It was my hubby's birthday and I wanted to make something small for the four of us to enjoy. We were going to have family over to celebrate on the weekend but I wanted to have something sweet to celebrate on his actual birthday.

We are big chocolate fans and my hubby enjoys subsituting almond flour with regular flour in recipes (he's a lower carb advocate). I also substituted baking splenda with the bulk of the sugar in this recipe.

The cakes were very rich and chocolatey. One small cake was a lot to eat. I would have preferred them to be a touch more sweeter though, but that's my preference.

This is a great recipe when entertaining. They can be made beforehand too. Add some whipped cream and berries and you have a decadent dessert that serves a large group.

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Flourless Chocolate Cakes
makes 12 muffin size cakes or about 6 individual springform pans

3/4 cup (180g) butter, chopped
220 g (7-1/2 oz) pure semisweet chocolate, chopped
1-1/4 cup sugar (*I used 1 cup splenda and 1/4 cup sugar)
3/4 cup almond flour
1 cup cocoa powder, sifted
5 eggs, lightly beaten

Melt the butter, chocolate and sugar in a saucepan, until smooth.

Remove from heat. Add almond flour and cocoa and whisk until completely mixed.

Add the eggs and incorporate until uniform.

Spoon the mixture into prepared 12 cup muffin tins or mini-springform pans.

Bake at 300F for 20-25 minutes until firm. Remove from oven and let cool in their pans on baking racks. Serve.

Recipe adapted from: flourless chocolate cakes, donna hay modern classics book 2

I've come across recipes and seen pictures of dutch babies but I have never made one or tasted it before. Apparantly, dutch babies are also known as German pancakes. This is where I was confused because did the Dutch and Germans get together on this? According to wiki, one possibility could be that the term "dutch" may be a moniker for "deutsch". Who knows. Dutch baby or Deutsch baby... either way, it's Delicious, baby.

I looked for a recipe and was amazed to see how simple it is to make. It really isn't hard. I can't believe it took me this long to get around to making one. It really is as simple to make as a pancake. Tasty and can be made with any combination of fruits or without if you prefer.


You can enjoy dutch babies for breakfast or make it for a quick dessert. Sprinkle some icing sugar on it and people will think you worked so hard for such a pretty dessert. Easy entertaining! Don't worry, your secret is safe with me :)

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Apricot and Strawberry Dutch Baby

makes a 10 inch pancake

3 large eggs
1/3 cup sugar
Pinch of salt

2/3 cup all-purpose flour
2/3 cup milk

3 -4 cups strawberries and apricots, diced in sizes of your choice

4 tablespoons unsalted butter


Preheat the oven to 425F.

Whisk the eggs, sugar and salt in a bowl. Add the flour and milk and whisk until smooth. Fold in the apricots and strawberries.

Melt the butter in a 10 inch cast iron skillet. Add the batter and spread the fruit evenly.

Place the skillet in the center of the oven and bake for about 20 minutes. The edges should puff and be browned. Remove from oven and cut into wedges and serve.

Recipe adapted from: Mixed-Berry Dutch Baby, Food and Wine July 2009 Magazine

I clipped this Hellman's Grown-in-Canada Fruit and Vegetable Availability Chart from a magazine. For those of you who wonder when certain fruits and vegies are available in Canada, this will come in handy.

Last week, I made some mint chocolate chip cream with a big batch of mint I have growing on my kitchen windowsill and I was left with egg whites sitting in my fridge. I find it hard sometimes to use up the whites (no egg white omelettes for me - blech. I want the tasty yolks in there!) I'm also not a huge fan of meringues.