Flourless Chocolate Cake

Ahh Melbourne and its cafe culture.  I am so very impressed with the insanely good coffee here. Every one is obssessed with their favourite cafe and their favourite blend!

The coffee is so good that I can never go back to instant and I have become a cafe snob too. In fact I have had to go teetotal for the last month, as they are so good here, that they are addictive [I was having about 3 - 4 cups a day then unable to get any sleep at night!]. Skinny flat whites have been my chosen format - a cross between a cappuccino and a latte except there is less froth, less milk and stronger coffee - delicious.

The other problem with such great coffee is the temptation to have sweet treats alongside it, like pastries, biscuits or cakes. I have never had a sweet tooth and as a Dentist I have preached about the evils of consuming sugar too frequently, throughout my career. However sometimes you have to have a treat and if you can exercise a little will power then everything in moderation should be allowed.

I think if you ever bake your own cakes then you may come to realise how much butter and sugar is involved in making such treats. It may not put you off but it will open your eyes. I have come across lots of gluten free and low fat options for cakes - they may feel like guilt free options but bear in mind that they still contain substantial amounts of sugar and butter.

This is my recipe for a flourless chocolate cake which I made for my house mate's birthday recently:

Ingredients:
250g Unsalted Butter
200g 70% cocoa Dark chocolate bar
100g Caster sugar
100g Ground Almond [aka Almond Meal]
3 Fresh large free range eggs - separate the yolks from the whites
Dark Chocolate chips/ Chocolate Buttons

1. Take butter out of fridge and collect all your ingredients and measure out each bit
2. Preheated oven to 180 degrees C [160 if on fan assisted]
3. Spray oil [like Canola] on a cake tin or smear with a bit of butter and line the bottom with cut out baking paper

4. Put some water in a deep pan and bring up to the boil
5. Chop up 200g of butter into cubes and break the dark chocolate bar into squares
6. Place the butter and the chocolate into a suitable bowl and place over the simmering water
7. Allow this to gently melt down - do not stir too often and do not allow it to over heat and burn the chocolate as this will ruin your day

8. While the chocolate is melting, separate the eggs into 2 deep bowls - one for whites, one for yolks
9. In the bowl with the egg yolks, add half of the caster sugar [sift it in if necessary to ensure that there are no lumps] and then beat lightly until a gentle mellow yellow. The sugar stabilises the yolks whilst you beat air into the mix.

10. Take the melted chocolate off the heat - allow any butter that is visible to slowly melt in the residual heat of the glass bowl [remember not to over stir the chocolate as it may become grainy]

11. While the chocolate is cooling, beat the egg whites within an inch of their lives - this is tiresome if you do not have strong wrists or an electric whisk and it may take some time. Best to employ someone else close by, to do your bidding with a promise of said cake. Add the rest of the caster sugar into the meringue mix near the end of the process and continue to whisk furiously. You must beat enough air into the whites to make soft stiff peaks as this is going to help the cake rise and be light and fluffy.

12. Once the choclate mix has cooled slightly, add the beaten egg yolks in,along with the almond meal. Mix well and then very gently fold in half the egg whites meringue mix, keeping as much of the air in the mixture as possible. Take your time to encorporate the lot.

13. Throw in a handful of chocolate buttons or dark choc chips - this will give a gooey dark chocolate hit within a slice when it is still warm or just a nice nuggety surprise when cold!

14. Fold in the rest of the eggs whites.

15. Gently pour the mix into the prepared tin and place into the middle of the oven at 160 degrees C if fan assisted or 180 degrees C if not. Bake for 35 min and then check the cake - If you pierce the middle of the cake with a butter knife and it comes out just ever so slightly gooey then take it out. If it is completely wet it most likely needs another 10 min. If it is dry it is probably slightly over done but never mind it will still taste like heaven. Get it out and allow to rest. You may have to leave the house to stop eating it straight away.

As the cake cools the surface will crack and it may sink in the middle - don't panic. This is perfectly okay. Take it out of the tin and eat a slice with a dollop of Creme fraiche/Vanilla Icecream and of course a cup of delicious coffee OR If you want to you can wait till the cake cools and make some icing for it, here is what you do:

Just melt another dark chocolate bar or the rest of the dark chocolate chips remaining and 50g of butter [i.e. the remainder of the pack] in a bowl over a pan of simmering water. Then pour the melted chocolate over the cooled cake and spread over the edges. Allow it to set at room temperature.

Nutritionally all I can say is that I have used Almond meal/ Ground Almonds which are higher in proteins and good fats than carbs. But look a cake is a cake - there is no escaping the fact that this is tasty because of all the butter, sugar and chocolate. At least 70% dark chocolate is higher in cocoa than other bars and has more antioxidants which are good for you!

