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Cake!
The other day, in celebration of a birthday,
a friend made a “simple” chocolate cake.
To accommodate our
non-gluten lives, in the last three years she made this amazingly rich, complex-to-make cake. Though the end result was always good, the amount of work to produce it was quite frankly not worth it.
So this year, with so much going on,
simple was a necessity.
Back on the 22nd of January in 2007,
David Lebovitz “published” this Chocolate Cake Recipe on his blog. I think since then it has been re-published like a zillion times. And there is a reason for that. It’s pretty gosh darn awesome!
With just 4 plus one ingredients, it’s hard to imagine that something so absolutely good is so absolutely simple to make. Melt, mix, bake, cool, eat!
One caveat here though. The
chocolate you use really matters. Period.
As just one of only five ingredients it matters a lot. The choices we make in life (in the kitchen), even subtle ones, can affect the outcome so much. I have had this recipe before, and it wasn’t memorable, it was a moosh of just chocolate. No distinct characteristics, just a lot of not much.
This cake, from last Saturday, was a wonderful sweet spot after a long week! Full of flavor, the very first bite made your eyes go wide! You could taste
the chocolate personality front and center! It was like, wow, this is the real deal!
Smooth, with a bit of texture that is more conceptuality than reality, some might think this is more like a creamy brownie, but it’s not. It acts like a cake starting when you make the first slice. And the first bite is so rich and eye closing appealing joy!
Click to see the recipe and the chocolate we think is perfect.
Shop now for the chocolate that makes the cake!
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Chicory!
A symbol of The Resistance!
Chicory is the symbol of The Resistance. Thus, even when a blockade keeps supplies from arriving on the docks, the people rally and find ways to rise and still have a morning cup of good old “joe”.
In France, whilst
Napoleon was dictating how trade would happen in Europe, he battled with Great Britain. Embargoes resulted in a blockade of ports and restriction of trade, even from neutral countries.
The result was detrimental to every country, not just
Britain, including the French whose coffee turned difficult and expensive to get. And thus, the “explosion” of chicory into coffee.
Chicorée, or Chicory is the roasted ground root of
Chicorium Intybus, a flowering species of plant. Grown around the world the largest crops come from
Belgium, France and the Netherlands.
It has long been believed that chicory has amazing health properties with many studies showing a positive goodness for you. In
Hungary, the anti-inflammatory properties of chicory were shown to restore blood cells. At the
University of Texas, tests show that chicory may help with degenerative joint disease, Osteoarthritis.
Chicory in medicinal beliefs has a history as old as the
Egyptians who used it for its medicinal properties to fight jaundice/liver issues. More modern studies have shown that it may protect against chemical based free radical damage in the liver!
Chicory also contains
oligosaccharide-enriched inulin! And if you don't know what that is, it’s a prebiotic. A prebiotic helps your digestive system grow probiotics. This in turn has helped elderly patients with constipation!
Ironically, this brings us back to "The Resistance”. People utilizing what is available is a means to an end, as they did in New Orleans when the Naval blockade cut off the port. At the time,
New Orleans was the second largest importer of coffee into the U.S. And without coffee, like the French, the locals turned to locally grown chicory to stretch the coffee supplies.
Not much is grown “locally” now and famous places in New Orleans source their chicory from
Leroux, France.
Often considered only for adding to Café au lait,
instant chicory can be added to any cup of coffee bringing with it a flavor profile that is different and yet the same. Some caffeine free folks will have chicory only as a coffee replacement. Though it has a bitter root tang, adding a touch of cream or milk tames and eliminates this. Perhaps not a substitute for a fresh brewed coffee, it is better than a bad cup of drip any day!
How can you go wrong? Add a spoonful or more to your morning cup of joe and you have a health drink!
Shop now for French Leroux Chicoree!
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Making Chocolate
Baking chocolate is the root of the next great chocolate treat. Without exception all of these chocolates can be eaten out-of-hand because they are that good. Smooth, edgy, flavorful and delicious. More than % defines them, each has a unique flavor profile.
Moroccan Harissa
Fresh-made-to-order, this is the favorite of all the Harissa's we have carried!
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