Deep Chocolate Bars
Happy St. Nicholas Day!
When I was little, I attended a Catholic grade school. I learned about St. Nicholas Day from the nuns. I brought my new-found knowledge home to my mom and she went right along with it.
I was really into gifts (still am), so when the nuns told me you were supposed to put your shoes by the front door and gifts would appear the next morning, I was hooked.
St. Nicholas Day is the 6th of December, and is celebrated all over the world. It’s really big in the Netherlands and other parts of Europe. They even have parades and light fireworks.
So back to the gifts.
The idea is to put your shoes by the door the night before...
Read the full column at PlanZDiet.com
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Italian Almond Cake
Pumpkin Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting
Deep Chocolate Bars
This is a ZReboot 3.5 recipe, and it’s one of the most decadent offerings of Plan Z. This bar tastes more like a deep chocolate cake than a brownie. It will satisfy your craving for chocolate for sure. Serve this after a simple weeknight meal or even at the fanciest party. A two-inch square is all you’ll need to feel spoiled. You’ll never believe this is healthy diet food. I promise.
Serves: Serves 9 (a serving is one two-inch bar)
Ingredients:
For the Bars
¼ cup of unsweetened cocoa powder
2 ounces of high quality bittersweet chocolate, 70% – 72% cacao content, chopped fine
1/3 cup of very hot water
¼ cup of kefir, or buttermilk if you can’t find kefir
6 tsp of Truvia
¼ cup of coconut oil (you can heat this slightly to get it to be clear oil)
2 large eggs
2 tsp of organic vanilla
1/3 cup Super Fine Ground almond meal (almond flour)
1/3 cup regular white flour
1 Tbl of corn starch
½ tsp of xanthan gum (You’ll find this in the health food section. It’s good for low carb baking.)
½ tsp of baking soda
¼ tsp of sea salt
For the Frosting
3 oz of high quality bitter chocolate that has 70% – 72% cacao content, chopped fine
3 oz of whipping cream
Instructions:
In a small heatproof bowl put the cocoa powder, chocolate and water. Stir until the chocolate is completely melted and smooth. Add the kefir and stir again. Set aside to begin to cool.
In a large bowl, add the egg, the Truvia and the coconut oil with the vanilla. Beat until smooth. If your coconut oil is hardened you might have to whip a bit longer to get it to blend in or heat it in advance – slightly – to get it to become clear liquid.
Add the chocolate mixture and blend again.
Now add the dry ingredients. Turn on mixer and blend. Leave mixer running one full minute. Make sure you have scraped down the sides to incorporate all ingredients. Do final blending.
Pour batter into a nine-inch square or nine-inch round pan that has been sprayed with baking spray (alternatively lightly butter the pan and sprinkle in a bit of flour to dust the pan). The ideal would be to use a pan with removable bottom but if not you’ll just serve your bars from the pan rather than taking it out to display on a cake plate.
Bake at 350 degrees for 18 to 20 minutes. The batter will not rise much. It will be about a half-inch thick. Might be a bit lumpy, too. This will die down. Test for doneness with a toothpick. If the pick comes out clean the bars are done.
Let cool in the pan on the counter. Either remove the baked result to a platter to frost it or frost in the pan.
To make the frosting:
Heat the cream in a small saucepan on medium high just until bubbles form around the edges of the pan. Do not bring to a full boil. When the bubbles appear, take the pan off of the heat and add the chocolate pieces. Stir until smooth and creamy. Spread on the cooled bars.
Serving Suggestions:
Serve plain or can also be served with whipped cream and/or berries.
These bars are approximately 150 calories each and contain approximately eight grams of carbohydrate per bar without the sauce, whipped cream or berries.
If you want flavored frosting you can add things like peppermint flavoring or orange or even raspberry. Just a tsp will do it. Chocolate mint for the holidays. BIG YUM.
Enjoy!
Cheers,
Zola