So since I have given you a non diet recipe I shall try and make it up to you by giving you some free Dental advice:

* Always remember it is not the actual amount you eat at a sitting but it is the number of times a day you put sugar into your mouth that affects your teeth. It would be better for your teeth [if not your waist line] to eat a big slice or the whole cake in one go, rather than small bits throughout the day. The higher the frequency of intake the more likely you will develop decay

* When you eat or drink something sweet or very sour your mouth becomes acidic and this softens your enamel. If you brush very hard straight away you will scrape away your softened enamel. It is better to bring your mouth to a neutral pH before you brush away the furry debris building on your teeth e.g. drink some water after you have your orange juice, chew some sugar free gum after a meal to get your neutral saliva working or eat a piece of cheese after that acidic glass of wine. When you do brush do so gently and thoroughly with a circular motion angling the brush at 45 degrees to your gums.

* If you want to avoid getting holes in between your teeth then floss. Every night. Without fail. Brushing never removes anything stuck between your teeth. If you don't floss, the bits of food that get inbetween the teeth will rot there overnight, damaging the teeth as well as giving you bad breath.

* Use a mouthwash that has flouride in it and is alcohol free. Using a mouthwash for a few seconds a day is no substitute for actual manual brushing and flossing but it can give an additional effect of nicer breath and some more flouride for your teeth. Flouride when applied to the teeth surfaces can be absorbed into the matrix which makes the enamel stronger. This can help reduce sensitivity e.g you can rub sensodyne toothpaste onto a sensitive tooth like a cream and leave on overnight to help absorb the flouride.

* If you never want to spend too much of your precious time and your money at the Dentist, go for regular checks. Prevention is key. If something is spotted at an early stage it can be dealt with swiftly and relatively easily. If you leave it till it is too late then it will most probably become a bigger problem for all concerned.

- If you are a healthy adult go once a year to the Dentist but twice a year to the Hygienist for a professional clean. If you get professional cleans, any early gum disease can be reversed before it becomes a life long problem.

-  If you have a mouth full of work and are prone to getting dental problems go every 6 months. Nobody likes going, especially to the hygienist, but everybody likes a clean and healthy mouth. Get Xrays done to check for early lesions every 3 years. The exposure is minimal and it is the only way a Dentist can see the bits of your teeth that are hidden from sight.

Okay. Lecture over. Now let's go stuff our faces with cake!

I made this one last year for my sister and covered it with creme fraiche and raspberries

My favourite Vegetarian dish: Ratatouille

The secret of making a great Ratatouille is to take care of the main components separately... this is my favourite Vegetarian dish of all time - it can be served as a main in all its glory, as a side with meat/fish/carbs, as a garnish on hot toast, eaten cold with a salad, served with a poached egg for breakfast, etc. etc. The possibilities are endless.. I like to make it the day before to allow the individual ingredients to get well acquainted overnight..

So you need:

Ingredients:
2 large red peppers - deseeded and diced
2 medium courgettes - diced
1 large aubergines - diced
1 large onion - diced
1 large tomatoes - diced
1 clove of garlic - finely chopped/grated
1 tablespoon of tomato puree
Pinch of dried crushed red chilli [optional]

The main ingredients for my ratatouille

1. Heat 1 tablespoon of Olive oil in a non - stick frying pan and add the courgettes. Season with salt and freshly crushed black pepper. Fry until golden and set aside in another frying pan with a lid.

Fry courgettes in a little olive oil salt and black pepper

2. Throw in the red peppers into the frying pan and fry on a high heat. They should be slightly charred [not burnt] but not cooked through. Set aside with the courgettes.

Fry red peppers without any more oil

3. Add another tablespoon of Olive oil to the frying pan. Fry the Aubergines for 1 minute and add salt and pepper - they will suck up all the oil immediately - DO NOT ADD MORE. Just turn down the heat and cover with a lid and ignore for a few minutes. The steam will continue to cook the oil greedy egg plant until eventually they will succumb to the heat and release their waters and the oil they soaked up initially. This frying then steaming method ensures you don't use too much oil and that the aubergines are not soggy with oil later on!

Caramelise on a high heat in very little oil then cover to steam and finish cooking

Steaming aubergines in their own juices prevents the need for more oil

4. Set aside the cooked aubergines cubes with the peppers and courgettes. Then add one final tablespoon of olive oil to the pan. Fry the onions gently just to soften. This may take about 5 - 10 minutes. Salt the onions and add the garlic. Fry for 1 minute then add the pinch of chilli followed by the puree. Cook out for 30 seconds then add the diced tomatoes.

