Daring Bakers in February: Flourless Chocolate Cake & Fresh Mint Ice Cream
February 28, 2009 at 2:02 am | Posted in cakes & tortes, daring bakers, groups, ice creams & frozen, sweet things | 40 Comments
I skipped out on last month’s Daring Bakers’ Challenge, so I wasn’t about to miss this one– especially since our hosts Wendy at wmpesblog and Dharm at Dad – Baker and Chef chose something exceptionally decadent. Actually, they chose two exceptionally decadent things: a flourless chocolate cake (called “Chocolate Valentino”) and homemade ice cream.
It may surprise you that a cake worthy of a restaurant plate has just three ingredients: chocolate, butter and eggs. Since chocolate is the star of the show here, use the best stuff you can. The recipe calls for semisweet chocolate, but I only had bittersweet so I threw a couple tablespoons of sugar into the meringue component. This sweetened it up a bit and also made the meringue more stable. I should also note that making the cake is just as easy as remembering the three ingredients! Melt the butter and chocolate together, add in the yolks, whip the whites to a meringue, fold them in, and bake. Keep a close eye on the cake in the oven, as mine baked quickly…but then again, I did just make a half recipe. This cake is so dense and chocolatey– it’s a really special dessert, but not at all hard to make.
To tell the truth, I think a rich cake like this pairs better with a light whipped cream than it does with an equally rich ice cream. But ice cream was part of the challenge, and it is really one of my favorite things to make. We were given the option of making either a traditional custard-based ice cream or an eggless Philadelphia-style one. I happened to have several yolks leftover from the coconut cake I had made a few days before, so that meant a French-style ice cream for me. I also had some fresh mint in the fridge…since I love the combination of chocolate and mint, I thought that would be a good way to go.
I have made a lot of ice cream at home (incidentally, I use the KitchenAid ice cream attachment and have had good results with it), and something I’ve learned is that if you start with a good vanilla ice cream recipe as your base, you can easily modify it for other flavors. For my mint ice cream, I used the custard-based classic vanilla recipe provided by Dharm, and rather than steeping the milk with a vanilla bean, I steeped it with a couple handfuls of fresh mint leaves. I also increased the sugar by two tablespoons, but this was just a matter of personal taste. Getting the mint flavor right can be a little tricky. The more mint you use, and the longer you infuse it, the more herbal the ice cream will be. That may sound obvious, but I’ve made several batches in the past that have tasted almost grassy. I was going for a subtler flavor here so I was careful when adding the mint, and made sure to taste the milk after it had steeped.
Check out the DB blogroll! And visit Wendy or Dharm for the recipes for both the Chocolate Valentino cake and the ice creams.
The February 2009 challenge is hosted by Wendy of WMPE’s blog and Dharm of Dad ~ Baker & Chef. We have chosen a Chocolate Valentino cake by Chef Wan; a Vanilla Ice Cream recipe from Dharm and a Vanilla Ice Cream recipe from Wendy as the challenge.
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a whisk and a spoon 
i love chcolate and mint . this cake looks so dense and good. Wish I ve got a slice in front of me 🙂 looks delicious!
Comment by snooky doodle— February 28, 2009 #
A-ha! I knew I wasn’t the only DB’er who thought that adding a bit of sugar to the whites was a good idea. I’m regretful I chose to follow the recipe exactly, as I took my whites just a tad too far. Bravo–your cake and photos are gorgeous.
Comment by Anna at Mediocre Chocolate— February 28, 2009 #
Beautiful! I love the mint ice cream addition!
Comment by Jen— February 28, 2009 #
Menthe et chocolat, c’est toujours un mariage gagnant ! beau défi 🙂
Comment by isabelle— February 28, 2009 #
MMM mint ice cream? Beautiful looking plate there Steph!
– Elizabeth (strawberriesinparis.wordpress.com)
Comment by liz2024— February 28, 2009 #
You came back to DBC with a vengeance, with this creation!! So marvelous!!
Comment by VeggieGirl— February 28, 2009 #
Well done Steph! I love the mint ice cream and thanks for joining us on this one!!
Comment by Dharm— February 28, 2009 #
lovely combination of mint and chocolate. somehow cake and ice cream pair well for me LOL! great going!
Comment by Meeta— February 28, 2009 #
This is just lovely. I would pay a lot of money for this in a restaurant!
Comment by foodlibrarian— February 28, 2009 #
Fresh mint sounds really really tasty! What a great idea!! Lovely job, as always!
Comment by Gretchen Noelle— February 28, 2009 #
i love making flourless chocolate cake…i usually make it for passover since you can’t have leavening. it’s always a hit. and with ice cream? yum. mint & chocolate = favorite flavor combo.
