“Those cake pops were seriously the best cake pops I’ve ever had! Even better than Freeport Bakery.”

This high praise comes from a former co-worker, Mariel. For her last day in our office, I wanted to bake something special as a surprise. I knew she liked cake pops and salted caramel (she requested that I make salted caramel macarons a few months ago, which I will post soon). The idea of a salted caramel cake pop was born.

I was shocked that I couldn’t find any recipes for salted caramel cake pops online. I ended up adapting my salted caramel cupcakes (one of my all-time favorite cupcake recipes). However, once I covered them in chocolate, the delicate salted caramel flavor of the cake and frosting was overwhelmed by the chocolate. I made a salted caramel sauce to drizzle on top (along with a sprinkle of fleur de sel, a French sea salt). I think you could probably use an easier vanilla frosting recipe and simply make some salted caramel sauce to pour over them.

Stay tuned for Valentine’s Day recipes coming next week, including some heart shaped cake pops. I realize I’m a bit behind as far as food blog schedules go, but I couldn’t bring myself to bake Valentine’s desserts in early January.

RECIPE:

Salted Caramel Cake Pops

Adapted from Salted Caramel Cupcakes

Makes around 35-40 cake pops

Brown Sugar Cake

Makes 2 8″ cakes

• 1 1/2 cups flour
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon sea salt
• 1 stick of unsalted butter, at room temperature
• 1 cup plus 2 tablespoons packed light brown sugar
• 2 large eggs, at room temperature
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons buttermilk (or add a tablespoon of lemon juice or vinegar to regular milk and let sit for 5 mins)

Preheat oven to 350°F. Grease two 8″ cake pans or line them with parchment paper.

In a medium bowl, combine flour, baking powder and salt.

In a large bowl, cream butter and brown sugar until pale and fluffy. Add eggs one at a time, beating after each until fully incorporated. Mix in vanilla extract. Add flour mixture to wet ingredients in 3 batches, alternating with 1/2 of the buttermilk, stirring after each until everything is combined.

Pour half of the batter into each prepared cake pan. Bake for around 18-20 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center of the cakes comes out clean.

Salted Caramel Buttercream Frosting

• 1/4 cup granulated sugar
• 2 tablespoons water
• 1/4 cup heavy cream
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 stick salted butter
• 1 stick unsalted butter
• 1/2 teaspoon sea salt
• 2 cups powdered sugar, sifted

Make caramel: In a medium saucepan, combine sugar and water and cook over medium-high heat. Boil without stirring until it turns a deep amber color. Remove from heat and slowly pour in cream and vanilla, whisking until it is very smooth. Let cool for around 20 minutes, until it’s just barely warm and still pourable.

Meanwhile, beat butter and salt together in a large bowl until light and fluffy. Add powdered sugar and beat until thoroughly combined. Pour in the cooled caramel and beat on medium-high speed until light and airy (around 2 minutes). If frosting is too runny, the caramel was too warm when added – refrigerate for around 15-20 minutes until frosting is stiffer.

Salted Caramel Sauce

Adapted from Smitten Kitchen

The sauce is extra work, but I found that the salted caramel flavor of the cake was overwhelmed by the chocolate coating. If you want to cut down on the work, you could do a simple vanilla cake/frosting inside the pop instead of the cake and frosting recipe above. Use my snowmen vanilla cake pops recipe and cover them in chocolate, a tiny sprinkle of salt, and this salted caramel sauce.

Makes about 1 1/3 cups – use the extra to pour over ice cream, fruit, desserts, or anything!

• 1 cup sugar
• 3 ounces (6 tablespoons) salted butter (I recommend using 1/2 salted and 1/2 unsalted, then add additional salt to taste if needed)
• 1/2 cup plus two tablespoons heavy cream, at room temperature

In a large saucepan, heat the sugar over medium-high heat. Once it begins melting, stir occasionally with a spatula to ensure it heats evenly. Cook the liquified sugar until it reaches a deep copper color, then add the butter. Stir until it has completely melted and combined, then remove from heat. Add heavy cream (be careful – it will foam) and whisk until you have a smooth sauce.

