Recipe: Dubbel Dark Chocolate Layer Cake Or Cupcakes :: MMM (Must-Make-Monday)

September 5, 2012 by Laureen Fox | 14 Comments

I have been a collector of recipes for as long as I can remember but I never manage to find enough time to try all the recipes I collect and that was the reason my MMM (Must-Make-Monday) series was born. The idea is to force myself to choose at least one recipe from my Must-Make-List each week. I will post the results on my blog. Solid idea, or so I thought, but with my recipe collection growing faster than the speed of light, I could use a month of Mondays and still not get to half of the recipes in my collection(s). That’s the other thing, since I started this blog, my collection has become plural. It started with the Must-Make-Page on my site but I also have a Must-Make Board on Pinterest.

My MMM (Must-Make-Monday) series, is good in that it forces me to follow through and use recipes from my collection(s). After using a recipe, I check it off and add it to Made-This (TAB). You can view archive postings from my MMM (Must-Make-Monday) series, by clicking here.

To start things off this week, here are a few recipes, that I’ve come across recently. I’ve categorized these links but listed them in no particular order. These are recipes that I would love to try but haven’t gotten around to yet. They are to become the newest additions to my Must-Make-List.

Important *** I have not tagged these recipe links as Gluten, Grain, Sugar, Dairy, Egg or Nut Free, nor have I labelled them as Vegan or Vegetarian. Please review and confirm the recipe meets your dietary requirements before you begin.

Sweet:

New Raw Cookie Dough Recipe by The Nourishing Home. Boy, do these raw cookie dough balls ever look good!
Raw Trail Mix Cookies by Made to Create. I must make these…nutty chocolate no-bake goodness!
Banana Chocolate Almond Squares by Fit Sugar. Some more no-bake goodness!
Lemon Lavender Cookies by Elana’s Pantry. I have several lemons to use up. Elana’s lemon lavender cookies sound lovely.

Breakfast:

Cinnamon Toffee Pecan Bean Butter by Diet Desserts and Dogs. I’ve never tried Bean Butters, or Lucuma, have you? Ricki’s photos make it look like something I want to dive right into.
Chunky Apple Muffins by Peas And Thank You. Gluten free coconut and almond flour muffins with chunks of apple = delish!
Cinnamon Nectarine Smoothie by Daily Bites. I love my breakfast smoothies but because I don’t have a high-powered blender, I would have to soak the dates and seeds before making this scrumptious looking meal in a glass.

Salad:

Chicken Fajita Salad With Spicy Avocado Dressing by The Whole Life Nutrition Kitchen. I make Taco Salads, why have I never thought to make a Fajita Salad? I love the sounds of the spicy avocado dressing!

Savoury:

Quick Pesto With Broiled Tomatoes by Vegetarian Times.
Sundried Tomato and Lemon Hummus by Veggie Nook. I don’t think I’ve ever tried sun-dried tomato and lemon together. This hummus looks terrific.
Grilled Eggplant Bacon Tomato and Basil Penne by Grace Laced. As a former vegetarian, I’m not a big fan of bacon but this recipe really appeals to me.
Chili Spiced Sweet Potato Fries And Chipotle Yogurt Dip by Jeanette’s Healthy Living. I like sweet potato fries but I’ve never tried making them myself. These look fantastic!
Creamy Corn by Fort Worth Mama. I used to enjoy having creamed corn once in a while but haven’t had any since going gluten free about 18 months ago. This recipe looks super simple.
The Best Homemade Alfredo Sauce by The Coconut Mama. This recipe has got me craving fresh pasta with Alfredo Sauce. I bet it would be good over some zucchini pasta!
Fast Yummy Pizza by Until The Thin Lady Sings. Fast, yummy and grain free! Easy to make from scratch Pizza that I can eat. Now I just have to decide on the toppings

Miscellaneous:

