Satisfying a sweet tooth: flourless chocolate cake

Anyone with food allergies can tell you how difficult it is to satisfy a sweet tooth. Most traditionally-made cakes, pies, and pastries are out for those allergic to gluten, egg and dairy. As my friends already know, I consume massive amounts of dark (therefore dairy-free) chocolate, and carry it with me so that I always have a treat ready to go if I can't partake of what everyone else is having. (See 9/06 post entitled "Chocolate is a food group".) When I bake sweets for myself, I usually make a flourless chocolate cake, brownies made with almond paste, or chocolate sparkle cookies made with almond flour. I've also made vanilla almond cakes and quinoa pudding. But still, it's tiresome to always have to make my own desserts...it makes me feel distinctly Amish. Except I don't wear a bonnet.

So it's a nice feeling when I can find something to satisfy my sweet tooth off the rack. This occasion was particularly wonderful because I was prepared to be utterly miserable during a stop at Schat's bakery in Bishop. In case you don't know, Schat's is famous for their shepherder bread, which is delicious (I had it prior to The Discovery). So here I went, deliberately walking into a gi-normous bakery/store, with rows and rows of bread stacked 6 feet high. I could feel the gluten molecules swirling in the air all around me and felt a little ill. But near the end of the line where I fetched my coffee, I found a little treasure packet of very large chocolate-covered coconut macaroons. SWEET! No dairy, no gluten, and covered in my beloved dark chocolate. My determination and patience was rewarded with a treasure in the midst of gluten evil.

If you're feeling Amish, here is my favorite flourless chocolate cake recipe that I serve to my regular friends. Gluten and dairy-free, everyone loves it because it's not missing a thing...the secret is using the BEST chocolate you can get your hands on...I use Callebaut bittersweet.

Chocolate Cake
Gateau au chocolat
From Wolfgang Puck’s Modern French Cooking

Makes one 10” cake

8 oz. bittersweet chocolate, cut into small pieces
4 oz. unsalted butter, cut into small pieces (to make this dairy free, I substitute coconut cream)
5 eggs, separated
a pinch of salt
2/3 cup sugar

1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Heavily butter and flour (to make this wheat-free, I use cocoa powder) a 10” round cake pan….If you have parchment paper, it works better to butter and flour the parchment in the pan.

2. Combine chocolate and butter (or coconut cream) and melt over simmering water.

3. Whisk together the egg yolks and all but 3 Tablespoons of the sugar. Stir melted chocolate into egg yolks until thoroughly combined.

4. With an electric mixer on medium speed, beat egg whites until soft peaks form. Gradually beat in the remaining sugar and continue to whip until egg whites are stiff but not dry.

5. Carefully fold chocolate mixture into egg whites. Pour into prepared pan.

6. Bake for 1 hour and 15 minutes. Turn out onto a rack immediately. As the cake cools, the center will sink and crack…do not worry!

Dust with powdered sugar and serve with unsweetened whipped cream if you can have it (or Cool Whip which is has very little dairy!)

Beware of toiletries!

The other morning while peering into the mirror and putting on my mascara for the day, I noticed that my pulse was racing and my breathing was a little forced. Hm. Mornings are usually not my best time as I'm not very perceptive to my body's reactions before my morning coffee injection...but this felt like...an allergic reaction. I quickly thought backwards of all the prior steps to the mascara-applying stage, since I had not put anything in my mouth except for toothpaste. Shower: soap, shampoo, conditioner. Lotion. Toothpaste. Cleanser and moisturizer on the face. Styling product in the hair. You can see where I'm going with this (the picture is a big clue, btw). Four of the seven items that I used that morning included ingredients to which I was allergic, and I was having a cumulative allergic reaction before I had even had my morning cuppa joe. *sigh*

Here's the list of culprits
Shampoo and conditioner: hydrolyzed wheat protein
Lotion: chamomile (which is related to ragweed, so if you react to one you're likely allergic to both)
Styling product: wheat protein and soy oil

The irony is that because I'm more sensitive to synthetic ingredients (I try to avoid anything with petroleum products) instead I purchase toiletries with natural ones. However, after that morning reaction I found it necessary to pay attention in the toiletry cabinet just as carefully as I do at the grocery store -- the skin is an organ too and absorbs allergens just like your stomach does.

NOTE: soy and wheat are used EXTENSIVELY in toiletry products. They were in almost everything I found in the grocery/drug store shampoo products. Lots of soy in lotion-type products. My old lotion had sesame and sunflower oil as well. Because these are not food products, they are not going to be labeled as clearly as food products that which contain allergens. I am slowly finding replacements in my local beauty supply shop with the help of the proprietor, where the items tend to be more differentiated (but also more pricey). You could also hunt down items that don't include your allergens in your local health food store or Whole Foods.

Toiletries luckily list all their ingredients, so take a close look at what you're using and try to replace them when you can. Be careful out there.

Endess pasta-bilities, Part 3

Ah... the world is becoming a more friendly place to those of us with food allergies. T, the rockin' food buyer at Surfas (a chef's paradise in Culver City) showed me some non-wheat pastas that she purchased with me in mind. What a bud (a shoutout here to T). Noodles are one of the things that lead me to the Dark Side (see "The Noodles Got Me" entry below), so I'm always excited to try the latest non-wheat/non-gluten western-style pasta! In the past, I have tried rice pasta (mushy and flavorless), lentil pasta (dense, beany-tasting and mushy), and up until today, the winner has been Ancient Grains' corn and quinoa blend pasta (see October 2006 entry).

