Tasty and Easy Recipes

Ingredients:
Cake:
6 ounces (180g) semisweet chocolate
3/4 cup (180g) granulated sugar
3/4 cup (180g) butter or margarine
6 eggs, separated
2-1/2 cups (180g) toasted hazelnuts, ground

Decoration:
2 tbsp. apricot glaze (see below)
3-1/2 ounces (100g) semisweet chocolate
1 tbsp. butter or margarine
2 tbsp. water
Hazelnuts, chopped and toasted

Method:
Melt the chocolate and let cool. Beat all but 3 tablespoons sugar with the butter until pale and fluffy. Mix in the egg yolks and chocolate.
In another bowl, whisk the egg whites into soft peaks. Whisk in the reserved sugar. Stir 2 spoonfuls into the main mixture. Gently fold in the nuts and remaining egg whites.
Pour the mixture into the prepared 9″ springform cake pan, which has been greased and lined, and bake in a preheated 350°F oven for 45 to 55 minutes, or until a skewer comes out clean. Remove from the oven and let stand for 5 minutes. Invert onto a wire rack and peel off the lining paper.

Make Decoration:
Brush the top of the cake with the apricot glaze and let cool.
Melt the chocolate with the butter and water. Pour onto the cake and spread over the top and sides. Sprinkle with the chopped nuts and let set.

Make Toasted Hazelnuts:
Toast on a baking sheet at 350°F until lightly browned and with flaking skins. Pour the hot nuts onto a cloth. Fold the cloth over them and rub gently to remove the skins. Cool before using, then grind.

Make Apricot Glaze:
Put 1 cup (125g) apricot jam and 3 tbsp. water in a small pan and let stand over gentle heat until the jam has melted. Pour into a sieve over a small bowl and press through with a wooden spoon.

Keeps in the refrigerator, in a sterilized screw-top jar, for 2 weeks. Warm it before use. Cake keeps for about a week. Freezes for 1 to 2 months undecorated.

Ingredients:
8 tablespoons (1 stick) plus 1 tablespoon softened, unsalted butter or margarine
8 ounces semisweet chocolate, coarsely chopped
5 large eggs, at room temperature, separated
3/4 cup sugar
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon salt
1-1/2 cups Chocolate Ganache
Fresh raspberries
Whipped cream

Method:
Preheat the oven to 350°F. Grease a 9″ springform pan with 1 tablespoon of the butter and dust with flour, tapping out any excess.
In a metal bowl set over a pot of simmering water, melt the chocolate with the remaining 8 tablespoons of butter or margarine and stir occasionally until smooth and creamy.

Remove from heat.
You will need to separate the eggs. In another bowl, use an electric mixer to beat the egg yolks together with the sugar and vanilla until thick, stopping to scrape the sides of the bowl once or twice, for about three minutes.
In a third bowl, whisk the egg whites with the salt until stiff, for about two minutes. Slowly and gently fold the chocolate into the yolk mixture, adding just a little chocolate at a time to keep the eggs from scrambling. Fold in the egg whites.
Pour the batter into the spring form pan and bake in the center of the oven until spongy for about 40 minutes. Remove from the oven, remove the spring form ring, and place the cake on a rack to cool completely. When the cake is cool, prepare the chocolate ganache.

To serve, spread the icing over the cake. Top with raspberries and serve a small wedge of cake with a dollop of whipped cream.

Ingredients:
1 cup coconut
1 cup chopped nuts
3/4 cup chocolate chips
1/2 cup butter
1 tsp. vanilla
1 (8 oz.) package cream cheese
2 cups powdered sugar
1 package German Chocolate cake mix, plus ingredients on package

Method:
Grease 9″x13″ pan, sprinkle nuts and coconut on bottom of pan.
Mix cake mix as directed on package and pour over nuts and coconut. Mix cream cheese, powdered sugar, butter, and vanilla. Spread over batter, sprinkle with chocolate chips. Bake at 350°F for 50 minutes or until done using toothpick test.