Eat Gluten Free for Le$$ by Living Without Magazine. Eight ways to cut gluten-free grocery costs and boost your nutritional intake. A good informative article, especially for anyone who is new to gluten free.
Coconut Whipped Cream A Step By Step Photo Tutorial by Oh She Glows. Have you ever tried coconut whipped cream? It is every bit as delicious as Angela says it is!
How To Make Chocolate Curls by The Pioneer Woman. This method of pouring melted chocolate on the back of a cookie sheet sure looks like it will do the trick.
Fill Your Freezer In Four Weeks by Angela’s Kitchen. Love this post! It is part of a series for those of us who like to do batch cooking. I’m always doubling my favourite recipes so I can tuck the extras away in the freezer!
Gluten Free And Weight Loss by Gluten Free Homemaker. A brief, well written article by Linda at the Gluten Free Homemaker.
Growing Herbs In A Jar by Homegrown And Healthy. I use a lot of fresh herbs, I really like the idea of growing my own but have never had much luck with patio containers. I will be giving this Herbs In A Jar idea a try.

To see archived recipe links from my Must-Make-Lists, click here

To see a text listing of my gluten free recipes, click here

For dairy, egg, nut and gluten free flour substitutions, click here

Don’t walk behind me; I may not lead. Don’t walk in front of me; I may not follow. Just walk beside me and be my friend ~Albert Camus

Here’s what’s been cooking in the Fox Kitchen lately…

Golden Courgette (Zucchini) Pasta by Gluten Free SCD And Veggie. I omitted the sun-dried tomatoes and topped my zucchini pasta with some of my homemade Fresh Tomato Marinara Sauce but otherwise followed Vicki’s recipe as written.

This dish was simple to make, especially now that I have myself a julienne peeler. It’s my first time trying zucchini “pasta”. I prefer it to traditional gluten free noodles. It is more flavourful and surprisingly filling, although Mr Fox felt it was missing the protein. He had a grilled chicken breast with his “pasta”. I’m sure I will be making this dish again.

Honeyed Sesame Mushrooms by Beyond The Peel. These mushrooms were a big hit here in the Fox Kitchen! I followed the recipe as written and served the mushrooms with iceberg lettuce cups to make lettuce wraps.

Yum, yum, yum!

Mr Fox said he could easily “make a whole meal” of the honeyed sesame mushroom lettuce wraps. That is quite the compliment from a meat and potatoes guy who thinks a meal is not complete if it doesn’t have some sort of meat as protein.

The grandson enjoyed his little Honeyed Sesame Mushroom Lettuce Wrap

As soon as I get myself down to the produce store to pick up some more mushrooms, I will be making use of this recipe again!

I don’t know what it’s like in other households but here in the Fox Kitchen, celebratory events come in clusters. It starts with Mother’s Day, followed closely by my birthday and then Mr Fox’s birthday and Father’s Day, our oldest son’s birthday and then our wedding anniversary. Phew…by the third celebration, we’re ready for something different from the usual frosted slab cake.

Gluten Free Chocolate Ganache Cake From Choices Rice Bakery

Mr Fox takes care of Mother’s Day and my birthday with the help of the wonderful gluten free Choices Market Rice Bakery. Mmmm…love those cakes!

For Mr Fox’s birthday, I made a regular gluten free Angel Food Cake with layers of fresh strawberry slices and fresh whipped cream. Pure Heaven! I will post a recipe and tutorial soon but here you get a sneak peek at it.

Father’s Day and our oldest son’s birthday fall fairly close together which is great because it allowed me to use a full 500ml (pint) of Green’s Dubbel Dark Gluten Free Beer. A big Double Layer Fancy Gluten Free Chocolate Cake for Mr Fox and some Gluten Free Black And White Chocolate Cupcakes for our son.

Neither of them need to eat gluten free but they loved these treats! The leftovers? Tucked away in the freezer, set to make an appearance, along with some strawberries and ice cream, on our anniversary.

All that chocolate cake and we’re not even close to being sick of it

Recipe: Dubbel Dark Chocolate Layer Cake Or Cupcakes

View Print Friendly Recipe Here

Summary: I think this Dubbel Dark Chocolate Cake {Guinness Cake with a Gluten-Free Makeover} recipe is my best creation yet. You should get yourself some dark beer and give it a try!

