I must admit – flourless cake is not a favorite dessert of mine. It doesn’t even crack the top 25. I have never once ordered it in a restaurant, never picked it out of a bakery’s glass case, and never requested it as a special treat. What can I say? I am a carb lover, through and through. If I am going to have cake, you can bet there’s going to be flour in there. Ice cream, on the other hand, I could happily eat every day. I love my ice cream maker, but it has been sitting up on the shelf for so long that I was afraid it was starting to grow roots up there. I was glad to have an excuse to blow the dust off of it and put it to use.
As is usually the case, this month’s DB challenge was one that relied heavily on dairy. Veganizing the challenge was the easy part compared to what else I had to do with it:
Not use any refined sugars.
You read that right. No refined sugars. Several months ago I discussed my desire to cut back on refined sugars, but then the holidays came and I reverted back to viewing sugar as a food group all of its own. When Ash Wednesday rolled around this year, I decided to give up refined sugar for Lent. Of course, I left this DB challenge to the very last day (today) which means that it now falls under the “no refined sugar” rule. I was happy that it was cake paired with ice cream rather than one that relied on frosting or something else entirely sugar dependent.
I’m happy to report that the recipes came out quite well, though I would definitely tweak them if I were to make them again. The cake turned out chewy and very, very chocolately. Incredibly chocolately – a little too chocolately for my liking, but it would be a true chocoholic’s dream come true. The ice cream had great consistency and a yummy coconut flavor, but it would have benefited from a wee bit more sweetness. I would recommend adding some agave to the ice cream to make it just that much better of a companion for the rich chocolate cake.
Of course, that could be my jonesin’ sweet tooth talking.
Strawberries and Coconut Cream Ice Cream
1 carton Mori Nu silken tofu
1 14 oz can coconut milk
1/3 cup brown rice syrup
1 tsp vanilla
1 cup sliced strawberries
1. Puree tofu, coconut milk, brown rice syrup, and vanilla in a food processor or blender until smooth.
2. Pour into ice cream maker and mix per manufacturer’s instructions (for my Cuisinart ice cream make I mix it for 30 minutes).
3. Pour ice cream into freezer safe bowl, stir in strawberries, and freeze for at least 4 hours before servings.
Chocolate Flourless Cake
9 oz dark chocolate (I used three bars of Endangered Species Extreme Dark Chocolate)
½ cup soy butter or margarine
1 6 oz container plain soy yogurt
½ cup soy milk (or other dairyless milk) + 2 tbsp arrowroot powder
3 tbsp cocoa powder
1 tsp vanilla
1. Preheat oven to 350F and grease a springform pan.
2. Melt chocolate and soy butter in a double boiler over low heat until smooth.
3. While the chocolate is melting, stir the arrowroot into the soy milk and whisk with a fork until completely dissolves. Pour the soy milk mixture into a mix bowl, add the yogurt and vanilla and mix until well combined. Add the cocoa powder and mix until smooth. Pour in the chocolate mixture and mix on medium high for 2 minutes.
4. Pour batter into the prepared pan and bake for 35 minutes. Cool on a wire rack for 20 minutes before unmolding. Refrigerate for at least 1 hour before serving.
Required text for this month’s challenge:
The February 2009 challenge is hosted by Wendy of WMPE’s blog and Dharm of Dad ~ Baker & Chef.
We have chosen a Chocolate Valentino cake by Chef Wan; a Vanilla Ice Cream recipe from Dharm and a Vanilla Ice Cream recipe from Wendy as the challenge.
Cooking at the Pacific Outpost 