Use immediately or refrigerate for up to 2 weeks. Microwave for a minute to bring it back to pouring consistency.

Assemble the Cake Pops

• Semisweet chocolate (I used around 16 oz.)
• Canola oil (optional)
• 35-40 6″ lollipop sticks
• Styrofoam block
• Fleur de sel or flaky sea salt

What does that mean? Check it out:

Front of the Create-A-Crock

It’s a customizable Crock-Pot! The “Create-A-Crock” lets you choose from a variety of colors and designs for the background. Then you upload 4 of your favorite photos and they’re printed right onto the Crock-Pot! I’ve never seen a personalized kitchen appliance like this before – have you?

Back of the Create-A-Crock

I worked with Crock-Pot in the fall for their Crock-Star Confessions campaign. Last month they contacted me to tell me about the new Create-A-Crock and see if I wanted to try it out. I already have 2 fairly large slow cookers, 3.5 and 6 quarts, and I didn’t really need another one at 5.5 quarts. But I couldn’t give up on this great opportunity for the ultimate present.

If you know what I look like (there’s a photo of me at the top of the right column over there –>) then you’ll realize I’m not actually pictured on this slow cooker. That’s my dear friend Annie and her family.

Close-up of the photos on the front (that is the world’s best dog, Cosmo, by the way)

I wanted to surprise her so I downloaded photos off of her Facebook page instead of asking her to send me some. I was worried they wouldn’t be high quality enough and would print out fuzzy, but they look great! The website wouldn’t let me upload certain photos, citing poor quality, so you can trust that it will only let you use ones that are good enough.

Annie and her “little” brothers from a Mother’s Day photoshoot I did for them last year

I couldn’t be happier with the way the Crock-Pot came out. It does take 3-4 weeks to be made after you order it, so keep that in mind. It ended up arriving after Christmas, so it became a belated gift, but one worth the wait.

Annie and I met half-way between our cities to do a little outlet shopping and I finally was able to give it to her. (On the ground, in the middle of a parking lot – I tell you this only to explain the next photo.)

Annie’s reaction says it all:

Happiness!

She says: “This is an awesome present for anyone because it’s so personalized. Pink and pictures?! Could not ask for a better present.”

Since it was a present, I didn’t try using it, but I have a Crock-Pot 6 quart slow cooker and it works great. If Annie has any feedback after she uses the Create-A-Crock, I will update this post to reflect her observations.

If you’re interested in getting a Create-A-Crock for yourself (or for an awesome gift), check out the Crock-Pot website. I think it would make a great present for a wedding, bridal shower, birthday, or really any occasion. It would also be handy if you use slow cookers while you’re entertaining or if you bring them to potluck parties. You can make one to match your decor and no one will ever mistakenly take yours home with them!

I received the Create-A-Crock slow cooker from Crock-Pot to review. The views and opinions expressed are purely my own.

Last year a close friend of mine was diagnosed with several food allergies after having health problems and discomfort for years. Turns out she’s allergic to eggs, dairy and yeast, foods she used to eat on a regular basis. A few weeks ago she came to visit, which coincided with me receiving a bag of Meyer lemons from my brother’s tree. I knew I wanted to bake something, but I had to avoid some major players in baked goods.

You probably know where I’m going with this, since you’ve seen the title of this post, but the easiest way to avoid eggs and dairy is…bake vegan! I actually have a great vegan cupcake cookbook, but it doesn’t have a simple lemon cupcake recipe. I was pretty set on using my surplus of Meyer lemons, so I found a vegan lemon cupcake recipe on another blog and adapted it.

