flourless chocolate espresso torte

by Cookbad

I've made this so many times, I know the recipe by heart, but I've never posted it. It's from the little known, by worth getting Cafe Pongo Cookbook.

It's my stand-by-slash-and-burn-everyone-loves-it-cake. It is my Brother-in-laws birthday tomorrow night, and as I'm short on time as of late and know this is always good, I'm happy to make it again.

So:
melt 4 oz. of very good dark chocolate with 1 cup of butter.
mix 1/2 cup hot water with 2 tablespoons of instant espresso
mix all that with:
4 eggs large and 1 cup of sugar.

The recipe suggests to line a 8-9 inch cake pan with cling wrap and then pour the mixture into the pan, place in bain-marie and bake in pre-heated oven at 350 for 45-55 minutes. Last time I made it I used target brand cling-wrap and it melted. That was the first time that happened, so I'm using only saran-wrap from now on, which has never melted.

Let it cool, then sprinkle with some cocoa powder, maybe but a coffee bean or two on and you're done.



It serves 8 full people. If you want to make it for more, make 2 cakes, whip 1 cup of heavy cream with 3 tablespoons of sugar into whipped cream, top one cake with the whipped cream and gingerly place the second cake on top. if it doesn't fall right on top, the whipped cream gives you some wiggle room for adjusting. If the surface cracks, gently rub the crack to hide it and then the cocoa powder should cover any remaining marks.

You can also make them in small individual portions in muffin tins. Shorten the cooking time to 20-30 minutes.

Chocolate Espresso Torte

recipe # 202

This is my response to your Chocolate Cake, AteThat.

I hate posting recipes without pictures, but these disapperaed in the night before I got a chance to shoot them. And, as a made a terrible error, I will make them again, but this time make them right.

Chocolate Espresso Torte
4 oz. quality semi sweet chocolate
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter
1/2 cup of water
2 tablespoons instant espresso powder
1 cup of sugar
4 large eggs

Preheat oven to 350. Recipe calls for a 9 inch cake pan, but I made it in a cup cake tins and adjusted the time. Line either cake pan or muffin tin with plastic wrap (it will not melt). Melt chocolate and butter together, heat 1/2 cup water, add espresso, disolve.
Mix eggs and sugar until smooth, add chocolate mixture and espresso and mix on lowest mixer speed. Pour batter. This recipe will fill a regular 12 muffin tin.
bake for 45-55 minutes of a cake, bake for 35 if in tins.
Let cool for a bit, carefully unmold. I sifted some cocoa powder on top to make them look pretty.

I fucked up here. I used Earth Balance margarine instead of butter and deeply regret it. IT ruined the flavor. Consistincy was fine. Cooked okay. Tasted not good. Salty and almost, oddlt fishy. I used to eat this torte while in college. It was a wonderful truffle like piece of rocket fuel. I will make it again with butter. Too bad, but I had to try.

Figs Soaked in Sweet Vermouth

delicious breakfast treat

recipe # 192

I got these figs from the farmers market, packed them into a jar, filled the jar with sweet vermouth and have been letting them sit for a week now. The recipe came from the Cafe Pongo Cookbook and suggests serving them with ice cream. I think that they might be good for breakfast over pancakes.

Eggs Mc Meg

This wasn't the best bread for this sandwich, but it was what I had

recipe # 182

Recipe coming soon

tags technorati : breakfast, sandwich, eggs

Red Flannel Salmon Hash

one of the best breakfasts of all time

recipe # 179

Another winner from the Cafe Pongo Cookbook, which is quickly becomeing my favorite breakfast cookbook ever. So far not a single one has disappointed.

Red Flannel Salmon Hash
1 cup of diced potatoes
1 cup of diced sweet potatoes
2 tablespoons of butter (I used olive oil)
1 onion, minced (I used half and onion and 2 shallots)
1 cup minced celery
1 cup peeled and minced carrots
1 cup peeled and minced parsnips
2 tablespoons of fresh thyme
1/2 cup of dry vermouth or white wine (I used tequila)
6-8 oz. cooked salmon skinless
1 1/2 cup cooked peeled and diced beets (I skipped them)

Boil the potatoes and sweet potatoes until al dente. Drain well.
Heat butter (olive oil) in a large saute pan over medium heat. add onions, celery, carrots parsnips, thyme and vermouth (the tequila was a good choice) and saute until tender. Add potatoes and a but more butter/oil if the mixture gets dry. Cook 5 more minutes or so. Remove from heat, crumble in salmon and stir in beets.
When ready to serve crisp in the broiler and serve with 2 poached eggs.

