chocolate chocolate cake

Wow! we just completed a train trip around America & I'm back! lots of new recipes were attempted as we visited people who were not familiar with safe gluten-free ingredients! The hardest thing for people to remember is to check the labels of every single sauce that goes into the dinner. Most pre-made sauces, including soy sauce, barbeque sauce and even steak sauce has wheat or msg. Soup stock to Worcestershire sauce.

Celiacs attempting the Amtrak should bring their own food. Period. Few of the "chefs" had any idea what was in the food they were serving! It arrived to the train frozen, already prepared, and with NO list of ingredients. I LOVE the local Powell River Restaurants who make the effort for us!

My mom just sent me this recipe this morning for chocolate cake made with no flour at all! I added a custard sauce, and it is amazing :)

Chocolate Chocolate Cake

1 can chick peas, drained
1/3 cup orange juice
4 eggs
1 cup demerara sugar
2/3 cup cocoa powder
2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda

Pre-heat oven to 350 F. Line a 8"x 8" cake pan with parchment paper.

In a blender, blend the chick peas with orange juice. Add eggs and blend again. Add the rest of the ingredients in order, blending as you go.

Pour the batter into the parchment paper lined pan and put in the oven for at least 50 minutes (mine took just about an hour). A toothpick inserted in the middle should come out clean. While the cake is baking make the custard if you would like.

Cool your cake on a cake rack! Pour on custard and some raspberry sauce, or ice the cake with chocolate mocha frosting.

Mocha Frosting:
1/2 cup soft butter
3 Tbsp very strong cold coffee
3 Tbsp cocoa powder
1 1/2  - 2 cups icing sugar
In your small mixing bowl, whip the butter, add the coffee, cocoa and 1 cup of icing sugar. Mix on high speed until smooth and creamy, adding the icing sugar 1/4 cup at a time until it is the correct consistency to spread on your cake. This makes enough frosting to split the cooled cake in half horizontally and fill it with frosting, plus cover the cake really nicely!

Almond Milk Custard (& Creme Brulee)

2 cups almond milk
1 tsp vanilla
1/4 cup sugar
5 egg yolks

In the top of a double boiler, warm the milk & vanilla. Do Not let it boil. Remove from the heat, but keep the bottom pot of boiling water on simmer. In a heat-proof bowl, beat the egg yolks with the sugar. Place this bowl over the simmering water and slowly add the hot almond milk with vanilla. When it is all added, stir with a wooden spoon over the simmering water until nice and thick... do not let it boil!

Pour this pudding into four individual ramekins and put them into a baking dish with an inch of boiling water in it, taking care to not get any water into the ramekins. Place in 350 F oven for 25 minutes. Remove from the dish with water & chill them in the fridge for at least a couple hours.

If you are going to use them for custard, you may want to cover them with plastic so they don't get a film. If you want to make creme brulee, sprinke the cool custard with about a tablespoon of sugar each and place under the broiler JUST until browned. Chill.