The Chocolate Fudge Cafe

For years I didn’t have any luck with homemade organic chocolate brownie recipes, they always came out hard and I had to resort to the nasty boxed mixes that still have trans fats, until I found this recipe at allrecipes.com. These are so soft and yummy! But I’ve adapted and tweaked it a little. Note: these are more of a cake-like brownie, but very moist and dreamy.

ORGANIC CREAM CHEESE CHOCOLATE BROWNIES

Ingredients:

(Use as many organic ingredients as you can find and are willing to pay extra for, I’ll make note below of where I do and do not use organic.)

photo by swruler9284

• 4 (1 ounce) squares German sweet chocolate (I didn’t have that on hand so instead used 4+ ounces of organic chocolate chips)
• 5 T. organic butter
• 1 (3 ounce) package organic cream cheese, softened – I make it myself with our fresh/”raw” milk (it’s SO easy to make, by the way)
• 1/4 c. sugar – I use organic evaporated cane juice sugar - (or equivalent Agave)
• 3 eggs – preferably from a local farm with pasture-fed chickens
• 1 T. all-purpose flour – I use half organic whole wheat pastry flour (which I grind in my grain mill) and half Bob’s Red Mill unbleached, unbromated white flour
• 1/2 t. organic vanilla extract
• 3/4 c. sugar (see note above)
• 1/2 t. no-aluminum baking powder
• 1/4 t. sea salt 
• 1/2 c. all-purpose flour (see note above)
• 1/2 c. chopped crispy pecans (optional)
• 1 t. vanilla extract (see note above)

1. Melt chocolate with 3 T. of the butter over very low heat. Stir constantly until smooth. Set aside to cool.
2. Cream remaining 2 T. butter with cream cheese until smooth. Gradually add 1/4 c. sugar. Cream until light and fluffy. Blend into this 1 of the eggs, 1 T. flour and 1/2 t. vanilla. Set aside.
3. Now beat the remaining 2 eggs until light and fluffy. Gradually beat into them 3/4 c. sugar. Continue beating until thickened. Stir in the baking powder, salt and 1/2 c. flour. Add to this the cooled chocolate mixture. Blend well. Stir in the nuts and 1 t. vanilla.
4. Spread half of the chocolate batter into an 8×8? buttered glass baking dish. Spread the cream cheese mixture over the top. Then drop the remaining chocolate batter by tablespoons over the top of the cream cheese mixture. Swirl through batter layers with a spatula or knife for a marbled effect.
5. Bake in a preheated 350* F (175* C) oven for 35-40 minutes. Cool in the pan. Cut into squares or bars.
6. Being the chocoholic I am, I then sprinkle more chocolate chips on the top after the brownies come out of the oven – they melt into a yummy frosting.
7. A few notes since I just made this again: I doubled the recipe for a 9×13, and it took about 45 minutes, but oven temps can vary, so keep an eye on it. (I pulled it out when it was soft on top and felt almost set, but not too firm – I don’t like them too done.) Lastly, the chocolate color is lighter than in the picture above, so don’t worry if yours don’t look just like that! (It has that swirled look to it, though.)

From The Nourisher

Chocolate Avocado Pie by Anand

Crust
1 cup pitted dates – soaked for 20 min
2 cups desiccated coconut

Filling
2-3 avocadoes
3 Tbsp of Agave syrup optional
½ cup of coconut butter
10 Tbsp of raw cacao powder
2 cups dates (pitted)
1 Tbsp zest of an orange (optional)
2 Tbsp raw cacao butter (optional)
1 Tbsp desiccated coconut (optional)

Directions
Process the crust ingredients until a sticky dough is achieved. Press the dough firmly into a 9 inch pie dish. Put in the fridge to set. For the filling, melt, dehydrate at 45°C, or double boil the cacao butter. Process thoroughly the remaining ingredients into a smooth creamy, unctuous mousse. Add the cacao butter. Spread onto pie crust and eat right then or place in the fridge for later. Decorate with desiccated coconut and orange zest.

Discover Chocolate (cover photo from amazon.com)

Review
“Clay Gordon’s Discover Chocolate is clearly a labor of love. A thorough and informed guide, it offers valuable insight for those with a passion and desire to learn about the world of chocolate.”
—Jim Goldman, President, Godiva Chocolatier, Inc.

“In tasting chocolate with the same passion and precision as wine critics do wine, Clay Gordon has elevated the whole idea of appreciating chocolate to new heights.”
—W.R. Tish, former editor of Wine Enthusiast magazine and founder of www.wineforall.com

“Any fan of Clay Gordon’s website chocophile.com will find all its enjoyable qualities combined in this book: a first-time explorer’s spontaneous enthusiasm, an insider’s perspective, and a refreshingly personal conversational style. I am impressed especially by Clay’s nuanced but substantive approach to the art of tasting chocolate. Discover Chocolate will be an original, insightful, and informative addition to any chocolate-lover’s library.”
—Maricel Presilla, culinary historian and author of The New Taste of Chocolate

“Clay’s thorough and meticulous investigation on chocolate is the foundation for this comprehensive book that leaves very little undiscovered in the marvelous world of enjoying chocolate today.”
—Michael Antinorsi, Owner, Chuao Chocolatier

“Discover Chocolate is a must-read for anyone seeking to understand the complex world of chocolate today. Highly informative and easy to use, Clay Gordon’s new book is the ultimate guide to chocolate, just as the subtitle promises.”
—Alexandra Leaf, chocolate educator, cookbook author, and culinary historian

Product Description
There’s a difference between a chocoholic and a chocophile, and Clay Gordon is decidedly in the latter category. It’s not enough for him to simply love this rich indulgence; he is equally addicted to the finer points of choosing it, just as a wine aficionado enjoys researching different varietals and developing a taste for particularly fine ones.

In Discover Chocolate, Gordon opens a world that extends far beyond cookbooks and coffee-table books that feature assorted gooey shots. Yes, his primer is packed with more than a hundred gorgeous photographs of chocolate and truffles, but this is a guide that also includes a handy rating system, a field guide for discerning among different types and styles of chocolates, an overview of how cacao becomes chocolate (including maps of where cacao is grown), advice for pairing chocolate and wine, and, perhaps most important of all, how and where to shop for the best chocolate in the world.

A little knowledge can be a dangerous thing, and Clay Gordon is there to help you relish every drop of it, discerning why you like certain types but not others and generating a personal list of favorites. This is the book every true chocolate enthusiast has been craving.

This delicious and very healthy recipe can be found on pg. 173 of “Naked Chocolate” by David Wolfe and Shazzie, with a very nice photo.

These tortillas are made from all raw ingredients and are slightly spicy, slightly chocolatey, and oh so versatile.  Makes 6 tortillas

Grind the flax seed into a fine powder using a spice mill.  Finely chop the garlic.  Chop the spring onions.  Add all the ingredients to the food processor and blend until smooth.  The dough should be thick and sticky.   Place six equal amounts on Teflex sheets, flatten out into circles and dehydrate for about four hours.  Turn the tortillas over, remove the Teflex sheets so air can circulate more and dehydrate for a further one or two hours.