Chocolate Olive Oil Cake

I made this cake as a present. To myself. 

I have spent the last 4 weeks following a pretty strict meal plan (no sugar/no dairy/no grains), which has seriously impacted my dessert intake. In a negative way. As in, I haven't had even a bite of dessert in 4 weeks. The horror.

So, I've come to my final day of the Whole 30 "program" and thought to myself: I deserve a treat. A chocolate treat. Interestingly, this cake is actually dairy-free (and is vegan if you make it with vegan chocolate chips), but that is a mere coincidence. One of my favorite food bloggers Smitten Kitchen posted this recipe just a few days ago and it felt like a sign-- the ultimate way to mark the end of this diet. This cake is luxurious and rich and chocolatey and earthy and very moist. It comes together in a matter of minutes and is the easiest cake to frost: just dump the ganache on top and let it spread. Make it soon, please, for me. I've got a lot of dessert catching up to do and need your help.

CAKE INGREDIENTS

1 1/2 cups of all-purpose flour

3/4 cup of good cocoa powder

1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda

1/2 (heaping) teaspoon kosher salt

3/4 cup granulated sugar

3/4 cup dark brown sugar, packed

1/2 cup olive oil

1 1/2 cup coffee

1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar

GLAZE

3/4 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips

2 tablespoons cocoa powder

3 tablespoons olive oil

1 tablespoon light corn syrup (helps to add shine to the glaze)

a pinch or two of kosher salt

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees and prep an 8 or 9-inch round cake pan by lining the bottom with matching-sized piece of parchment paper and then coat with nonstick cooking spray. Set aside.

In a large bowl whisk together the flour, cocoa, baking soda, salt and granulated sugar. Add the brown sugar and the olive oil and stir together. Add the coffee and vinegar and whisk to combine. The batter will be a bit thinner than some cakes: this is A-OK. Pour into the prepared pan and bake for about 35 minutes, until toothpick comes out clean but not too dry. Remove from oven, let cool in pan for about 10 minutes, then invert onto cooling rack and let cool completely out of the pan.

When the cake is cool, add the glaze ingredients into a small heat-proof bowl and microwave for 15 seconds at a time, stirring in between until melted and smooth (this really only took about 40 seconds for me). Pour on the cake, spread to the edges, and let cool to room temperature (the glaze will harden a bit). Serve and enjoy!!

Roasted Tomato Soup

I cannot recommend this soup highly enough. Roasting the tomatoes, onion, and garlic helps to make the soup flavor even more intense. It is outstanding and just jumped in line in front of my previously favorite tomato soup for the #1 spot. Inspired by a Tyler Florence's recipe for roasted tomato soup. Serves 4 people.

INGREDIENTS
4 lbs. ripe tomatoes (I used a combination of heirloom and on-the-vine)

1 large onion, half of it thinly sliced and the other half chopped

5 garlic cloves, peeled

1/4 cup olive oil

2 tbs. ghee*

1 pinch of red pepper flakes

4 cups chicken stock (see recipe here if you want to make your own)

1 bay leaf

1/4 cup basil, chopped

1/3 cup coconut milk (or heavy cream)

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Prepare the tomatoes by quartering large ones and halving smaller ones and then removing all the seeds. Place them, along with the thinly sliced onion and the whole garlic cloves on a sheet pan in a single layer and cover with the 1/4 cup of olive oil, salt and pepper. Roast in the oven for 1 hour. Let cool a few minutes, until they are able to be handled, and then remove and discard the tomato skins.

Once the veggies are out of the oven, start prepping the rest of the soup. Heat the ghee in a large pot over medium-low heat and add the chopped onion and some salt and pepper and cook, stirring frequently, until softened and just starting to get brown (~7-10 minutes). Add a little water if the onion starts sticking/browning too quickly. In the last minute or two of cooking add the red pepper flakes and stir to combined. Once softened, add the tomato/onion/garlic to the pot and stir. Add the chicken stock and bay leaf and bring to a low boil for about 10 minutes. Remove the bay leaf, add the chopped basil and the coconut milk and blend with a stick blender until silky smooth. Taste for salt and pepper and serve immediately. 

