It’s Valentine’s Day, which means we all officially have permission to binge on chocolate bon bons and mushy, gushy romance stuff for a few days. In public. Which is fabulous.
The ginormous chocolatey store displays that are everywhere must be working, because I’ve been craving some sort of sweet thing for a couple weeks now. But, I haven’t quite been able to put my finger on what my tummy has been wanting. Cookies felt too sweet. Macarons seemed too risky to try this weekend. Brownies are out since I kind of OD-ed on them over the holidays. But, chocolate cake? That sounded just about right. But, to find one that is satisfying and gluten-free: Now, that’s a challenge.
Enter one of my new cookbooks, Béatrice Peltre’s La Tartine Gourmande. This recipe caught my eye when I first flipped through the gorgeous pages. Oh my gluten-free gods of goodness, it’s delicious, and it feels at least a little bit healthier than the typical box mix. So, if you find yourself suffering from a Vanlentine’s candy display induced craving attack tomorrow, whip yourself up one of these; it’s easier than it looks, I promise, and you can truly say, “I made it from scratch”…
Buckwheat and Almond Chocolate Cake
from Béatrice Peltre’s La Tartine Gourmande
You will need a 9-inch round cake mold or spring pan.
Ingredients:
- 7 tbs unsalted butter, plus a little more for the mold.
- 3 1/2 oz bittersweet dark chocolate (I used a 70% cocoa Lindt bar leftover from Christmas)
- 4 large eggs, at room temperature
- 1/2 cup blonde cane sugar (regular granulated works fine)
- Pinch of salt
- 1 tsp pure vanilla extract
- 1/4 cup buckwheat flour
- 1/4 cup almond meal*
- Confectioner’s sugar for serving
*You can buy this, or you can make your own by pulsing blanched almonds in a food processor (or blender) until they are the texture of fine sand. Just don’t go too far, or you’ll get almond butter. Delicious, yes, but not what we’re looking for.
Directions:
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Cut a round piece of parchment paper to line the bottom of your cake mold. Butter the cake mold and line it with the parchment: set aside.
Fill the bottom of a small saucepan with 1/2 inch of water and heat to a simmer over medium heat. Place a heat proof bowl, slightly larger than the saucepan, over the top of the water, making sure the bottom of the bowl doesn’t touch the water; This is an makeshift double boiler. Place the butter and chocolate in the bowl to melt, while stirring frequently to combine. When melted, turn off the heat, and leave the bowl over the hot water to keep the chocolate mixture warm.
In a medium bowl, beat the eggs with the sugar and salt with a hand mixer, until light and pale in color and roughly doubled in volume; this took me a few minutes to get it foamy enough, so be patient. Gently fold in the vanilla and melted chocolate mixture. Sprinkle the buckwheat flour and almond meal over the batter and fold gently to combine.
Pour the batter in the cake mold, place in the oven, and bake for 25-30 minutes, or until the blade of a sharp knife inserted into the middle comes out clean. Remove from the oven, let cool 5 minutes, then flip it gently onto a plate. Carefully remove the parchment paper and flip again – the easiest way to do this is by sandwiching the cake between two plates, and flipping over.
Dust with confectioner’s sugar and serve at room temperature. I served mine (to myself) with whipped cream and sliced strawberries: Heaven.
My review: Surprisingly light. Not too sweet. Chocolatey, without the nauseating I-overdid-it rich feeling. And, oh so satisfying.
Happy Valentines, lovers!
tastingpretty 