Today ladies and gentleman, a new winner has emerged! Sgambaro, an all-corn spaghetti made in Italy, is the most similar to wheat pasta that I've ever had. The texture, the chewiness and mouthfeel were so good that I almost forgot it wasn't regular pasta. Only the dominant corn flavor and above-average yellow color made me really notice...that and the lack of subtle nuttiness of wheat pasta. Fabulous. This kind of quality and craft from Italy does not cheap though,about $5, so I'll save it for special pasta occasions. (Somebody call Hallmark, there's a greeting card idea in here somewhere.)

Note: when you're on any kind of restrictive diet, try to also treat yourself to your favorite textures as well as tastes. Because I am allergic to dairy, I really miss rich and creamy things, and because I can't have wheat I find that I miss chewy foods. When you can address these issues occasionally, you won't feel quite so deprived. It's a subtle thing that might not occur to you, but it makes a difference. :)

I sauced this chewy goodness simply, with a smooth Moroccan olive oil, shallots, ground pepper and my favorite Maldon sea salt. The rest of the pasta was accompanied by "Leftovers Supreme" -- meaning whatever was still in my fridge when I made it. In this case, some broccoli and tuna ventresca (the belly cut) from Trader Joes. My lunch was toothsome, satisfying and a bright point in a grey, damp and dreary day.

Surfas Gourmet Food and Restaurant Supply
8777 Washington Blvd. (cross street National)
Culver City
www.surfasonline.com

Whole Foods' salad bar rocks!

It's a very big deal when the FAQ gets a great salad. Because I'm allergic to lettuce (which is freakish in anybody's book, I know) I can't get salads unless I make them myself. I especially lament the absence of Caesar salad, which was my favorite prior to The Discovery.

There's a Whole Foods near my office that has become my home away from home. Say what you will about corporate America, that giant conglomerates are killing mom and pop businesses, etc. but Whole Foods (aka Whole Paycheck) has done a great job in bringing truly healthy food into the mainstream. You pay top dollar for it, but the choice is there. And they are excruciatingly anal about revealing ingredients for everything in their prepared food sections, which is great news for those of us with food issues.

Witness this lovely salad, which was envied by others. Baby spinach substitutes for lettuce. Red peppers sub for tomatoes. Corn, peas, artichoke hearts, black bean salad and garbanzos, topped with slices of preservative-free Black Forest ham. Dressed with a balsamic vinaigrette, I got a beautiful range of veggies (and protein) without feeling deprived whatsoever. And on ANY kind of restrictive diet, that is an accomplishment indeed.

PS. Day 2. They have a hot food bar too. Meatloaf, steamed broccoli, a spicy Indian cabbage/potato side dish. Ah, I could move right in, next to the chocolate and coffee aisle, and be quite happy at Whole Foods.

Pleasant surprises: sorbetto

The FAQ was tooling down Sunset Boulevard, making a detour in the middle of a long freeway drive home, looking to find someplace clean to take a potty break and get a quick snack before a much-anticipated massage later on in the evening.

I found the standard Burger King, a few local Salvadoran places and pupuserias along with other ethnic eateries which I would ordinarily have loved to explore if I had the time, but alas had to trot along at a good pace to not be late. When I was just about to settle for a fast food joint I chanced upon a cool-looking gelateria called Pazzo Gelato that was blaring REM...and I immediately knew I was in hipster Los Feliz. (The artfully scruffy guys pecking at on laptops, working on their screenplays in a gelateria were the second clue.)

Once inside, little signs indicated that Pazzo Gelato got favorable reviews from LA Weekly and Citysearch, and that they use only organic fruits in their products. A good tip for those of you who are allergic to dairy like me -- gelato places almost always make dairy-free sorbets (or sorbettos if you need to keep in the Italian theme) so you can get dessert like everyone else! Hooray.

Humming along to the Talking Heads' "And She Was", I chose a fresh-tasting organic blueberry sorbetto (it had a sign indicating a market price....just like seafood!) joined by a crazy-fluorescent-pink-colored cactus fruit one. The cactus fruit was much better than the blueberry...overall the gelato was decent, but nothing special. BTW, is it a written law that gelato must always be served in a cute flower-shaped cup? Just wondering. It's a rhetorical question no one needs to answer. The most amazing gelato (also served in a flower-shaped cup) I've had to date is from a little place called Capriccio -- in a Fullerton strip mall if you can believe it. Run by a Korean woman who studied gelato in Italy, her amazingly intense flavors and creamy mouthfeel are my gold standard. The place was packed wall-to-wall with customers the entire time we were there.

Anyhow, I digress from my point, which was that sometimes the Universe throws you unexpected little surprises and you should acknowledge and enjoy them. Fresh organic sorbetto instead of french fries cooked in trans fat. It's all good.

Pazzo Gelato
3827 Sunset Blvd.
Los Angeles, CA 90026

Capriccio Gelato Cafe
951 Starbuck St Apt B
Fullerton, CA 92833