I am a chocolate lover who enjoys that black gold in all forms save one: cake. For years, I would dutifully eat the slices of fluffy, wheaty pastries set in front of me at birthdays, weddings, and holiday celebrations simply for the sugar rush that would follow; rarely, however, did I enjoy what was on my plate, and at some point I abandoned the pastry all together.

Several years ago, after being asked to provide a chocolate cake for a friend’s party, I decided to revisit my prejudice and set out to make a baked chocolate dessert that would be cake-like enough for celebrations, but that was not bready and bland. My baking experimentations, of course, brought me to endless flourless chocolate cake recipes, most of which were overwhelmingly dry, chalky, cloyingly sweet, dense like cement, or a combination thereof.  What I wanted was something smooth, fudgy, rich, and with bitter overtones. After dozens of eggs and hours spent pouring over cookbooks and websites, I successfully combined several recipes and came up with a dessert that has become standard to my repertoire.

Technically, this pastry is a baked pudding, but since it is made in a cake pan, it is a good substitute for birthdays and is shockingly simple to make. Firm, but not too dense, you can add a little panache by cutting out individual portions with a cookie cutter. Best of all, there is room for creativity with this recipe: for a richer pastry, use a chocolate (preferably organic, fair trade) with a higher cocoa content, for a sweeter cake one with a lower cocoa content, or try using 2 oz more chocolate or up to 3 oz less to play with density and richness. Top with a little bourbon cream and some fruit and you have a perfect, fancy-looking dessert.

FLOURLESS CHOCOLATE CAKE

1/2 pound (2 sticks) unsalted butter, cut into small pieces
12 ounces bittersweet chocolate, coarsely chopped
6 eggs
1 cup sugar
1 tsp vanilla

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Butter a 9 by 2-inch round cake pan, and line the inside with a round of parchment paper.

Put the butter and chocolate into a small heavy saucepan and melt over low heat, whisking occasionally (you may also use a double boiler). Set aside and let cool for five to seven minutes.

Whisk together the eggs, sugar, and vanilla in another bowl. Thoroughly whisk in the cooled melted chocolate.

Pour the chocolate batter into the cake pan and cover tightly with foil. Place it in a larger baking pan, and pour in warm water to reach halfway up the sides of the cake pan. Let bake for 1 hour or up to 1 hour 15 minutes, or until the cake appears to have set and when you touch the center, your finger comes away clean.

Remove the cake from the water bath and cool completely before serving, plain or with whipped cream and fruit.

I needed to use a box of graham crackers fast, and I wasn’t about to make another pie.

But graham cracker blondies? You bet.

Space is at a premium in my kitchen, so food generally doesn’t get lost in the cupboard. But somehow I had overlooked for months two unopened boxes of graham crackers.

One sniff and I could tell that one box of graham crackers was beyond salvation. It went straight to the trash.

The other box, however, still had some life– if I acted fast.

My thoughts first turned to the obvious: a graham cracker crust. But that used up only about 3/4 of a sleeve of crackers. I still had a long way to go.

Then I came across a recipe for graham cracker blondies. The best part: I already had all of the ingredients.

The recipe not only used up a quarter of a sleeve of graham crackers, but the buttery, chocolate-filled blondies are now one of my favorite desserts.

Good thing I still have another sleeve of graham crackers to go.

Graham Cracker Blondies (Adapted from About.com: Southern Food)

8 tablespoons (one stick) of unsalted butter, melted and cooled
1 cup light brown sugar
1 egg
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup flour
3/4 cup graham cracker crumbs
1 cup semisweet chocolate chips

Grease a 9-inch or 8-inch square baking pan. Heat oven to 350 degrees.

Beat butter and brown sugar until smooth. Beat in egg and vanilla extract until well-blended.

Slowly beat in flour and salt, then stir in graham cracker crumbs and chocolate chips.

Bake for 20 to 25 minutes until set in the center but still soft.

Men love bacon. Gourmets love chocolate. So what do you get if you take bacon and dip it in chocolate? Mmmm… Crunchy strips of chocolate covered LOVE for the gourmet man.

This is probably what Roni-Sue, chocolatiere extraordinaire was thinking when she came up with her unconventional and highly acclaimed Pig Candy. Bacon is deep-fried until crispy, then hand-dipped in Callebaut dark or milk chocolate. Not too salty, not too sweet, this quirky combination of flavors will leave your boyfriend’s taste buds longing for more after each bite.

Excited, curious or skeptical? Head over to the Essex Street market where you can sample Roni’s Pig Candy and other bacon flavored treats like Bacon Buttercrunch and Bacorn (bacon/caramel popcorn).

Pig Candy – Available in milk or dark. $38 per lb
Bacon Buttercrunch – $32 per lb
Bacorn – $5 per bag

Roni-Sue
Mon-Sat: 8pm – 7pm
#11/12 Essex Street Market
120 Essex St @ Delancey
New York, NY 10002
Tel: (212) 260-0421