broth

1 cup heavy whipping cream

1/2 cup freshly grated Parmesan

2 cups fresh baby spinach, packed

salt and pepper to taste.

1. In a large saucepan set over medium heat, crumble sausage and cook for 5 minutes, stirring frequently to prevent sticking.
2. Add onion and cook another 5 minutes until sausage is browned and onions are soft.
3. Stir in the garlic, red pepper flakes and orzo, stirring for 30 seconds.
4. Stir in the chicken broth and cream. Once it starts to bubble, continue cooking for 10 minutes, uncovered, stirring constantly. Lower the heat so the mixture gently bubbles, not boils. 
5. Take the pot off the heat, stir in the parmesan and spinach and cover the pot for 3-5 minutes or until sauce has thickened and spinach is soft. Season with salt and pepper as desired.

I love simple, one-dish meals. Even better if I can sneak in something a little healthy and eat it without choking. Of course I refer to the spinach above. I don't love spinach but I can usually eat it raw (with other stuff) or cooked (with other stuff). It's one of the few vegetables I'll eat cooked as I prefer the few veggies I do eat to be raw. But cook down some spinach in a quiche or a cream-based dish, I'm good. Yes, I know that takes away from the nutritious value of spinach but oh well.

I don't usually cook with orzo but this seemed so easy to make (and it was), that I wanted to try it.

This is a great dish if you want something easy and quick to make. The Italian sausage adds some spice and protein to the dish and okay, fine, the heavy cream and parmesan cheese don't make it that healthy but hey, spinach.

Turns out I like orzo because it seems like a good cross between rice and pasta. Plus it's easy to cook with. And even the spinach goes down easy in this dish.