Mashed Potato Chocolate Cake!

For whatever reason, I just happen to be making some flour free (and hence gluten free) desserts lately. This has been kind of nice because we have been passing the successful recipes on to a friend who is dating someone with a gluten intolerance (celiac's?)

I have also been experimenting with cakes this month (painful, ha ha ha!!) in honor of Shawn's upcoming 39th. Both of us have been considering lately how odd it is to be getting to the age where we can look back on some friendships lasting nearly two decades, and also be able to look forward to our 12th wedding anniversary this coming October. Holy cow! These have been some lovely years, but it does seem a little sad lately how it all passes, and so very quickly. What a strange thing it is. We're here so short a time, when you come down to it...

But rather than dive headlong into that business...I think I will write down this recipe. It was curious and tasty.

It's a mashed potato chocolate cake - potato being the substitute for flour, and it turned out quite nicely. I modified the recipe somewhat to suit our current kitchen ingredients and personal tastes. The original calls for amaretto liquor, but I think that stuff is ghastly, so I just used some organic almond extract. The original also called for a small amount of espresso or instant espresso, neither of which I had. So I simply omitted that completely, to no great sadness. I think it would be nice if you had some on hand, though. Shawn and I are neither of us coffee drinkers, and oolongs and greens didn't seem like they'd go too well. :-)

Here's the recipe as I made it. The recipe is adapted from "desserts with a difference" by Sally and Martin Stone. It's a neat book with a curious premise - all the desserts are vegetable based. Many of them use quite a bit of sugar, which isn't something I'm into lately, so they could use a little tweaking in my book, but the book itself is a lot of fun and many of the desserts are ones I've heard tell of and thought interesting, such as a sauerkraut based chocolate cake (I've heard from several different sources that these are awesome! Maybe when we get around to doing some sauerkraut one of these days!!) and another that sounds like a winner I'd like to try is a black bean based chocolate dessert...I saw another recipe lately for black bean chocolate brownies. Might be fun for a Mexican themed dinner party - especially adding some chile in there, somehow? Geesh, I'm off on a tangent again. Here's the recipe. It's gluten free and very tasty. There's something quite elegant about it, especially if you coated the sides of the cake with a simple spreadable ganache and maybe coated with slivered almonds? The powdered sugar on top is optional, I've had a bit left from Christmas baking and so dolled it up. It's pretty! And tastes wonderful. Very rich and decadent...

Mashed Potato Chocolate Cake:
5 ounces bittersweet chocolate (I used a grain sweetened chocolate here, and it was nice! Use whatever you like!!)
1 tsp. almond extract
1 stick butter
4 eggs separated
1/2 cup sugar
1 cup plain mashed potatoes (we made some with the previous night's dinner and just reserved a cup without any seasoning added)
1/2 cup finely ground almonds
pinch of salt
powdered sugar if using

Heat the oven to 350.

This cake calls for using a springform, which I no longer own. I used a glass cake pan and oiled and floured it well. It worked just fine, no problems at all. I did go ahead and cut out a cake round from parchment and place that at the bottom of the pan, and I think I would do the same again.

Use or improvise a double boiler. Put into it your chocolate, almond extract, and butter. Melt slowly and thoroughly. Set aside to cool down.

Whip the yolks and sugar together till they turn a beautiful lemon yellow (this is fun to watch, and such a lovely color). Should take 3 or 4 minutes. Add in the chocolate (cooled most of the way) and mix for another minute or so. Then add in your ground almonds and mashed potato and mix again. Scoop this into another bowl and then whip the egg whites with your pinch of salt to "stiff but not dry" peaks. You'll know it when you see it. As a note, it's way easier to whip egg whites if no trace of anything, particularly any fat, is left in your mixing bowl. So after transferring the chocolate-y deliciousness, make sure to really have your bowl clean.

Now fold your whites into the chocolate mixture, incorporating slowly and completely. Use a big rubber spatula, a bowl scraper or your own clean hands to accomplish this without deflating everything. Once you are mixed nicely, pour this mixture into your prepared baking dish and place in preheated oven. Bake about 35 minutes and then pull to cool. The cake won't be set completely in the center as it's basically very souffle like. It will settle in the pan.

After an hour, remove the cake from the pan. Dress it up or keep it simple as you wish.

It's excellent with nice tastes coming from the almond. The chocolate is really rich and delicious. This is a super easy to prepare cake.