Baking

Flourless Chocolate Cake

By | On April 11,17 | 0 Comment

There are times when a gal just wants chocolate. Deep, rich, dense chocolate. When that happens it’s time to make this cake. O.M.G. Right?

It’s been awhile since I tied on my apron and baked because I’ve been busy, busy, busy writing and tackling spring cleaning. On Sunday afternoon I decided I needed a treat. But just not any treat. I wanted something decadent. I wanted something that I usually don’t bake, after all I was viewing this as a reward. Chocolate and decadent. Hmm…Flourless Chocolate Cake. Perfect!

One of the reasons, other than tasting amazeballs (sorry, I’ve always wanted to write that into a sentence 🙂 ) it’s perfect for portion control because you just need a small slice to satisfy your craving. See, it’s a perfect dessert.

Ready to dig in? First, you need to bake it and it’s really a quick recipe. So lets get baking.

 

 

Flourless Chocolate Cake
Recipe Type: Dessert
Author: Debra Sennefelder
Prep time:
Cook time:
Total time:
Serves: 8 servings
Rich and decadent, this is a perfect ending to any meal. Top with a sprinkle of powdered sugar or a dollop of whipped cream and fresh berries.
Ingredients
  • 1/2 cup unsalted butter
  • 2/3 cup bittersweet chocolate chips
  • 3/4 cup sugar
  • 3 large eggs
  • 12 cup cocoa powder
  • Powdered sugar or whipped cream and fresh berries, optional.
Instructions
  1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease a 9-inch Springform pan and line the bottom with parchment paper.
  2. Combine butter and chocolate chips into a microwave-safe bowl. Microwave on high for 1 minute and stir. Continue to mircowave in 15 second increments, until butter and chocolate chips are melted. Stir to combine.
  3. In a large bowl, whisk together the sugar and eggs. Add melted chocolate and whisk to combine. Stir in cocoa powder and mix until smooth.
  4. Pour the chocolate mixture into the greased pan. Bake for 20 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into center of cake comes out clean.
  5. Let cake cool for ten minutes on cooling rack and then release the side of the pan.
  6. Serve with a sprinkle of powdered sugar or a dollop of whipped cream and berries.
  7. Enjoy!

 

Coffee & Chat

Coffee & Chat # 10 – So what’s the title of your book?

Happy Monday! I’ve been getting a few of the same questions since I announced I sold my mystery series so I decided to share those questions and their answers today. Ready?

What’s the title of your book? I’m happy to be able to share with you that the title of the first book in the Food Bloger mystery series is The Uninvited Corpse.

What’s it about? Former reality TV star Hope Early thought her biggest problem was driving traffic to her food blog, but discovering two dead bodies and clearing her sister of their murders have Hope trading her Google analytics for amateur sleuthing. When there’s an attempt on her own life, Hope has no choice but to uncover the murderer before she becomes the next corpse du jour.

How long is is? About 300 pages.

How long did it take to write? About ten months.

Do you have an agent? Yes.

When will it be out? April 2018.

Who’s publishing it? Kensington Publishers.

Are they in New York? Yes.

How much did they pay you? I’m sorry, I don’t discuss my finances.

Are you working on another book? Yes. I have a 3 book contract so I’m currently writing book 2.

What’s book 2 about? Since I’m currently working on the first draft I prefer not to say what the plot is at this time.

There you have it, the 11 most asked questions about my first book. If you have any questions please don’t hesitate to ask. If you don’t have a question please feel free to say “hi” in the comments section.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Baking, Recipes

Oatmeal Raisin Bars

It’s the middle of the week and I think it’s a perfect time to share one of my favorite go-to snacks. I love these Oatmeal Raisin bars because they’re healthy and they’re easy to make. I used to reach for those protein bars and then those other “nice” bars (you know the ones I talking about) and various other bars for my mid-morning snack with a cup of tea. Then I got to a point where I realized some of those bars are just as bad as a candy bar. Go ahead, read some of those labels. And the other bars while they have real foods in them (don’t get me started on the ingredients that I can’t pronounce in packaged foods) I found them to be held together by something gooey and sugary and I didn’t like the taste or texture. Ugh. So I now make my own bars. And today’s recipe is an Oatmeal Raisin bar that is easy, fast and flexible. Best of all, you know exactly what you’re putting into the bar.

 

When I’m in the mood a little chocolate, I had a handful of chips to the batter. When I want to take the bars up a notch I substitute the raisins with dried cherries and add in dark chocolate chips. Like the bars as is but like and added kick of cinnamon, then sprinkle a little extra. You really can’t do anything wrong to this recipe.