Gluten Free | Vegetarian

Ingredients

1 1/2 Cups organic coconut flour
1 1/2 Cups unsweetened cocoa or organic cacoa powder
1 Cup plus 2 Tbsp blanched almond flour
4 Tbsp psyllium husks
4 tsp baking soda
1 tsp sea salt
1 Cup plus 2 Tbsp virgin coconut oil, melted and cooled slightly
6 Large eggs, lightly beaten
3/4 Cup unsweetened plain yogurt (I used my homemade yogurt)
1 Cup plus 2 Tbsp honey
1 Cup plus 2 Tbsp Green’s Endeavour Dubbel Dark Gluten Free Beer or other stout, porter or dark ale as long as it’s Gluten Free
1 Cup freshly brewed strong coffee, cooled to room temperature

Frosting:

1 1/2-2 batches of your favourite butter cream frosting

Dark Chocolate Ganache:

2 oz GF dark chocolate, chopped
2 Tbsp unsweetened almond milk, or heavy cream (I used almond milk)

Simple Pure White Icing:

3 Cups Icing Sugar
2-3 Tbsp milk or milk substitute

Instructions

Layer Cake:

Preheat oven to 325 F. Line two 9 inch round baking pans with parchment paper, or grease with coconut oil.
In a large mixing bowl, add coconut flour, cocoa, almond flour, psyllium husk, baking soda and salt. Whisk until well blended.
In a small microwave safe bowl, heat coconut oil for 45-60 seconds, or until somewhat melted, stir, set aside to cool slightly.
In a medium mixing bowl, add eggs, beat lightly.
Add yogurt, honey, GF beer, coffee and melted coconut oil. Stir until blended.
Sift dry ingredients in to the wet ingredients. Stir until just blended, the batter will be pretty thick, almost like a muffin batter.
Spoon batter into prepared baking pan. Use the back of a spoon to smooth the top.
Bake at 325 F for 35-45 minutes or until top is slightly cracked, edges have pulled away from the pan and centre is firm to the touch.
Allow cake to cool for 15 minutes in the pan. It will be quite fragile while it is warm. Gently transfer the cake to a cooling rack.
Cool completely before frosting the cake.

Frosting The Layer Cake:

Place the first layer of cake on a round cake dish. Cover the edges of the cake dish with strips of wax paper. The wax paper is to catch icing that drips. You remove it after the cake is iced.
Spread butter cream frosting evenly on top of the first cake layer.
Place second cake layer on top of the first.
Frost the sides of the cake, covering both layers.
Frost the top of the cake. Smooth down the dips and bumps in the frosting.
Pour slightly cooled Chocolate Ganache on top of the frosted cake. Smooth ganache over the entire top of the cake. Push it right to the edge and allow some to drip down the sides.
Carefully remove strips of wax paper from the edges around the cake.
Set in a cool place until chocolate ganache is firmly set.
Enjoy!

Chocolate Ganache:

In a small saucepan, heat the almond milk almost to the boiling point.
In a heat proof bowl, combine the chopped chocolate with the honey and coconut oil.
Pour the hot milk over the chocolate and let stand covered, until melted, about 5 minutes. Whisk until smooth.
Let the ganache glaze cool until it is thick but still pourable, about 10-15 minutes.
Pour the ganache over the cooled cake. Leave the cake in a cool place until the glaze has set, about 30 minutes, before serving.
Simple Pure White Icing:
Sift icing sugar into a small mixing bowl.
Add milk one tablespoon at a time, mixing until desired consistency for piping on cupcakes

Cupcakes:

Preheat oven to 325 F. Line cupcake pans with 24 cupcake liners.
Follow mixing directions as above.
Bake at 325 F for 35-45 minutes, or until tops have cracks that appear dry, edges have pulled away from the pan and centre is firm to the touch.
Allow to cool for 10-15 minutes in the pan. Transfer cupcakes to a cooling rack.
Cool completely before frosting.

Variations

White Chocolate Ganache:

2 oz GF white chocolate, chopped
2 Tbsp unsweetened almond milk, or heavy cream (I used almond milk)
Follow instructions as per Dark Chocolate Ganache

Recipe by Laureen

Preparation time: 20 minute(s)

Cooking time: 30-45 minute(s)

Diet type: Vegetarian

Diet tags: Gluten Free

Number of servings (yield): 24

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