The finished product!Every year I make a special birthday cake for my friend. She loves chocolate almost as much as my sister does so it always involves chocolate of some sort. This year we picked an adaptation of this cake. Annie’s recipes are usually easy and fun, but since going gluten free/dairy free I’ve had to do more than a little adjusting. My first plan was to make two sets of brownies and have a brownie making bar with different toppings. A delightful idea, but I ran out of time and steam so I decided to just make one cake that wasn’t dairy free and refrain from tasting it. (One guest is severely allergic to nuts and coconut oil was out of the question as was earth balance since it also contains coconut oil.) It was tricky making sure that everything came together okay without tasting it or licking my fingers, but my husband happily volunteered to taste test everything!
This is a wonderful cake for your next special occasion:
For the brownie:
1 12 oz bag semisweet chocolate chips plus about 1/4 cup more
16 T butter, cut into pieces
6 T cocoa powder
6 eggs
2 cups organic sugar
1 1/2 T vanilla extract
1 t salt
2 cups gluten free flour blend with xanthan gum: I use this blend
4 T Kahlua
For the whipped cream:
1 cup heavy cream
1/2 cup powdered sugar
3 T Kahlua
Chocolate Syrup for drizzling (I used this version for its quick and easy properties!)
4 T Cocoa powder
6 T maple syrup
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease sides of pans and line bottom with parchment paper.
Ready to go in the oven!Melt the chocolate chips and butter in a heat proof bowl over boiling water. Mix in cocoa powder. When smooth mix in eggs, sugar, vanilla extract, and salt. Stir in the flour blend until mixed. Bake in two 8 in round cake pans that are greased and floured. I didn’t want to serve the boozy brownie to my 3-year-old so I filled some heart shaped silicone muffin tins with some of the batter. Bake everything at 350 degrees for 30 minutes. Cool for a few minutes and brush the round pans with half the Kahlua. Let that soak in and then brush with the rest of the Kahlua. Cool completely in the pans. Once cool carefully remove from the pans. The brownies will probably be a little crumbly due to the gluten free flour, but I was able to remove them in one piece. (The heart shaped brownies were served separately with separate whipped cream that I had removed for my daughter!)
Pour the heavy cream and the powdered sugar into a chilled bowl and beat with a mixer until the cream gets thick, but not until it turns into butter! Then mix in the Kahlua. Start with half and mix it in and taste it. Add more to taste.
Mix the maple syrup and cocoa powder until it turns into syrup.
To assemble:
Place the bottom brownie on a serving platter. Cover with about half of the whipped cream, spreading it to make it smooth. Drizzle with half the chocolate syrup. Gently place the top brownie on top and spread the rest of the whipped cream on top. Drizzle with the rest of the chocolate syrup. Serve! Tastes even more wonderful if refrigerated for a couple of hours before serving (my husband couldn’t eat his until a couple of hours later!)
NOTE: Some people with Celiac’s or gluten intolerance have issues with Kahlua liquor. It is gluten free, but be aware that you may experience some symptoms of being “glutened” if you happen to be that sensitive (like I am).
