Gluten Free Sacher Torte: Guest post by Wendy Hornsby

Today I welcome back Wendy Hornsby. I love when my mystery and chocolate worlds collide. Edgar-award winner Wendy Hornsby is the author of 11 mysteries. Next from Wendy Hornsby, Disturbing the Dark, from Perseverance Press, April 2016. 

Wendy Hornsby:

When we sit down to a meal, we want everyone at the table to be able to enjoy every dish we set before them. Accommodating special dietary needs might take a little extra thought, but doesn’t really take much extra effort, if any, to prepare. I would certainly never put something deliciously chocolate in front of my gluten-intolerant daughter and tell her she couldn’t have any.

Last Christmas my family enjoyed the rich Sacher Torte Janet posted on Dying for Chocolate. Because the Sacher torte uses very little flour, it was easy to make a gluten free version. I just substituted the same measure of all purpose Namaste gluten free flour for wheat flour (there are several brands out there, Namaste is the one I use). GF cakes are more delicate than cakes that have wheat gluten to bind them, so I sliced the torte into only two layers instead of three, though a braver person might try three. Once I converted ounces of sugar and butter to tablespoons, the cake was fairly easy to make. My version and notes are attached.

The chocolate Genoise sheet of the Buche de Noel recipe you posted the other day also uses very little flour, so simply substituting gluten free flour should work. I would add a fourth egg yolk as extra binding. Do check to make sure the baking powder is gluten free. I make my own baking powder as I need it so I can certain of what’s in it. The formula is 1 measure (i.e. teaspoon) of baking soda to 2 measures of cream of tartar.  If you make a quantity and want to store it, add 1 measure of corn starch to stabilize it. Gluten free cakes and breads generally don’t hold up for very long, so it’s risky to make them very far ahead of serving them.

Gluten Free Sacher Torte 

Cake:
6 ozs. good bittersweet chocolate cut into small pieces
2 Tbsp butter
4 egg yolks
2 ¼ Tbsp sugar, plus 7 Tbsp (a scant ½ cup)*
5 egg whites
¼ tsp. salt
1/3 cup all purpose gluten free flour, such as Namaste or King Arthur gluten free

Apricot filling:
1 ½ c. apricot preserves
1 Tbsp apricot brandy

Glaze: 
6 ozs. Bittersweet chocolate cut into small pieces
2 Tbsp butter
2 ozs. heavy cream (whipping cream)

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Butter and flour a 9” by 2” cake pan

For the cake: 
In a bowl, combine chocolate and butter and melt over a double boiler. Set aside to cool. Whip egg yolks with with 2 ¼ Tbsp sugar until light colored and ribbony. Beat in cooled chocolate mixture.

In another bowl, beat egg whites and salt until soft peaks form. Slowly add remaining 7 Tbsp sugar and beat until stiff peaks form. Fold in flour. Fold 1/3 of egg white mixture into chocolate. Carefully fold in remaining egg whites, thoroughly but gently. Pour into prepared pan and bake for 40 minutes or until paring knife inserted into middle comes out clean. Remove from rack and cool on rack.

The filling: 
Puree the preserves. Stir in brandy. Slice the cake into 2 or 3 equal layers.** Spread filling on top of each layer. Stack the layers and chill for at least 30 minutes.

The glaze: 
in a bowl, combine chocolate and butter and melt over a double boiler. In a small pan, bring the cream to a boil. Stir into melted chocolate. Cool until it reaches glazing (spreadable) consistency. Spread over top and sides of cake. Chill at least 30 minutes before serving. Serve: the torte is very rich. Cut into cut into narrow slices (about 2-3 inches at the wide end) and serve with a dollop of unsweetened whipped cream on the side of the plate.

*Measurement notes: I converted the measurements for ounces called for in the original recipe posted on the Dying for Chocolate blog to Tablespoons for butter and sugar. 1 ounce of sugar = 2 ¼ Tbs. and 3 ounces of sugar converts to 6 ¾ Tbs., or .4375 cup (a very scant half cup); I rounded it up to 7 Tbs. By weight, 1 ounce of butter = 2 Tbs. 

**Assembly note: Gluten free flour makes a more fragile cake than all purpose wheat flour, so I cut the cake into 2 layers instead of 3 rather than risk having it fall apart.

Chocolate, Yes. Gluten, No. Cookies & Muffins

I love when my mystery and chocolate worlds cross. Today I welcome mystery author and chocolate lover Wendy Hornsby.