By just tasting them, I don’t think anyone would guess that these cupcakes are vegan. They’re extremely light and fluffy and have a subtle lemon flavor. By topping them with a simple lemon glaze, the cupcakes remain light and lemony, a satisfying dessert that won’t leave you feeling weighed down. I garnished them with candied Meyer lemon peels for an extra lemon punch. You can make this with regular lemons too, and I’m sure it would be just as good. (If you’re not familiar with them, Meyer lemons are a cross of lemons and oranges, so they’re a bit sweeter and milder than regular lemons).

Do you bake for any people with food allergies or special diets?

Recipe:

Vegan Meyer Lemon Cupcakes

Adapted from Livvie’s Limelight

• 1 cup milk alternative (I used almond milk; soy or rice would work too)
• 1 teaspoon apple cider vinegar
• 1 1/2 cups flour
• 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
• 3/4 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 cup canola oil
• 2/3 cup sugar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1/4 cup Meyer lemon juice*
• 1 Tablespoon Meyer lemon zest*

1. Preheat oven to 350°F. Line a muffin tin with liners.
2. In a small bowl, stir together milk and apple cider vinegar. Let sit for 5 minutes.
3. In a large bowl, combine flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt.
4. In a separate large bowl, combine milk, oil, sugar, vanilla, lemon juice and zest.
5. Add dry ingredients to wet and stir until well combined.
6. Pour batter into lined muffin tin until each is 3/4 full.
7. Bake 18-20 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Let cool completely before frosting.

Meyer Lemon Glaze

• 1/2 cup powdered sugar, sifted
• 1 Tablespoon Meyer lemon juice*
• Candied Meyer lemon peel for garnish (optional)

1. Combine powdered sugar and juice in a small bowl and stir until smooth.
2. Add additional sugar or lemon juice to taste and to reach desired consistency.
3. Spoon onto cooled cupcakes and top with candied peel.

*You could use regular lemon instead of Meyer lemon

Let’s ease into things with something sort of healthy: Meyer lemon peels turned into candy. (Which I may or may not have used to top lemon cupcakes – you’ll just have to wait and see what I post later this week…)

Ignore the fact that I dipped some in chocolate. There’s lots of Vitamin C in the peel, which makes this a healthy-ish dessert…right?

See, you can leave it plain too. Either way, they’re delicious. Blanching the peels (cooking them briefly in boiling water) 3 times removes the bitter flavor of the pith. It may seem like a lot of work, but it’s really easy to put them in a pot of water, bring it to a boil, then dump the water and repeat. Then you cook them in simple syrup (equal parts sugar and water) and roll them in granulated sugar. You’re left with a chewy, sweet and crunchy treat that has a great lemon flavor.

Did you make any resolutions? How are you doing with the changes? I didn’t make any major resolutions this year but last year I gave up sugar for a month and the year before I started this blog as a way to get myself to cook more and try new foods.

Recipe:

Candied Meyer Lemon Peels

• 3 organic Meyer lemons, rinsed and dried (you can use regular lemons too)
• 2 1/2 cups sugar, divided
• Semi-sweet chocolate (optional)

1. Cut lemons in half and juice (reserve for other use, like vegan Meyer lemon cupcakes or limoncello & Meyer lemon cupcakes). Using a sharp paring knife, remove flesh from skin and discard (leave white pith attached to peel). Slice peel into strips.
2. Place strips into a saucepan and fill with water. Bring to a boil and simmer for a few minutes. Drain water and repeat two more times.
3. After draining the last batch of water, place peels aside. Combine 2 cups of water and 2 cups of sugar in saucepan and bring to a boil. Stir until sugar has dissolved and reduce heat to medium-low. Add peel strips and cook, stirring occasionally, until soft and transparent, about 15-20 minutes. Drain (reserve liquid for other use - this lemon simple syrup can be used to sweeten drinks or desserts).
4. Pour remaining sugar in a bowl and toss strips until coated with sugar. Place coated strips onto a sheet of wax paper and let dry overnight (if you’re impatient, you can dry it in a 200°F oven for an hour, checking frequently).
5. If you want to cover in chocolate: once peels feel dry to touch, dip in melted chocolate and let dry on wax paper.
6. Store in airtight container at room temperature.

