Bleeding Espresso

I recently came across a great looking recipe for a gluten-free chocolate cake in one of my favorite Italian magazines. I told my mom I was going to try it for a What’s Cooking Wednesday and her immediate reaction was “Why?”

You see, I’m not allergic to gluten; perhaps you could tell from the amount of pasta recipes on here?

As I told my mom, though, I do have friends (and blog readers!) who have Celiac Disease. And let’s be honest: I’m getting plenty of white refined flour in my diet as it is.

Plus today is my sister-in-law’s birthday–a perfect time for some baking.

Happy Birthday N!

So I went to the store and picked up almond flour as listed in the recipe. Next to it on the shelf was coconut flour. Hmmm….

Yes, I came home with two fancy flours. Then I looked closer at the recipe. Six eggs! Goodness that’s a lot. Especially since P had just eaten two of the six I had in the fridge–and the hens wouldn’t be laying any more that day.

So I started looking around the Internet for other gluten-free chocolate cake recipes. I quickly found out that lots of eggs are quite common in gluten-free cake recipes–this one has 10! The cake looks fabulous, but I’m guessing anything with 10 eggs is going to be a little much for just P and me (especially when one of us will only eat sweets when force fed).

Then I found this recipe for Flourless Chocolate Muffins, played around with it, and came up with these:

Now I don’t mean to toot my own corno, but oh these are *so* good.

The coconut adds great texture, and they are just as moist as The Moistest Chocolate Cake in the World (probably because I borrowed the idea of using coffee in the batter).

I will definitely make these again. And again. And you guessed it–yet again.

Gluten-Free Chocolate Coconut Muffins
[makes 6 large or 12 normal size muffins]

3 eggs
1 cup sugar
1/2 cup almond flour
2/3 cup coconut flour
6 tbl unsweetened cocoa powder
2 tbl vegetable oil
1 tsp baking powder*
2 tsp vanilla*
1/4 (measuring) cup or one small espresso cup of espresso

[*For those in Italy, note that I used one bustina of lievito per dolci in place of baking powder and vanilla.]

1. Preheat oven to 350°F/180°C.

2. Grease 6 large muffin cups, or 12 normal muffin cups.

3. In large mixing bowl, beat together eggs and sugar with electric mixer.

4. Add vegetable oil and mix well.

5. Stir in almond flour, coconut flour, cocoa, vanilla, baking powder, and espresso, and mix gently. I did this with a silicone spatula, something like this.

6. Pour into muffin cups, filling about 3/4 full and bake until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, between 25-35 minutes. (Mine took about 30 minutes.)

With a little dab of marshmallow/fluff, these reminded me so much of my beloved Mallo Cups . . . anyone else love them? Yes, I have a huge sweet tooth, why do you ask?

Buon appetito!

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She walks in beauty, like the night
Of cloudless climes and starry skies;
And all that’s best of dark and bright
Meet in her aspect and her eyes:
Thus mellow’d to that tender light
Which heaven to gaudy day denies.

One shade the more, one ray the less,
Had half impair’d the nameless grace
Which waves in every raven tress,
Or softly lightens o’er her face;
Where thoughts serenely sweet express
How pure, how dear their dwelling place.

And on that cheek, and o’er that brow,
So soft, so calm, yet eloquent,
The smiles that win, the tints that glow,
But tell of days in goodness spent,
A mind at peace with all below,
A heart whose love is innocent!

~ Lord Byron

Thank you, Mom, for teaching me grace, kindness, and, above all, love.

Happy Birthday! Can’t wait to see you!

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I loved Palermo so much I can’t possibly sum it all up in one, two, or even three posts. So for the next several Mondays, I’m going to share travel tales from Palermo . . .

Palermondays are here!

Now you may remember that before Cherrye and I set off for our trip to Sicily, I mentioned wanting to visit the Teatro Massimo in Palermo. Well we did!

This magnificent opera house opened in 1897 in part to provide national unity for the newly formed country of Italy; remember the Risorgimento and unification of Italy only occurred in the 19th century.

As the largest opera house in Italy and the third largest in all of Europe, Teatro Massimo Vittorio Emanuele seats 1,350 and features 7 tiers of boxes around an inclined stage, all in the shape of a horseshoe.

The opera house was built by the architect Giovanni Battista Filippo Basile, paying homage to classic Sicilian architecture; the exterior is reminiscent of the ancient Greek temples of Selinunte and Agrigento.

Take a virtual tour of Teatro Massimo here.

Don’t forget to come back next week for another Palermonday!

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Today is one of Italy’s biggest holidays: la Festa della Liberazione or Liberation Day, celebrating the country’s liberation from fascism thanks to Allied troops at the end of World War II.

When I first arrived here, many of the older residents, upon finding out I was American, loved sharing their memories of American soldiers who marched into the village from over the mountain and handed out chocolates to the children.

Sixty plus years later, and they simply can’t forget what life was like under “Il Duce.” My neighbor Anna Maria still remembers a children’s rhyme that lamented days without bread and nights without light: “u jornu senza pane, la notte senza luce.”

Liberation Day celebrations in Italy are two-fold–one part is to honor those who fought the fascist regime and the other is to protest against tyranny and oppression throughout the world.

Not coincidentally, Italian comedian, actor, blogger, and Champion of Change Beppe Grillo has chosen today to hold the second V-Day to encourage “freedom of information in a free state.” That V stands for “vaffanculo” and tells oppressors and criminals in positions of power in Italy what they can go do to themselves.

Now go celebrate!

And don’t forget to check out Cherrye’s Buttermilk Biscuits
for La Buona Cucina Americana!

Buon weekend a tutti!

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I’m celebrating lemon love this week.

Although this wonderful citrus fruit grows year round here, lemons still say l’estate to me. I *love* an ice cold glass of homemade lemonade; P prefers lemon slices sprinkled with salt.

As much as I love to enjoy lemons, though, I couldn’t split up this adorable pair:

Even though I know that more are on their way.

What’s your favorite way to enjoy a lemon?

Happy Love Thursday everyone!

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