Seriously one of the best breakfasts that I have ever had. Hits all the right notes and and satisfies both the savory and sweet. It i s best to eat it on the day its made. I had this 2 mornings in a row and the second morning was a bit fishy. I think this would be pretty terrific with no fish too.

tastes good and takes a lovely picture too.

This would also be a great camping recipe. We made something like it when we went camping in the fall, but this was better.

AteThat's version of Hash is here.

Sicilian Cauliflower

recipe # 171

A nice 2 second way to make cauliflower taste good.

Steam cauliflower to al dente. In a sautee pan mix 4 or 5 anchovie filets (more if you like or use anchovie paste if you have that around), a teaspoon of red pepper flakes, some olive oil and salt. Heat and mix, then add steamed cauliflower and coat. Eat hot or cold.

Everything I cook recently looks awful.

looks gross, tastes pretty good

recipe # 169

I wasn't even trying to make this look disgusting.

This is the most involved and preparations heavy recipe that I found for a tofu breakfast scramble. Not surprisingly I found it in the cafe pongo cookbook. If you follow this recipe exactly, you should start this recipe 2 days before you intend to eat it.

Here is the recipe:
Pongo's Special Scrambled Tofu Hash
2 pounds of extra firm tofu cut into 1/2 inch cubes
2 cups olive oil
3/4 cups mushrooms marinated in 1/4 cup Cafe Pongo House Dressing (recipe below) or just use any old balsamic based dressing. Marinate for 2 days.
1/2 cup caramelized onions
1/2 cup roasted red pepper strips
3/4 cup Santa Fe black beans ( I used some refried black beans) recipe for that here http://cookbad.blogspot.com/2007/02/egg-and-chorizo-taco-with-plantains.html
salt and cracked pepper to taste

In a heavy skillet over medium heat, heat the oil. Add the tofu and brown it on all sides. Drain the tofu on paper towels (I use newspaper), then pour off the oil in the pan. Return the tofu to the pan with all the remaining ingredients and simmer over low heat until warmed all the way thru. Serve wrapped in warm tortillas or with toasted grain bread.

Cafe Pongo House Salad Dressing
1/4 cup balsamic
3 tablespoons sugar (I cut this in half)
2 tablespoons dijon mustard
1/2 teaspoon soy sauce
1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil

combine all but the olive oil with a hand blender. With blender still running slowly add the olive oil.

It is really much better than it looks. My husband and I dressed it up with avocado and salsa after I took that terrible picture. We had them on wheat free tortillas. I had it two mornings in a row, so I must have liked it. It is really hearty for something wheat, dairy and egg free.

Egg and Chorizo Taco with Plantains, Black Beans and Avocados

nice breakfast taco

recipe #163, 164

I made this for a late breakfast this morning. The original recipe calls for cheese, but I skipped it. From the Cafe Pongo Cookbook:

Egg and Chorizo Taco with Plantains, Black Beans and Avocados
Plantains:
2 cups vegetable, peanut or canola oil
3 to 4 ripe plantains
1 tbsp minced garlic
2 tbsp hot sauce
1/2 cup water

Tacos:
2 tbsp butter (I used olive oil)
8-12 eggs, lightly beaten (I used egg whites)
1 pound chorizo
8-12 corn tortillas
2 to 3 cups jack cheese (I skipped this)
4 cups of black beans (recipe for those below)
2 ripe avocados

Heat oil in a cast iron pan. Peel and cut plantains into 1 in. pieces. Mix the garlic, hot sauce and water. Dip plantains into mixture and then fry until golden brown. Dry them on paper towel.

Scramble up eggs and chorizo together.

On a griddle or heavy skittle over med. heat lay down tortillas and sprinkle cheese. Spoon on the scrambled eggs. Fold tortillas over and cook until the cheese is melted and tortillas are golden brown.

Arrange plantains, avocados and a dollop of beans on a place with the tacos. The cookbook suggests to crumble feta cheese over all of it. I used cilantro.

This was a nice breakfast even without the cheese. I'm trying to cut out all dairy--shocking- and Knowing that I can still enjoy a bean egg breakfast without a layer of cheese is reassuring.