I often find myself getting these sort of backwards compliments about my weight. You know, after people see the amount of cupcakes and Nutella on my blog, they look at me and ask how I’m not 500 pounds.

First of all, I never bake anything unless I have someone to share the results with. If I left a dozen cupcakes in my kitchen, I would undoubtedly eat all of them. So instead, I bake for friends, family, special occasions, and if all else fails, I bring my goodies to work.

My other main two strategies are working out and keeping a supply of healthy snacks around for between meals. I get hungry a lot and usually crave sweets, so I plan ahead and have healthy and filling snacks prepared for that inevitable 3pm hunger pain. Here are some of my favorites:

1. Nuts and seeds

Nuts and seeds are full of healthy fats, fiber and protein, all things that help keep you feeling full and satisfied until your next meal. For a quick snack on the go, measure out a serving (1/4 cup) into little tupperware containers or small baggies. Keep it interesting (and more healthy) by varying them day by day. Try walnuts one day, sunflower seeds the next, then almonds, and so on.

You can eat them raw, but I get bored with that quickly. Here are some easy roasted nut recipes: pumpkin pie almonds, slow cooker sweet and spicy roasted nuts, roasted pumpkin seeds.

2. Greek yogurt

I like Greek yogurt more than regular yogurt because it’s strained more, which makes it extra thick and creamy. Plus, it has a lot more protein than regular yogurt, which will keep you feeling full for longer. Get unsweetened to avoid excess sugar and add your own fresh fruit or honey to taste. Another way to sweeten up Greek yogurt is with jam, apple butter or pumpkin butter.

You can also make a smoothie out of Greek yogurt and fruit. A couple of my favorites are this chocolate raspberry smoothie and tropical green smoothie. And if you want something even cooler, you can freeze a smoothie into Greek yogurt pops.

3. Larabars

Larabars are the most simple and straightforward energy bar I’ve ever seen. The ingredient list is very short, from 2-9 ingredients and all whole foods – mostly dates and nuts plus spices or fruit. They have fun flavors like peanut butter cookie (dates, peanuts and salt) and banana bread (almonds, dates, unsweetened bananas). They’re also raw, vegan, gluten free, dairy free, soy free, non-GMO, and kosher. Sounds too good to be true, right? Well, they’re pretty awesome but also pretty expensive (over $1/bar). Luckily, you can make them pretty easily at home. So far I’ve tried making copycat cashew cookie Larabars, copycat chocolate Larabars and (this is similar to Larabars but with some added grains) healthy cookie dough.

4. Hard boiled eggs

Eggs are a pretty cheap source of protein. I always get local, cage-free eggs (which costs a little more, but is worth it to me for the peace of mind that the eggs are safe and also the chickens are treated humanely). Boil a bunch of eggs over the weekend and you’ll be set with snacks for the rest of the week. Plus, if you don’t want to wait around for a pot to boil, you can try hard boiling eggs in a CrockPot!

5. String cheese

Remember the days of string cheese? I still enjoy this classic childhood snack. I usually get the “light” version, which is only around 60 calories but has a little fat and protein to keep you full. And while I’m often a food snob, I must admit that my favorite string cheese is Target’s generic brand. It’s a little sweet, not too salty, and tastes creamy too.

Working out isn’t as simple as healthy snacks unfortunately. I don’t really like going to the gym, and I don’t want to pay for a monthly membership unless I know I’m going to get my money’s worth. For a while I tried out Jillian Michael’s Ripped in 30 DVD, but workout DVDs are repetitive and get boring after a while. Lucky for me, my friend Yu Hannah has been working on a great solution to my problem – a website, Yufit, the first-of-its-kind online fitness experience in the cloud.

What does that mean? Basically, for a small monthly fee, you get access to a variety of 30-60 minute fitness classes, streamed on high definition. Classes are updated twice a week so there’s no getting bored. Plus, you can interact with the instructors, integrate your account with your Facebook profile, and access extra videos and blogs from the instructors with lots of tips and advice.

