“When we don’t have the words chocolate can speak volumes.”
Joan Bauer
Rick Bayless’s Rustic Amaranth Chocolate Cake was divine. Earthy, fudgy, deeply chocolaty and gluten free, just perfect for to satisfy the sweet tooth in the ‘attempting to go wheat free‘ better half. He does give in to the occasional temptations … read keema stuffed naan at Purani Dilli’s Al-Karam Kebab House or then my recent addictive from scratch baklava.
Still, I continue to look for alternatives that fit in to wheat free stuff. Found the cake recipe while googling for an amaranth chocolate cake since my amaranth brownies turned out really nice. I was surprised though at the lack of baking online solely with amaranth. Amaranth offered great texture to the gluten free dark chocolate recipe I was trying to develop.
Rick Bayless’s cake was the only simple amaranth cake I found. It was as rustic beautiful as the name suggested. Beautifully moist too. If you want to pretty it up for a birthday, you might consider topping it with mascarpone or pastry cream, some balsamic reduced fruit, maybe a chocolate lace collar like I’ve done on this Bittersweet Dark Chocolate Fallen Cake.
The fallen chocolate cake is often referred to as the ugly duckling chocolate cake, a gateau that collapses somewhat on cooling. For me, it’s what makes this cake special, the moorish appearance it takes on. Just a sifting of sugar or cocoa, or maybe a touch of grated chocolate adds oodles to it’s character!
The verdict was reason enough for me to bake it again very soon. Using good quality dark chocolate makes this cake shine. It went rather fast. Amaranth or no amaranth, the kids loved it too! You really can’t tell that it’s an amaranth cake. It slices neatly once cool, and tastes quite like a flourless chocolate cake, indulgent in every bite!
[print_this]Recipe: Rick Bayless’s Rustic Amaranth Chocolate Cake
Summary: Gluten free, deep, earthy and divine, Rick Bayless’s Rustic Amaranth Chocolate Cake impresses. A fudgy and chocolaty cake, which serves up rustic goodness to please the chocolate lover in you. Serves 6-8.
Prep Time: 10 minutes Total Time: 1 hour Ingredients:
100g good quality dark chocolate (60-65% cacao), coarsely chopped
100g butter, softened
3/4 cups sugar
3 large eggs
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 cup amaranth flour
Method:
Preheat oven to 180C. Lightly grease an 8-inch springform pan.
In a medium sized, microwave-safe bowl, melt together dark chocolate and butter, stirring every few seconds until mixture is smooth.
Allow to cool slightly.
In a large bowl, combine sugar and eggs and beat at medium-high speed until mixture is fluffy and has doubled in volume, about 3 minutes. Beat in vanilla and salt.
Stir in the chocolate mixture, then sift in the amaranth flour and stir it in until no streaks of flour remain visible and batter is uniform.
Pour batter into prepared pan.
Bake for 40-45 minutes, until cake is set and jiggles only slightly when the pan is gently shaken. Allow to cool completely before slicing. Cake may fall as it cools.