Wendy Hornsby:
Chocolate, Yes. Gluten, No.

When my daughter was found to be gluten intolerant, I began experimenting with gluten-free cooking. For some dishes, like the Sacher torte I adapted from the dyingforchocolate.com site for our Christmas dinner, simply substituting gluten-free multi-purpose flour for wheat flour works famously. But that isn’t always the case. I think that the biggest issues involve replicating the mouth feel and texture of some favorite foods. For my Aly, I wanted to make a good, rich, homemade cookie that was crunchy without being hard. The flourless peanut butter chocolate chip recipe below is easy, delicious, crisp, and completely gluten free.

Gluten Free Chocolate Surprise Peanut Butter Cookies 

Yield: about 18 -3” cookies
Preheat oven to 350.
Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.

Ingredients
1 egg
¾ cup sugar
1 tsp. gluten free vanilla
½ tsp. salt
¼ tsp. baking powder
¼ tsp. baking soda
1 cup fresh peanut butter*
¼ cup gluten free chocolate chips or chunks

*Peanut butter note: use fresh or homemade peanut butter only, not the bottled kind because you never know what has been used as emulsifiers (same comment for vanilla and chocolate). The only ingredient should be roasted peanuts. If salt has been added, eliminate salt from the recipe. Usually, fresh peanut butter can be found in the deli or produce section of your market (comes in a plastic container like potato salad). Or make it yourself in the blender.

Method 
Beat together egg, sugar, and vanilla until the mixture is foamy and pale yellow. Add salt, baking powder and soda, beat well. Add peanut butter. Mix until well incorporated. Form dough into balls about the size of ping pong balls. With a finger, make a dent in the centers, press about 4 chocolate chips into the dent and form dough around them, hiding the chips in the center. Place on lined baking sheet. Dip the tines of a fork in sugar and with the back of the fork, press hatch marks into the dough until cookie is about ¾ inch thick. Cookies don’t rise or spread very much.
Bake for 11 minutes, or until cookie bottom just begins to brown.

P.S. I tried mixing chocolate chips into the dough, but had more success hiding them in the center. Everyone likes a surprise, and what better surprise than some unexpected chocolate?

While we’re on the subject of gluten-free eats, it’s important to remember that, generally, gluten-free flours and gluten substitutes that make baked goods palatable have precious little nutritional value. When you’re making treats like a Sacher torte or cookies, who cares? But when my daughter was a new mother, and especially when maternity leave was over and she had to go back to work, having nutritious gluten-free grab-and-go food on hand was a problem.

Aly has always loved good muffins. I experimented until I had an easy muffin base that could be adapted to incorporate all sorts of good, wholesome ingredients. Admittedly, the recipe below for Chocolate, Chocolate Chip, Banana Nut Muffins verges on the treat category, but they were very popular with a pair of young, very tired parents. Every week or ten days, I would make a couple of muffin variations and ship them off, or, better still, deliver them in person.

Gluten-free Chocolate, Chocolate Chip, Banana Nut Muffins 

Yield 12-14 muffins
Line muffin cups
Pre-heat oven to 350

Ingredients 
2 eggs, beaten ½ cup soft butter (or canola oil for dairy free version)
 ½ cup plus 2 Tbs. sugar
1 tsp. vanilla
1 ½ cups mashed ripe banana
¼ cup unsweetened apple sauce (optional)
1 cup chopped walnuts, pecans or lightly toasted almonds
¾ cup (or more) dark gluten-free chocolate chips or chunks
1 tsp. plus generous pinch baking soda
¼ tsp. salt
1 ½ cup gluten-free all purpose flour (I have success with Namaste brand, but there are several to try) 1 tsp. cinnamon
¼ tsp. nutmeg
¾ cup gluten free cocoa powder (e.g. Trader Joe’s)

Method 
In a large bowl, cream together beaten egg, butter, sugar, and vanilla until fluffy. Gently stir in mashed banana, apple sauce, chopped nuts, chocolate chips. In a large bowl, combine flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, dry seasonings, and salt. Add to wet ingredients above and stir by hand just until all ingredients are incorporated. Distribute into lined muffin cups and bake until toothpick comes out clean, about 25 min.

For a very good variation, instead of mashed banana, cocoa powder and chocolate chips, use 1 ½ cups (total) grated zucchini and/or carrots and ½ cup unsweetened applesauce. Keep the chopped walnuts. Prepare as above.