I’ve been a tester for the last few months and I’ve been loving the convenience and variety of Yufit. My favorite is Fernando’s cardio kick-boxing class – it’s only 30 minutes and he keeps me moving the whole time. There’s also yoga, balletone, buns & thighs, core burn, street jazz, and much more. There’s an easy way to pick out classes too: put in how long you want to work out, your goal (cardio, strength, flexibility), and your fitness level to find out the best class for you.

Now you can try it out too! Sign up now and get a free 14-day trial. After the trial period, and for a limited time, Yufit is only $9.99/month for one year (regularly $14.99/month). SO much cheaper than a gym!

I’m also giving away membership for an entire YEAR to Yufit (that’s worth almost $180)! Enter using the Rafflecopter form below:

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Questions about Yufit? Check out their FAQ section.

It’s been a while since the last Slow Cooker Monday. I’ve been using my slow cooker more recently for easy, healthy dinners – it’s the best coming home to dinner already made (otherwise I sometimes reach for easy, unhealthy dinners like frozen waffles).

Another time slow cookers come in handy is cooking for company. I had a bunch of girlfriends over for dinner last week and was out all day before they came over. I put some pork shoulder in the CrockPot before I left in the morning and by the time we all got to my house, the meat was fully cooked, really tender and fell apart easily.

This recipe for carnitas is simple and very flavorful. Rub some spices onto the meat, place into a slow cooker with some onion and set to low for 8 hours. Don’t be afraid to cook it without any added liquid – the meat will produce some liquid as it cooks. Serve with tortillas and all your favorite fixins for an easy dinner.

What’s your go-to easy (and hopefully healthy) dinner?

Recipe:

Slow Cooker Carnitas

Adapted from Bon Appetit

Serves 4-6

• 2 pounds boneless pork shoulder (A.K.A. Boston butt)
• 2 teaspoons salt
• 2 teaspoons ground black pepper
• 2 teaspoons dried oregano (preferably Mexican)
• 2 teaspoons ground cumin
• A few dashes of cayenne pepper
• 1/2 large onion, cut into 4 pieces

For serving:

• Tortillas
• Cilantro
• Avocado
• Sour cream

Spray a large slow cooker with non-stick spray (I used a 6 quart). Combine salt, pepper, oregano, cumin and cayenne in a small bowl. Rub the spices over all sides of the meat and place in slow cooker. Top with onion and cook on low for 8 hours.

Remove meat with a slotted spoon and place in a large bowl. Discard onions. Using 2 forks, shred the meat. (Optional – to crisp the meat, place under the broiler for a few minutes.)

Serve with tortillas, chopped cilantro, avocado, sour cream, or anything else you like.

A few weeks ago I got to attend a special lunch for local food bloggers at Grange, one of my favorite restaurants in Sacramento. Grange is located in downtown Sacramento, inside the beautiful Citizen Hotel.

Executive Chef Oliver Ridgeway

Grange focuses on using local ingredients and turning them into simple, seasonal, and soulful food. I love that they not only utilize seasonal produce but also sustainable seafood and organic meat as well. They also have an all-California wine list and handcrafted cocktails made with local ingredients.

The restaurant recently hired a new Executive Chef, Oliver Ridgeway. To introduce him to the local food blogging community, Grange held a soup recipe contest and invited us all to the restaurant for a meet-and-greet with the chef and try some of the new dishes he created. Along with my friend Lauren, we joined Kimberly of Poor Girl Eats Well, Garrett of Vanilla Garlic, Ann of SN&R and California Food Literacy Center, Melissa of Pretty Yummy Foods, Dawn of Kitchen Travels, and Amber of Awake at the Whisk and California Food Literacy Center.

