Chocolate Decadence

It’s no secret that I love to bake.  As a friend once told me that it is my “happy place” which is definitely true.  The thing is, I’ve been having an internal struggle for the past while because while I know that baking makes me happy ( good thing), it also results in yummy, high calorie treats that are a temptation for my hubby who has been focusing on losing weight (bad thing).  I have been debating what to do with this situation for quite some time.  I secretly hoped that if I hung in there long enough that the medical issues would pass and life would be back to normal.  I suppose that I have finally come to terms that the medical issues are really not going to resolve in the near future and even when they do, we are going to have to adjust our lifestyle.  So, while I am not giving up entirely on decadent desserts that have far too many calories, I have decided that I must focus more on food that is healthy for us and some desserts that can be eaten without completely blowing one’s diet.

Today’s recipe is taken from a magazine that we’ve enjoyed the past while called Eating Well.  I love that they have the nutritional info on each recipe so that I know it fits within the calorie and sodium restrictions.  The February issue has some great chocolate desserts that have a reasonable amount of calories.

I decided to try the flourless chocolate cake called “Chocolate Decadence.”  This recipe is proof that you can have decadence without destruction.  Most flourless chocolate cakes call for tons of butter and eggs which, although delicious, really hike up the calories.  This version calls for heating a small amount of flour, sugar and low-fat milk (rather than cream)  on the stove and then pouring it over high quality cocoa and chocolate.  Then egg whites are whipped and added to it.  It is baked, cooled and then refrigerated overnight before serving (if you can wait that long).  You can find the recipe here.

I was extremely pleased with the way this turned out and definitely consider this a go-to recipe from now on.   One serving is 164 calories but the cake is so rich that you could definitely get by with a smaller piece and still feel completely satisfied.

I totally wanted a picture to put with this post but unfortunately I do not have one.  When I served it the first time it was rather late in the evening and I didn’t feel like taking the time to style and photograph it.  Then we ended up serving the rest of it rather spontaneously one night when we had company, and I didn’t even think of it until I had licked my plate clean.  Well, I guess you know what that means — I’m just going to HAVE to make this recipe again real soon.  Give it a try yourself — I think you’ll really like it!