Martinis, Tomato soup and Almost Guiltless, flourless, low sugar Chocolate Cake!!!

I strained out the milk solids from my Milk Liqueur on Wednesday night.  Boy was that a project!  I had three of my funnels out and lined them with the tapered coffee filters that I have had up in my cabinet for several years.  I placed the funnels on top of my quart canning jars and very slowly clear pale yellow liquid dripped into the jars.  I found that the milk solids were quick to clog the filters up and I had to change out the paper filters often.  Therefore, I would suggest that if you are going to try this project at home only put 2 tablespoons of the liquid into the filters at a time.  It took over an hour of managing the three jars and I was still only about 2/3 of the way through what needed to be strained.  So, I set the jars and filters up in a corner of my kitchen, filled up the funnels and left them overnight.  In the morning it had all managed to filter through.  I got just over a pint of finished product.  It is very sweet and lemony.  I am thinking that it would be good in a lemon drop martini!  Maybe I will try Lemony Mango martini while I move on to my next project…..I just got to remember that that the alcohol content is the same as the vodka that I started with. 

That is the Milk Liqueur in the jar on the left and my Lemony Mango martini in the middle.  Got the glass at Sea World, FL

I was very fortunate to receive a gently used stove/convection oven from a friend of ours that upgraded.  It is full of some really neat features that I just cannot wait to try.   However, the projects today will not require any special features. 

Yummy Tomato Soup

Oops, my drink ended up in the picture!

1 quart of canned tomatoes

1 can of tomato soup

½ yellow onion chopped

½ green bell pepper

1 cup chopped fresh basil leaves

1 clove garlic

1 tbs. of oil oil 

1.        Sauté your onions, garlic and green peppers in 1 tbs. of olive oil

2.       Add the canned tomatoes and basil leaves

3.       Puree with a hand blender in the pan

4.       Mix in the can of tomato soup

5.       Simmer until ready to eat.  I put it in the martini glass because I thought it was fun!  Anything is fun in a martini glass!!! 

Flourless low sugar Chocolate Cake

4 oz. of bittersweet chocolate, chopped

4 oz. of semisweet chocolate, chopped

2 tsp vanilla extract

2 oz of of very strong coffee (works great with a French coffee press)

There is my drink again but the contents are a little lower!

¾ cup of splenda

1/3 cup cocoa powder, sifted

3 eggs, beaten

½ cup heavy cream

Berries for garnish

Powdered sugar for garnish

Nonstick butter spray

Parchment paper

Ice bath

1.        Preheat your oven to 375 degrees

2.       Spray an 8-inch round pie or cake pan with nonstick spray and line with parchment paper

 

3.       Put the bittersweet chocolate, butter, vanilla and coffee on top of a double boiler.  Stir the mixture until combined and smooth.

4.       Remove the mixture from heat and put the pan into the ice bath to cool down a bit.

5.       Add the sifted cocoa powder and beaten eggs and mix until smooth

6.       Pour into the prepared pie/cake pan and cook for 20-25 mins.

7.       Remove the cake from the oven and allow to cool for about 5 mins.  Then invert onto a parchment lined plate and allow to cool for 10 mins. or until set.

Chocolate Ganache topping to serve over top of cake with berries and powdered sugar

1.        Put the swemisweet chocolate into a bowl

2.       Heat the heavy cream until hot stirring to prevent any scourching and burning

3.       Pour the hot cream over the chocolate and mix until all of the chocolate is melted and incorporated into the cream

4.       Pour over the cake and garnish with the berries and powdered sugar

This is so yummy!  I will do again.  I am sure the cake will not last the night.

What is better then a martini?  My almost guiltless flourless, low sugar Chocolate Cake in a martini glass! 

Note:  you may make the Chocolate Ganache ahead of time and reheat when ready to serve.