We enjoyed three small courses before they presented the winning soup:

Wild mushrooms on yogurt and rosemary flatbread with Tumalo Farms Classico cheese

House cured salmon, scallops and California sea bass ceviche with citrus habanero juices and avocado panna cotta

Seared day boat scallops with Delta crawfish risotto

Everything was wonderful: flavorful, fresh and with a simple, clean presentation. Plus the service, as always, was friendly and attentive. After hearing a bit about Chef Ridgeway and enjoying his dishes, we finally learned which soup was the winner…

Panade (Bread Soup with Chard and Wild Mushrooms) by Ann Martin Rolke of Tasty Bits newsletter, SN&R and California Food Literacy Center.

Congrats again, Ann! It is a great soup for winter – comforting and satisfying, full of mushrooms, bread, cheese and onions. If you want to try it for yourself, visit Grange from January 9-18 during Dine Downtown Restaurant Week. Along with many other restaurants, Grange will have a special 3-course menu for $30. Their offerings will include Ann’s panade, along with several other tasty options.

After meeting Chef Ridgeway and enjoying the food and company, we got to take a tour of the kitchen and the upstairs area of the restaurant.

Inside Grange’s kitchen

The view of the restaurant from the upstairs banquet room

Overall, it was a great afternoon and the first of what I hope to be many more blogger events at Grange. I’m looking forward to returning to the restaurant and trying more of Chef Ridgeway’s menu.

Happy New Year! Did you have a fun time ringing in 2012? I went to San Francisco with a group of friends and we had a great time dancing in the new year.

Now it’s time for resolutions, which often includes healthy lifestyle choices like eating better and exercising. For that reason, I’m taking this and next week off from posting decadent desserts. I can’t promise I’ll keep it up though – last month I made cupcakes, macarons and whoopie pies that I haven’t had a chance to share yet. Plus, I have my eye on some more desserts I want to make. So make sure you keep up with that exercise resolution! Next week I’ll be sharing a great way for you to exercise at home, including a giveaway to try it for free, so be sure to check back on Tuesday.

A couple of weeks ago I tried out this healthy oatmeal raisin muffin recipe. It’s full of whole grains and not too much sugar – as healthy as baked goods can get (and still taste good). You can try substituting the oil with applesauce if you want to reduce the fat, but I haven’t tried that yet so I can’t tell you how it will turn out. As written below, the muffins came out moist and full of plump, sweet raisins.

Are you making any New Year’s resolutions this year?

Recipe:

Oatmeal Raisin Muffins

Makes 12 muffins

• 1 1/4 cups whole wheat flour
• 1 1/2 cups quick-cooking rolled oats
• 1/3 cup firmly packed brown sugar
• 2 teaspoons baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 3/4 cup water
• 1/4 cup milk
• 1/4 cup oil
• 1 egg
• 1/2 cup raisins

In 2011, I went back to my passion in the kitchen – baking. I’ve always loved baking and I love to experiment with new recipes and flavors (whoopie pie pops, anyone?). I’ve really enjoyed trying out new recipes and sharing them with you here. And I’ve had such a wonderful response from you all! I read every comment you write here and at my Facebook page. I love hearing when people try my recipes or enjoying reading about them and seeing my photos.

2011 was a big year at 52 Kitchen Adventures. This year the blog’s readership grew a ton. Each month I heard from more of you, watched as more of you subscribed and commented. In May I finally made a Facebook page and I can’t believe there are almost 2,000 of you who have “liked” it so far. Over the summer I held some big giveaways to celebrate. Earlier this month I was able to unveil a brand-new site design with the help of Kelly Sauer. The blog is much nicer to look at and I have plans to make it easier to navigate that I’ll put into effect soon.

Today is 52 Kitchen Adventures’ 2nd birthday and I plan on making its 3rd year bigger and better than ever. Blogging has become more than a hobby for me over the course of this past year and I’m excited to take it even further next year and share the journey with you all. Plan on seeing more fun desserts, easy Crock Pot recipes, copycat recipes, and even bigger giveaways.