*Ghee is clarified butter and it has a much higher smoke point, meaning it won't burn as easily as regular butter. It also tastes delicious with sautéed onion. But, if you don't have ghee, just use olive oil.

Homemade Chicken Stock

I've been cooking a lot more recently because I'm doing a 30-day no-sugar/no-grains/no-dairy/no-fun diet challenge and that means eating out is nearly impossible. Or, even when it is possible, its not that fun. But it has led me to feel great and spend a lot more time in the kitchen, which I always enjoy. Did you know that lots of store-bought chicken broth has sugar added to it? I didn't. This recipe (thanks, Ina) is naturally sweetened by the vegetables, tastes amazing, is easy and no fuss, and once you put it on the stove, you barely have to tend to it. After a few hours of busying myself around the apartment I had 10-12 cups of delicious homemade chicken stock ready for use or freezing. Adapted slightly from Ina Garten's recipe for chicken stock.

INGREDIENTS

5 lbs. of chicken pieces with bones (you can also use leftover carcass from a roasted chicken-- I did a combination of chicken carcass I had frozen and fresh chicken wings with meat)

3 large carrots, cut in thirds

2 large celery stalks, cut in thirds

2 parsnips, cut in half

2 medium onions, quartered

1 piece of ginger (peeled, about 1-inch square)

1/2 head of garlic (sliced crosswise to expose cloves)

Handful of parsley

Handful of dill

8-10 sprigs of thyme

1 teaspoon whole black peppercorns

1-2 teaspoons kosher salt

Add all of the ingredients to a large pot and cover with 14 cups of water. Bring to a boil, reduce the heat to low and simmer for 3-4 hours. Skim off any foam that floats to the top and you may want to skim some of that fat as it cooks, too. Carefully, once cool enough, strain the broth through a fine-mesh strainer into a large container or bowl. Freeze in airtight containers for 3-4 months, or keep in the refrigerator and use within a few days.

Root Vegetable Bisque

This weekend the temperature really dropped in NYC and it feels like autumn. And whenever it gets cooler outside I always want soup. I've been trying to eat a lot more vegetables recently, had a few things in my refrigerator that I needed to use up, and since blended soups > chunky soups, I decided to throw everything in a pot and immersion-blend the hell out of it. It is delicious. 

The addition of garam masala and ginger in this recipe gives a hint of Indian flavor, but its quite subtle and really just adds warmth to the soup. If those aren't your thing, you could omit them or add other seasonings that you prefer.

Hint: do all of the chopping/prep work ahead of time and then you just add the veggies in stages and its easy as pie. 

Last thing: I didn't even wait until I finished my first bowl of this soup before I started this blog post. I am enjoying it that much.

INGREDIENTS

1 onion, chopped

2 leeks, white and light green parts only, thinly sliced

2 stalks celery, chopped

1 fennel bulb, core removed, chopped

1 bay leaf

1 or 2 sprigs of thyme

3 large carrots, chopped

1 parsnip, chopped

1-inch cube of ginger, peeled and minced

2 cloves garlic, minced

6 cups chicken or vegetable broth

1 large russet potato, peeled and chopped

1/2 of a sweet potato, peeled and chopped

a pinch or two of garam masala (an Indian spice mix)

Heat a large pot over medium heat with 2 tablespoons of olive oil. Add the onion, leeks, celery, fennel, thyme and bay leaf and salt and pepper- stir frequently vegetables are softened. Add the carrots and parsnip, and stir occasionally for a few minutes. Add the ginger and garlic and cook, stirring, until fragrant (a minute or two). Add the broth and bring to a boil. Throw in the chopped potatoes and cook until softened 10-20 minutes. Remove the sprigs of thyme and the bay leaf and season with garam masala. Use an immersion blender (or a stand blender, in batches) to blend the soup. Taste for salt and pepper and seasonings and then serve and enjoy!