Onions, Garlic, Chilli and tomatoes - the basis of any great dish

5. Throw the whole lot in with the other veg - mix well on the heat. Check the seasoning and adjust if necessary. Turn the heat off and cover the whole thing with a lid and ignore till you are ready to serve. When you do serve it, check the seasoning again and garnish with finely chopped parsley.

Set aside till the next day and enjoy any which way and how ... Divine!

Nutritional points: Well Vegtables. What can I say? Need I say anything guys? The more colourful the fresh veg that you eat the more antioxidants they contain and the more vitamins and nutrients. If you eat the skin you get more of the nutrients as they tend to be just under the skin. Okay so I have fried each of the veg - but only in the very respectable olive oil and no more than 3 tablespoons in total - so it is all good and wholesome.

ps.Never over cook your veg as the vitamins all disappear and you end up with mush at the end.

I think you could pig out on this and still award your self brownie points for being good.. I had a serving with a poached egg on top for brekkie, then another with fish for lunch... then another portion at dinner time with some chickpeas for a wholesome smack on the lips... this is not a diet dish - it is just the most versatile and yummy dish ever!

Fish on a budget Part 2: Sardines and Yellow Split Peas

When you cannot afford fish from a market let alone a supermarket then the tinned varieties can be a good substitute. Some can be well preserved and not only give you the omega 3s you need in your diet to keep you healthy but also give you a boost of calcium from their soft edible bones. Canned anchovies are divine in sauces. You can use tinned mackerel in making pates to put on hot toast [just drain off the olive oil and mash with a fork with dijon mustard, lemon juice and capers]. I love tinned sardines in a rich tomato sauce along with beans or pulses. Here is my budget recipe for tinned sardines in olive oil with yellow split peas...



Sardines with yellow split peas

Ingredients:
Yellow Split peas [dried] - soaked overnight OR cooked can of chickpeas drained and washed]
Tinned Sardines in Olive oil [drained]
Onions - 1 large - finely diced
Garlic - 1 clove - grated
Celery - 2 sticks [peeled and finely diced]
Carrots - 2 peeled and finely diced
Can of chopped tomatoes
Tomato puree - 1 large tablespoon
Chopped Black olives
Capers in vinegar/brine [1 teaspoon drained and washed]
Herbs to garnish e.g. parsley
Salt and cracked black pepper

1. If you are using cooked canned beans/chickpeas then you don't need to worry. Just drain and wash them and set aside. If you have the split peas [or any other bean/pulse you wish to use up] and have soaked them, then drain and wash well before boiling for 30 minutes - they should be cooked but retain some bite for texture in the dish.

*Any dried beans or pulses that you have to hydrate by soaking overnight should be washed thoroughly and then refreshed with clean cold water before boiling [as this prevents any embarrasing trumpeting later on!]. Always boil without salt as this hardens the pulses prematurely. Season once cooked i.e. when a bean/pulse can be squashed easily between your finger and thumb!

2. Fry onions, garlic, celery, carrots in 1 tablespoon of oil [canola/olive].
3. Add tomato puree and cook out the acidity
4. Add chopped olives and capers
5. Add the can of tomato and simmer for 30min
6. Add the cooked and drained peas/beans
7. Reduce the sauce so that it is thick and glossy, then gently place the sardines around the dish and push into the sauce.
8. Cover with a lid and heat through. Switch off the heat and let it all stand for 5 minutes.
9. Garnish with parsley/corriander herbs and a squeeze of lemon before serving

You can serve this with mash/rice/crusty bread/green beans ..

Additional Points:

This one pot dish takes about 30 - 45 min and contains store cupboard essentials. It is a very cheap and healthy dish to knock up mid week if you have not had time to get any fresh ingredients [or in my case - the market was shut!].

Granted soaking and washing and boiling the yellow split peas takes forward planning but you don't have to use that. Canned pulses and beans are really cheap and so much easier as they are already cooked and contain lots of nutrients - they are high in protein and fibre and low in fat and carbs. It helps if you always have a can of chickpeas or say red kidney beans or lentils at the back of the cupboard to knock this sort of dish up.

The Sardines have Essential Omega 3 fatty acids and oily fish proteins as well as a calcium hit from their edible soft bones - important if you don't drink enough milk or eat any dairy like cheese/yogurt! Calcium is important for building and maintaning strong teeth and bones. It is also essential in muscle contraction and blood clotting. The fatty acids help the body absorb dietary calcium.


Sardines also contain Vitamin D. This is a hormone that is usually formed under the skin through sun exposure as UV light activates it. Vit. D helps absorption of Calcium from food and it also increases the rate of mineral deposition in bones thus maintaining strong bones.


Incidently Calcium absorption can be inhibited by phylates and oxylates which are fibres found in some dried pulses and cereals like All Bran. High intakes of Phosphorous can also upset the balance of Calcium e.g. Fizzy drinks like Coca Cola.