Do you have any big plans for 2012? I’d love to hear about them! As always, thank you for reading. You guys make blogging so much fun! Enjoy the top posts from the last year…

The top 11 posts of 2011

1. Chocolate Nutella Cupcakes

 2. Melted Crayon Art Tutorial

 3. Homemade Salted Caramel Mocha

 4. Better Than Sex Chocolate Cupcakes

 5. S’mores Cupcake Ice Cream Sandwiches 

 6. Homemade Chocolate Syrup

 7. Homemade Funfetti Cupcakes

 8. S’mores Cupcakes

 9. Homemade Irish Cream

10. Salted Caramel Cupcakes

 11. The Ultimate Bacon Chocolate Cupcakes

 Which post was YOUR favorite?

Happy New Year!

A couple of days ago I shared these snowmen cake pops that I made for a holiday party. For my family’s Christmas party, I wanted to do something a bit bigger. I often make individual desserts like cake pops, whoopie pie pops, and cupcakes, but there’s something about a cake that’s just so festive.

The only issue with making a cake is that my sister and her wife and gluten-free. I’m not a big fan of gluten-free flours (I don’t have a lot of experience with them but it hasn’t been very positive) so I’d rather make something without flour instead. Last Christmas I made these wonderful chocolate souffle cupcakes that were flourless but also extremely rich. When I stumbled upon a “lighter than air” flourless chocolate cake at Smitten Kitchen, I thought it might be a nice medium of both flourless but not too heavy.

Smitten Kitchen had doubled the original Gourmet rolled cake recipe and made a 4 layer cake, so I went back and used the original proportions to make a 2 layer cake. It made 9 good-sized slices (see above) and was, as promised, quite light for a flourless cake. Paired with fluffy whipped cream (sweetened with crushed candy canes for extra festiveness), this cake didn’t make our stomachs feel heavy or overly full. After a big holiday meal, you know how important that can be!

Do you do have to accomodate for any food allergies? How you do deal with them?

Recipe:

“Lighter than Air” Flourless Chocolate Cake

Adapted from Gourmet

• 6 ounces semisweet chocolate, roughly chopped
• 3 tablespoons water
• 6 large eggs, at room temperature, separated
• 2/3 cup sugar
• 1/4 teaspoon table salt
• 2 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder, divided

Preheat oven to 350°F. Line 2 8-inch round cake pans with parchment paper and coat with non-stick spray.

Over low heat, melt chocolate and water together in a small saucepan or double boiler. Stir until mixture is smooth, remove from heat and let cool.

In a medium or large bowl, beat egg yolks with an electric mixer until pale and creamy. Gradually add sugar and continue to beat until yolks are pale and ribbony. Gently mix in the cooled chocolate.

In a separate large, clean bowl with clean beaters, beat egg whites and salt until the mixture holds stiff peaks. Stir 1/4 of stiff egg whites into the chocolate/yolk mixture to lighten it. In 3 additions, gently but thoroughly fold the remaining whites into the batter.

Pour half of batter into each prepared cake pan. Bake for 15-18 minutes, until cake is puffed and dry to the touch. Transfer pans to cooling racks. Once cooled, sprinkle cocoa powder over the cakes. Place a piece of wax paper over the tops of the pans and top with a plate or baking sheet, then invert. An hour before frosting, place cakes into freezer until they are firm enough to be carefully lifted without breaking.

*Note: cakes will slightly sink in the middle.

Peppermint Whipped Cream

• 1 cup heavy whipping cream
• 1/4-1/2 cup of finely crushed candy canes (use a food processor until they are a fine powder), to taste
• Handful of lightly crushed candy canes for garnish

Beat heavy cream until it holds stiff peaks. Mix in 1/4 cup of candy cane powder and add more to taste.

Remove cake layers from freezer. Spread half of whipped cream onto the first layer. Place second cake layer on top, then spread remaining whipped cream onto it. Sprinkle crushed candy canes onto the top of the cake. Serve immediately or store in refrigerator until ready to serve.