Thursday, February 09, 2006

Satisfying that chocolate monster...

Sometimes when I'm after a chocolate dessert, I don't want something that is heavy or dripping with icing. While that kind can certainly be fantastic all done up, I also like ones that are light, portable, quick to make and full of deep chocolate flavor.

This Chocolate Snack Cake had everything I was looking for. The cake is pretty quick to prepare, would be great to pack along in a lunch and has a satisfying chocolate flavor. Using dutch cocoa lends a deep rich chocolate taste without the bitterness that sometimes can be found with natural cocoa. This makes nine generous portions which are quite moist. All it needed was a dusting of confectioners' sugar and I was pretty happy.

Lasagna was for dinner tonight, execpt this was not your typical kind. Polenta Lasagna has layers of sliced polenta, cheese, and a vegetable/meat free sausage marinara mixture. You could certainly use ground beef or chicken, but I liked being able to lower the fat some by using gimmie lean sausage. Instead of using the pre-bought polenta in a tube (which is just fine), I had a bunch of cornmeal already on hand so I made some polenta last night and let it firm up in a baking pan in the refrigerator overnight. I used a round biscuit cutter to then cut out the disks. While it does not have the same texture as lasagna, the rounds did keep their shape well and absorbed a lot of the flavor. Next time I might try searing the polenta disks first to give them a bit of a crust before layering them. The dish was so flavorful - I loved this twist on lasagna and will make it again.


6 comments:

  1. You gotta admit, though, that there ARE times when you want something heavy and dripping with chocolate. At least I do! Your snack cake looks wonderful. I wonder if I can "lighten" it up? I'll let you know.

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  2. Wow! That chocolate snack cake looks delicious. Yeah, I'll be trying that recipe very soon (must check the ingredients list!)

    I bet it's just yummy for breakfast hehe.

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  3. I was going to make CL's Chocolate Fudge Snack Cake today, what a coincidence! These kind of cakes are so simple but so good, I love them! And yours look super good! (I looove chocolate!)
    Ana

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  4. Wow - both of these sound fantastic. I've been seeing all different takes on traditional lasagna and they all sound so intresting and inviting. I'm all for a chocolate snack anytime too!

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  5. How creative!

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  6. Cyndi - No Doubt! I will be watching to see if you try it!

    Teresa - Thanks and I bet it would be too ;-)

    Ana - too cool! I don't think I've made that one before!

    Kitchen Queen - Thanks! I'll be waiting to hear if you ended up trying it at all!

    Michelle - Thanks - and you can't go wrong with chocolate!

    Kat - Thanks!

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