Flourless Chocolate Cake

Have you ever eaten something that was totally delicious, only to find out after you've finished that it was made from something you normally wouldn't find appealing? Reminds me of eating snake soup in China, but that's another story. Fortunately, this recipe is surprising in a completely wonderful way. Being a flourless chocolate cake, one would assume that it would largely consist of almond or hazelnut meal, but instead it's made from pureed chick peas! I know - it sounds terrible, but it's absolutely delicious and the added bonus is you can convince yourself that it's practically health food :-)

My mother-in-law found this winning recipe at allrecipes.com, where it received so many rave reviews that she just had to give it a go. The reviews were 100% correct - the cake is moist and rich, almost like a brownie, and it was a breeze to make. You can't taste the chick peas at all and the texture is divine. So try serving it up the next time you have people over and wait until they have finished to tell them what it was made of ;-)

Find the recipe here!

Chunky Chocolate Cookies

Nothing beats the smell of freshly baked cookies. Whip up a batch of these cookies and you’ll have your friends clamoring for the recipe - which is exactly what I did when my colleague, Kristy, made these divine cookies for a staff morning tea. She generously shared the recipe with me and I can’t wait for you all to try it, too! Happy baking :-)

Chunky Chocolate Cookies

1/2 cup brown sugar
1 egg
1/3 cup oil
2 tablespoons cocoa powder
1/2 cup self-raising flour
1/2 cup plain flour
1/3 cup milk chocolate, cut into small chunks
1/3 cup white chocolate, cut into small chunks

1. Preheat oven to 180ºC.
2. Mix sugar, egg and oil with fork.
3. Add cocoa, flours and chocolate.
4. Knead lightly with hands to make a soft dough.
5. Make balls by rolling tablespoons of dough and place on a greased tray, approximately 4cm apart.
6. Bake for 12 mins. Allow to cool slightly before removing them from the tray - if you can restrain yourself!

Experiment by adding dark chocolate or nuts to add your signature style!

Makes approximately 16 cookies.