Chocolate Recipes

With Valentine’s day just around the corner I’d like to share some of my favorite chocolate recipes with you. Personally I don’t think we need a holiday to enjoy chocolate. The first recipe is for a flour-free cake that is dense and rich. The pound cake recipe is a nice twist on a classic. The shortbread cookies are always a big hit when I make them- I think you’ll love them, too.  enjoy!

Flourless Chocolate Mousse Cake

½ c. each sugar and water

1 stick butter

12 oz. semi sweet chocolate

6 eggs

¼ dark rum or other liqueur

Butter an eight inch cake pan and line with parchment. In saucepan heat together water and sugar until they boil. Stir in butter and bring to boil. Remove from heat and stir in chocolate until melted. Beat in eggs until smooth and stir in rum. Pour batter into prepared pan and place pan in a roasting pan. Pour boiling water into roaster to come up sides of pan 1 inch. Bake in a preheated 325 degree oven for 45 minutes. Cool, invert onto plate.

Serve cake topped with whipped cream and decorate with raspberries, other fresh fruit or even toasted nuts. Dense and rich this cake serves 8-10.

Chocolate Pound Cake

 1 c. cocoa

2 c. flour

1/2 t. baking powder

1 t. salt

2 T. instant coffee powder

3 sticks butter

3 c. sugar

2 t. vanilla

5 eggs

1 c. buttermilk

1/4 c. water

Preheat oven to 325-degrees. Grease and flour a 10-inch tube pan. Sift together dry ingredients and set aside. Cream butter with mixer until smooth. Add sugar slowly while beating. Beat at high speed for 5 minutes. Stir in vanilla and beat in eggs one at a time beating briefly after each addition. Beat in flour mixture alternately with the liquid. Beat until batter is smooth and pour into prepared pan. Bake in top third of oven for 1 hour and 20 minutes or until tester comes out clean. Let cake rest in pan 20 minutes before inverting onto plate.

Chocolate Shortbread

1 c. butter, room temperature

3/4 c. sugar

2 c. flour

1/3 c. cocoa

1/4 t. salt

8 oz. semi-sweet chocolate

Beat together butter and sugar until well blended. Mix together dry ingredients and slowly beat into butter mixture, stirring it in at the end. Line a cookie sheet with foil or parchment and press dough out on prepared sheet into a 12×6- inch rectangle that’s about 1/2 inch thick.  Bake in a 325-degree oven for 30 minutes. Cool on sheet 5 minutes. Trim edges to make straight and cut into 3×1-inch rectangles. Cool on rack. Melt chocolate and dip cookies in it. Place on wax paper until firm. Makes 24-28 bars.