Comment by Sophie— February 28, 2009 #
Yum! I love the idea of a mint ice cream! Your cake looks fabulous! Great job!
Comment by Heather B— February 28, 2009 #
Nice job Steph – chocolate and mint – a totally winning combination. And..the cake…ahhh…the cake.
Comment by giz— February 28, 2009 #
Your cake looks so rich and wonderful! I love the idea of mint ice cream.
Comment by Erin— February 28, 2009 #
Your cake looks beautiful. I agree, the cake would be perfect with a light whipped cream. Your ice cream looks amazing!
Comment by lisa (dandysugar)— February 28, 2009 #
The Cake Slice, TWD, & Daring Bakers! Is there anything you don’t have your whisk and spoon in?? Lol! I wish I had time for all three! I just joined The Cake Slice, and I’m hoping I can squeeze it in with Iron Cupcake. Bravo to you! The cake looks so delicious! And I just love mint ice cream when it isn’t tinted green! Even though you know it’s mint, it’s still surprising when you get that first taste. ;D
Comment by howtoeatacupcake— February 28, 2009 #
I actually like it when it gets a little more herbal-y, for some reason. Weird, huh? It was probably a wonderful pairing though – it looks beautiful!
Comment by Caitlin— February 28, 2009 #
Mmm. I think if you’re going to serve ice cream with a heavy cake like this, it should be something refreshing, something like mint! Your cake and ice cream both look sooo delicious!
Comment by Elyse— February 28, 2009 #
I love the combination of mint and chocolate – I did a mint chocolate valentino this month. I think I much prefer the idea of a chocolate cake with mint ice cream though. Nicely done.
Comment by sweetbird— February 28, 2009 #
I agree..I think the cake needed some simple homemade whipped cream. You cake is lovely!
Comment by Leslie— February 28, 2009 #
Looks fantastic – I have always loved the chocolate and mint combination. Great photography as well.
Comment by Alicia McCarthy— February 28, 2009 #
Beautiful work! And mint + chocolate is one of my favorite pairings… Yum!
Comment by BitterSweet— February 28, 2009 #
gorgeous work steph!
Comment by Aran— February 28, 2009 #
Hey, I did mint ice cream too! But mine called for a ton of chopped mint leaves, and it was seriously like a salad. But it still tasted good, as I’m sure yours did as well!
Comment by Lesley— February 28, 2009 #
Your cake looks great! Mint ice cream sounds like a perfect match for this rich dessert
Comment by Stephanie— February 28, 2009 #
Fresh mint ice cream sounds wonderful. I’ve been waiting for mint to show up at the farmers’ market again so I can make some. Your cake looks delicious too.
Comment by pinkstripes— February 28, 2009 #
Yum. I bet the mint was very refreshing with this rich cake.
Comment by Di— March 1, 2009 #
I love it! The pictures that you have are great, and looks just yummy!Such a great match of flavors.
Comment by Juliana— March 1, 2009 #
that looks so so good, mint and chcoolate have to be the best combo ever.
Comment by Courtney— March 1, 2009 #
That melting ice cream is driving me insane! This looks incredibly delicious!
Comment by Jada— March 1, 2009 #
Yum, your cake looks beautiful. I actually found this to be a bit rich which is unusual for me. I have awarded you a blog award http://weetreatsbytammy.blogspot.com/2009/03/baking-for-hospice.html
Comment by Tammy— March 1, 2009 #
I’m truly not trying to be a brown nose, Steph… when I say …you have made it my favorite! I really have a weakness for chocolate and mint… what a PERFECT combination!
I never had fresh mint ice cream though… must try it now!!! LOL
Comment by Vibi— March 1, 2009 #
Beautiful, and a lovely flavor combination.
Comment by Jenny— March 1, 2009 #
Mint and chocolate is a great combination. I agree that this chocolate cake is very rich, but I bet that the minty flavor offset that really well.
Comment by Sweet Tooth— March 1, 2009 #
Mmmm mint ice cream is fabulous!
NAOmni
Comment by NAOmni— March 1, 2009 #
Steph, my favorite ice cream flavor is chocolate chip mint so this must have tasted like heaven! Sure looks like heaven…
Comment by breadchick— March 2, 2009 #
So lovely, Steph! That ice cream is just waiting for me to dip my spoon in it!!!
Comment by Ivonne— March 2, 2009 #
The perfect scoop of ice cream. IT looks wonderful.
Comment by teaandscones— March 5, 2009 #
Chocolate and mint ice cream is one of my favorite combinations. This looks sooooo good!
Comment by Little Miss Cupcake— March 9, 2009 #
love what you did with the valentino, looks delicious. so glad that i wasn’t the only one who noticed how unstable unsweetened egg whites are, they really do much better with the sugar. good luck on the next challenge.
Comment by jane of many trades— March 14, 2009 #