Sardines served on a bed of Mashed Potatoes

Fish on a Budget

Okay so I allow myself to take only $20 [i.e. £13] to the market when I go - mainly because I just cannot carry any more back with me and it stops me going nuts with all the fresh produce. I have learnt my lesson from past experience where I blew my weeks budget in one visit and nearly died trying to carry everything back by myself as I don't have a car or a granny push-cart [yet!].

So this is what I got from Queen Vic Market for my $20...

My loot from Vic Market for $20 - pretty healthy and just screams yummy!

Ingredients:
Whole Fish - called Trevally [tastes very meaty and oily like Mackerel]:£5.40 cleaned and gutted [£3.53]!
2 Red Peppers
2 Courgettes
1 large aubergine
Vine ripe Tomatoes
Chinese Broccoli
Cucumber
Lemon
Slices of turkey pastrami

Well I managed to extract 3 meals out of these fresh ingredients [bear in mind I have store cupboard essentials like oil, garlic, onions etc.]. We had tomato, cucumber and turkey sandwishes and salad [no carbs for me!] for lunch. Then I managed to get 6 - 8 thick steaks from the fish for dinner...

With the neck and tail end being the cooks cuts, the fish gave 6 meaty steaks to fight over!

I made Bengoli Fried Fish and served it with Chinese Broccoli Bhaji and Basmati rice. I also used the rest of the veg to make a Ratatouille for lunch the next day [it tastes better if it is made a day in advance!]. So here are my recipes and I hope you get a chance to make them. You can make Bengoli Fried Fish with any meaty fish - in London I used to make this with Mackerel. Chinese Broccoli is very much like Choi Sum or you can substitute it with any greens you like!

BENGOLI FRIED FISH

Ingredients:

Fish steaks

Chilli powder

Tumeric powder

Salt

Black Pepper

Tablespoon of olive / rape seed [canola] oil

1 large onion finely sliced

2 cloves of garlic finely sliced

1 large tomato cut into wedges/ chunks
1 teaspoon of mustard oil [optional]

Lightly dust tumeric and chilli over steaks along with salt and pepper - almost like a light crust

1. Sprinkle generous amounts of tumeric and chilli powder over the fish steaks along with salt and pepper almost like a crust - don't worry once they are fried the heat will die down
2. Allow to infuse while you prepare the other ingredients: Finely slice the onions and garlic, chop up the tomato into wedges
3. Put the fish in a deep frying pan and on the highest heat - drizzle over 1 tablespoon of oil
4. Fry each side for 2 minutes - then set the fish aside [it will only be half cooked]
5. In the same pan, place the onions and allow them to take on all the colour from the pan
6. Add the garlic and cook for another minute
7. Add the tomatoes and then quickly add the fish back on top of the onion mixture
8.Add a dash of water and allow everything to sizzle.
9. Turn off the heat and cover the fish with a lid and set aside. The residual heat and the steam will finish cooking the fish and it will not be over done.
10. Garnish with lemon juice, a teaspoon of mustard oil and corriander/parsley leaves before you serve it with rice.*

*Bengoli people use Mustard oil like Oriental people use sesame oil - it is just for flavour - not for cooking. It is very strong - so must be used sparingly; On its own it's too pungent. It turns a dish from being good to sublime. They use it at the end of a dish as an additional flavour or in salads or mash.

Par cooked fish set aside after frying 2 minutes on each side

Fish added back to pan with lightly fried onions, garlic and tomato then garnished with parsley

Final dish plated up

I served a bhaji with the fish [which means a stir fry in Bengoli] and I used the greens I had i.e. the chinese veg

This is a simple stir fry. Just fry some sliced onion and garlic in 1 tablespoon of oil. Add a pinch of crushed red chilli and a pinch of cumin seeds. Then chuck in your washed, drained and chopped green veg. Stir fry on a high heat for 1 minute. Season with salt and pepper. Switch off the heat and leave to cool without a lid while you get your plates ready. This is a 5 minute dish and everything should be vibrant and crispy [not soggy and overdone].

I always serve Basmati rice not just because it is my husbands favourite and has divine flavour but also because they say that it has the lowest glyceamic index of all white rice i.e it takes longer to digest, keeps you fuller for longer and slowly releases its sugars.

Nutritional aspects: Frying is NOT the healthiest option. However by only using 1 tablespoon of healthy oil you are keeping things guilt free and the fish is pretty much finished off in steaming. Fish, rice and green veg - you cannot get healthier than that. Nutrition oozes out of a meal this fresh and easily prepared. Oily fish giving lean protein and good omega3s are the essence of healthy eating. Green veg wth vitamins and fibre. Plain boiled rice with gluten free carbs and  a low glycaemic index - well this meal ticks all my boxes!