Note on plantain freshness: I was under the impression that you could use a plantain even when the skin is all black. Not true, I guess. I think that the one that I used had turned. It had an almost fermented flavor to it. Not so awesome.

Here is a recipe for black bean sthat is repeatedly referenced in The Cafe Pongo Cookbook. Before I tried this recipe I would use goya black bean soup when a recipe would call for black beans. These are better.

Santa Fe Black Beans
1 large spanish onion, minced
1 garlic bulb, minced
2 tablespoon olive oil
10 cups of cooked black beans, drained and rinsed if canned
enough burgundy to completely cover the beans
2 tablespoons chili powder
2 tablespoons mexican oregano
2 tablespoons salt
1/4 cup of durkee's hot sauce
1/4 cup balsamic vinegar

In a large heavy pot over med. heat saute the onion and garlic until translucent.

Add all remaining ingredient except the balsamic vinegar. Stir and cook to a slow rolling boil covered for 30-40 minutes. Stir in vinegar and simmer for 15 more minutes.

Spinach Salad with Grilled Red Onion Vinaigrette

lovely salad

recipe # 162

Another winner from The Cafe Pongo Cookbook.

Spinach Salad with Grilled Red Onion Vinaigrette
Dressing:
1 medium red onion, peeled and cut half way thru the root end
1/4 cup red wine vinegar
2 tablespoons of sugar
1 1/2 tablespoon grainy mustard
3/4 cups extra virgin olive oil
salt and pepper to taste

Salad:
1 pound fresh spinach
3 hard boiled eggs

Over a charcoal or wood grill slowly grill the onion until it is blackened on both sides. You can also use a cast iron pan. Heat skillet over med. heat until it starts to smoke, add oil and blacken the onion. Let onion cool.

tasty grilled onion. I cooked mine in a cast iron pan.

Cut the onion lengthwise in thin slices and put them in a bowl. Whisk the remaining dressing ingredients together and pour over the onion. Let this mixture sit for at least an hour.

Just before serving, toss the spinach with the egg and the red onion vinaigrette.

This is a good side salad. I tried to make it lunch and it was a bit overwhelming all alone. It is also a very pretty dish. I added fake bacon bits, because. . . well, I have no excuse other than I think they are tasty on salad.

Poached Eggs with Zucchini Fritters and Red Pepper Coulis

tasty and very healthy

recipe #157

I have taken a serious second look at the The Cafe Pongo Cookbook and now love it. Cafe Pongo was a small breakfast and lunch place in Tivoli, NY where my husband and I went to college. My husband, actually lived above the restaurant. I bought him the cookbook a few years ago because he had such great memories of the chicken salad sandwich (great sandwich) and slaw (amazing slaw). I made a few things from it and then, for the most part, shelved it.

Upon a second look there are a bunch of really wonderful breakfast recipes. Most take a fair amount of prep and most reference other recipes in the book. Still all dressings and condiments are terrific on their own and worth having in the fridge.

Heres a particularly good one:

Pouched Eggs with Zucchini Fritters and Red Pepper Coulis
For Fritters
4 cloves of garlic, minced
1 cup flay leaf parsley, chopped
1 table spoon lemon zest
2 pounds zucchini grated (6 cups)
1 cup all purpose flour or brown rice flour
4 large eggs lightly beaten
2 cups vegetable oil
salt and pepper to taste

For Coulis
2 cups roasted red peppers
1/4 cup olive oil
1/4 cup blanched almonds
Juice from 1 lemon
salt and pepper
I also added minced garlic to this and thought it was great with it

To Finish
8 eggs

For the Fritters:
Fold together garlic parsley and lemon zest. Stir in grated zucchini then flour and eggs. Add salt and pepper. (You might want to drain or pat dry the zucchini after grating it. When I made it the fritter mixture was to wet).

Form thin 2 inch wide cakes. Make sure that they are flat and not round like meatballs or they will not cook properly. Heat oil, add fritters and cook until golden brown.

For the Coulis
Combine all ingredients in a blender or food processor until evenly pureed.

To Finish:
Pouch the eggs and place 1 egg on top of 3 or 4 fritters for each serving. Spoon the coulis over the eggs and serve

Serves 6

This a terrific breakfast. The red pepper coulis could be used for tons of other recipes. It would be great on sandwiches, over hummus, on pasta, for a crostini topping. It is a nice alternative to aioli.