Flourless Chocolate Cake

It's about time I post the dessert I make at least twice a month... the incredible Flourless Chocolate Cake. Three of my closest Seattle girlfriends have gluten allergies, and I feel so bad for them when it comes to dessert, because they NEVER get to partake... so, since last fall it's been my mission to find delicious desserts that a) do not contain wheat b) don't have too many of those weird wheat substitutes that cost my entire monthly food budget, and c) that no one would know it was any different than any other dessert. I love this cake, from start to finish it takes less than an hour & looks like you spent way more time than that, which is always nice.

Changes I make:
-I never use a double-broiler for this recipe, I just microwave the chocolate & butter 30 sec. at a time and keep stirring until melted. Works perfectly, and this is what Ina Garten does, do I don't feel too bad about it! Make sure to use a glass or ceramic bowl, not metal, that way you can just wisk in the other ingredients & only get one bowl dirty.

-This recipe is a great base for adding anything to it. Sometime I add a little vanilla, chopped toasted nuts would be great, almond extract is good. Next up: adding hazelnut liqour & making hazelnut whip cream to top it, sounds festive right? Most used combination: sliced fresh strawberries & homemade whip cream.

- I most always top it with a dusting of powder sugar rather than the cocco powder. I found that cocco powder dissovled into the cake before we even ate it, and it wasn't as even or pretty as I wanted. I put a handful of powder sugar into a fine mesh strainer (I use my pasta one) & dust away... Takes about 3 seconds, and looks great.

The recipe originally came from Gorumet magazine (one of my favorites), and I found it on Epicurious.com (an incredible site). Bon Appetit!