Yippie yea, we got to make a flourless cake the other day! Ohhhh, do I like the chance to try out new recipes! This one was inspired by our friend Nancy onboard their 39-foot Kadey-Krogen trawler, Puffin. We all love Puffins, especially Daria. They’re so cute with their short, brightly colored beaks and stocky, feather covered bodies. They breed along the coast of the North Atlantic Ocean from northern Europe, the Faroe Islands, Iceland and along the eastern coast of North America, including the Arctic circle from northern France to Maine. Our friends on Puffin come from Vermont, but they have sailed a lot through Maine, so they may have gotten their inspiration for their boat’s name from there. Check them out on the link I included!

Anyway, back to the subject…flourless cake…and our reason for making it…Nancy (and Julie from Sea Fox, whose birthday we were going to celebrate)! Nancy follows a gluten free diet and for the last few weeks has been missing out on the dessert portion of the potluck dinners. No fun for her, but it did present me with a new challenge! As the kids always say, no matter how full they are from dinner, there is “always a little room for dessert”. How to make a satisfying baked good without the traditional ingredients??

When in doubt, I always consult my food bible (How to Cook Everything Vegetarian by Mark Bittman) and sure enough, he had something for me! Check it out! Super easy and with so few ingredients with the added bonus of being good for you as well! A win, win all the way around. I think I will try adapting a few more of my cake recipes this way and see how they turn out. I’ll keep you posted. Enjoy!! Thanks Nancy!!!

Flourless Chocolate Nut Torte
2 cups of finely chopped almonds or almond flour
1/2 tsp. of salt
1 cup sugar
3 eggs, plus 2 egg whites
1 tsp of vanilla or almond extract
1/2 cup cocoa powder (I used super dark chocolate to give it that rich, dark color)

Super easy directions : 9” round pan, 350F for around 25-30 minutes.
– Grind almonds in a food processor to a fine texture or purchase “Bob’s Almond Flour”.
– Mix ground almond flour with cocoa and salt.
– Beat eggs, extract and sugar at medium to high speed until thick and frothy (5-7 minutes).
– Fold in flour mixture to eggs and mix by hand gently just until incorporated.
– Pour in greased and floured pan and bake.

The cake may rise up higher than your pan, but don’t worry because it settles back down after a few minutes in the oven. When you take it out, let it cool in the pan for around 15 minutes before removing to another platter. This cake was great! Rich, chocolate/almond taste with a dense, cake-like consistency. Decorate this cake with a little powdered sugar sprinkle or if you are like Daria, make a delicious frosting and do some decorations galore! Yippie yea!! Gluten-free never tasted so good!!!