powdered sugar

Gluten-Free Chocolate Cake

What’s Cooking in Gail’s Kitchen? All the Buzz: Gluten-Free Chocolate Cake! You know you love chocolate. Who doesn’t? If you find yourself avoiding baked goods due to its wheat content, worry no more. This cake is completely flourless. The results are rich, chocolaty, and extremely satisfying for any sweet tooth craving. Dust it with powdered sugar and garnish each slice with fresh strawberries for a gourmet finish. Hurray for Chocolate!

GLUTEN-FREE CHOCOLATE CAKE

Ingredients:

1 1/2 cups semi-sweet chocolate chips

15-ounce can organic garbanzo beans, rinsed and drained

4 eggs

3/4 cup sugar

1/2 teaspoon baking powder 

1 tablespoon almond extract

1 tablespoon powdered sugar, for dusting

1/4 cup almond slices (optional)

Whipped cream

Fresh strawberries, garnish

Instructions:

Preheat oven to 350°. Grease a 9″ round cake pan. Melt the chocolate chips in a microwave-safe bowl for 2 minutes on high. Stir after 1 minute. Repeat until chocolate is melted and smooth. In a food processor, combine garbanzo beans and eggs. Blend until smooth, about 4 minutes. Add sugar and baking powder. Pulse to mix. Pour in melted chocolate and almond extract. Blend until smooth, scraping sides as needed. Transfer batter to the cake pan. Bake 40 minutes or until a cake tester comes out clean. Cool on a wire rack for 10 minutes. Invert onto a serving plate. Dust with powdered sugar. Sprinkle with almond slices. Garnish with whipped cream and strawberries. 

Ohio Buckeye Candy

What’s Cooking in Gail’s Kitchen? Grocery List Ideas: Ohio Buckeye Candy. In case you’re not familiar with an Ohio Buckeye, it’s a shiny, dark brown seed from one of their native trees. It features a light brown “eye” which resembles the eye of a deer. Although the actual seeds from the tree are poisonous to humans when eaten raw, this bakery version is all about permission granted. The homemade candy became super popular back in the 1960s. Like most iconic treats, it was created by accident when a woman didn’t get the confection completely covered in chocolate. Oops. Thanks to her, now anyone can sweeten their day. 

OHIO BUCKEYE CANDY 

Ingredients: 

1 cup butter, room temperature 

1 cup creamy peanut butter 

4 cups powdered sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla extract 

12 ounces special dark chocolate chips 

2 tablespoons vegetable oil

Instructions: 

In a mixing bowl, use electric beaters to cream together the butter and peanut butter. Slowly add the powdered sugar until you get a smooth consistency. Add the vanilla extract and mix completely. Scoop 4-5 dozen small peanut butter mounds, rolled into balls, onto a baking sheet. Place in the freezer for one hour. Once cold, they are ready for dipping. Meanwhile, pour the chocolate chips and vegetable oil into a microwave-safe bowl. Melt on 50% power in the microwave oven at 30-second intervals. Stir in between to make the chocolate smooth, without lumps, until all the chocolate is melted. Use a toothpick or skewer to dip and coat each peanut butter ball in chocolate, leaving an open circle of peanut butter to show through. This will resemble an Ohio buckeye. Allow excess to drip off. Transfer buckeyes to parchment paper. Allow candy to set before serving.