Flourless Chocolate Cake with Zesty Orange Whipped Cream

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They say true love is hard to find, but I must say I have never met a chocolate I didn’t truly love.

I would never say I wouldn’t snag up a Hershey bar every now and then, just because a chocolate snob might be mortified, but I must admit, I do like good, quality chocolate. I’m talking about the kind you purchase (and not cheaply, mind you) and just savor every little piece, like you were on death row and this was your last meal.

This is what Chocolove is for me.

I’m so happy they are a Boulderbased company, because it’s nice to keep all my Dessert Diva moola in the community. Any and all of their bars just send me straight to my happy place.

Now that I have divulged my sweet desires, let’s find out the treat for this week. Flourless Chocolate Cake with Zesty Orange Whippd Cream. You’re not shocked it is chocolate-based, are you? This dessert is inherently gluten-free, so that’s a bonus, and chocolate is touted as being good for your body and soul, so I say Kumbaya, my friends, Kumbaya.

I love the combo of orange and chocolate, so the orange zest and juice in the whipped cream is going to set this dessert on fire when dolloped on top. I was told that dolloping sounds very un-lady-like (this is the stuff people worry about), so perhaps you want to ever-so-gently spoon the fluffy whipped cream on top of your delicious little slice of cake.

As for me, I will be dolloping away on my huge slice, alternating with a nice dark beer and a piece of Chocolove’s orange peel and dark chocolate bar. They have mini-bars — yippee — that’s about as lady-like as I get when it comes to my chocolate. That doesn’t paint a pretty picture, does it now? I sip the beer and eat the chocolate like a dainty little princess.

OK, I chug the beer and almost swallow the chocolate whole. That’s just how I roll. Doesn’t mean I can’t make a lady-like dessert such as this lovely flourless cake.

I guess the moral of this story is apparently that men dollop, and ladies don’t. I know, these are fascinating facts I pass along. I do my best.

Now, follow the directions, put some love into it and invite me over when it’s done.

Flourless Chocolate Cake with Zesty Orange Whipped Cream

1/2 cup unsalted butter 2 1/2 cups semi-sweet chocolate chips 1 cup brown sugar 1 tsp. almond extract 6 eggs 1/4 tsp. salt powdered sugar for dusting

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Lightly grease a 9-inch springform pan and line bottom with parchment paper.

In medium saucepan over low heat, slowly melt the butter and chocolate. Add in brown sugar and almond extract, stir until smooth. Set aside.

In large bowl, beat the eggs and salt until light and fluffy. Eggs should look light yellow in color. Fold chocolate mixture into egg mixture and stir until well-combined.

Pour into prepared pan. Bake for 35-40 minutes. Take out and set on cooling rack. When ready to serve, release spring form, and place on serving platter. Cut into slices. Top with zesty orange whipped cream and dust with powdered sugar.

Zesty Orange Whipped Cream

1 1/2 cups whipping cream zest from one orange juice squeezed from 1/2 cut orange

Beat until soft peaks form. Enjoy!

You can watch the Dessert Diva every Monday at 8:35 a.m. on Channel 2. To contact Danette at the station, visit 2thedeuce.com, and click on Daybreak on the Deuce. To chat and/or send comments and suggestions, write to jdromega@aol.com.

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