Ready for the recipe?

 

 

Oatmeal Raisin Bars
Author: Debra Sennefelder
Ingredients
  • 2 cups old-fashioned oats
  • 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
  • 1/2 cup packed brown sugar
  • 1/2 cup canola oil
  • 2 eggs
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt
  • 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
  • 1 cup raisins
Instructions
  1. – Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
  2. – Spray 8″x8″ baking pan with non-stick cooking spray.
  3. – In a large mixing bowl, combine all ingredients thoroughly.
  4. – Spread the batter into the prepared baking pan. Bake approximately 24-30 minutes until bars are cooked all the way through.
  5. – Cool completely in the pan then cut into squares.
  6. The amount of squares depends on how large you cut them.
Coffee & Chat

Coffee & Chat #9 – Five Questions

Happy Monday! I know, I’ve been MIA for a few weeks. Life and writing kind of took over for a bit but now I’m back and I decided that for today’s Coffee & Chat I’d answer 5 questions. That’s right. 5 questions. I have my coffee so lets get chatting.

Where would you fly right now if you could hop in a plane? Costa Rica, baby. The reason? To visit the Sloth Sanctuary of course. I keep seeing videos online and I want to go and hang out with the sloths.

When did you learn how to swim? Never did. My uncle did try to teach me but I was certain I was going to drown. I really wasn’t a very good student. But I do love the water. I just can’t swim.

What did you do the summer after high school? I worked as a secretary for a scale company. Yes, it was as boring as it sounds. They sold scales to commercial businesses and medical practices. I remember the owner bragged that his neighbor was Joan Jett, like that was suppose to impress me. It didn’t and I didn’t last long at that office.

Have you ever used a typewriter? Oh, yeah. I was in elementary school when I got my first typewriter and I graduated up to an IBM Selectric typewriter (remember those babies?) it was the Cadillac of typewriters. Then I upgraded to a PC and I haven’t looked back. Though I think it would be cool to own an antique typewriter. Maybe I’ll find one at a flea market one day.

What is your favorite thing to do on a cold day? I like to curl up with a good book and a cup of coffee or tea. I also love to bake on a cold day. Cupcakes or cookies are usually my go-to for cold day baking. Then I venture outside in the cold, wintry weather to deliver the treats to my neighbors (otherwise I’ll eat them all). So, reading does keep in inside all toasty warm.

There you have it. Five questions answered. ? I’m going to finish my coffee now and I’d love it if you’d like to answer one of these questions.

If you prefer not to answer one of the questions, please feel free to say “hi” in the comments section!

 

Coffee & Chat

Coffee & Chat #8 – Do you wander when you go shopping or are you focused on a prepared list?

Happy Monday! Can you believe that it’s the 16th of January already? This month is flying by. Weren’t we all just ringing in the new year and committing to a resolution? I’m not going to ask if you’ve broken your resolution yet. 🙂 Rather, we’re going to move onto our Coffee & Chat question, which is “do you wander when you go shopping, or are you focused on a prepared list?” Since I’m writing a food blogger amateur sleuth I’m going to focus on grocery shopping. Hope Early, the food blogger/sleuth in the series does a lot of grocery shopping and we do share the same method of shopping. I have a full cup of coffee so lets get chatting.

When I go weekly grocery shopping I do have a detailed list. I am a list maker. Always have been. For grocery shopping I use a steno pad and I break up my list by categories. Produce, canned goods, pasta, beverages, butcher department, diary, frozen, breads, personal care, etc. My grocery list is based on the design of my local Stop & Shop. I also include a brief menu for the coming week. I cross off the items I’ve added to my cart as I go through the store and make notes if I need to pick up an item at a different store. One time a sweet lady approached me while I was waiting for a couple of steaks and admired how organized I was with my list.

Here’s a look at one of the pages in the steno pad from a shopping trip.

I can’t imagine not having the list with me. I can’t. My goal is to get into the store and out as quickly as possible. Round trip, it usually takes me an hour to buy the groceries. And I do prefer self-checkout so that I can bag the groceries the way I want to. I do admit I’m a little OCD when it comes to the way the bags are packed but it’s really about being able to unpack the bags and put the groceries away quickly. Probably the least favorite part of grocery shopping is putting the groceries away.

There you have it. You now know how I grocery shop. 🙂 I’m going to finish my coffee now and I’d love to know if you’re a list maker or not.

If you prefer not to tell the world if you’re a list maker or not please feel free to say “hi” in the comments section!

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