I knew dinner wouldn't be difficult to do low carb and low calorie, but dessert tends to present more challenges in regard to that. We got some beautiful balsamic vinegars from Fat Louie's while we were on our 10 year anniversary getaway last October and I have been dying to try them in dessert. I looked up a few low carb chocolate cake recipes (because chocolate and balsamic pair really well together) but none of them were just right so I went to the kitchen to play like a mad cooking scientist. :) What I came up with was absolutely delicious. It was decadent, yet it didn't leave you with that feeling in your stomach like you overdid it. The cake was almost fudgy in consistency yet not overly sweet, the blueberries added a nice pop of freshness, and the chocolate balsamic glaze gave it the perfect balance of bitterness, sweetness, and tang to cut through to creamy cake. The best part of all was that it was simple to make. Here's what I did...
Cake
- 7.5 oz chocolate, chopped - I used semisweet but would go for either a bittersweet (66%) or a dark (72%) next time
- 4 tablespoons unsalted butter
- 6 eggs
- 4 oz neufchatel (1/3 less fat cream cheese), room temperature
- 1 tablespoon dark chocolate balsamic
- 1 cup fresh blueberries
Glaze
- 6 tablespoons dark chocolate balsamic
- 2 tablespoons mango balsamic
- 2 tablespoons raspberry balsamic
- 1/4 cup chocolate, chopped - again, I used semisweet but would go for either a bittersweet (66%) or a dark (72%) next time
Directions
- Preheat the over to 375 degrees.
- In a microwave safe mixing bowl, combine chocolate and butter. Pop into the microwave for 1 minute. Remove and stir. Place back into the microwave another minute. Remove and stir till the chocolate and butter are combined smoothly. Set aside.
- In a medium mixing bowl, using a hand mixer beat together the eggs, balsamic, and neufchatel. Add to the chocolate slowly, mixing with the hand mixer until thoroughly combined. Your batter will be fairly runny similar in texture to a custard base.
- Place a layer of parchment paper between the base and sides of a 10" springform pan* (this helps to seal the pan and keep it from leaking all over your over). Spray with non-stick.
- Pour batter into pan and place in the oven for 10 minutes. Reduce temperature to 325 degrees for the remaining 10 minutes of baking.
- When the cake has finished baking, turn the oven off, open the oven door, and leave the cake to cook for 10 minutes. Move to a cooling rack for another 20 minutes, then place in the refrigerator till cooled completely.
- Once your cake has cooled, move it to your serving dish and top with the fresh blueberries. Make your glaze.
- To make the glaze, pour your balsamic vinegars into a small saucepan and cook over medium heat until it begins to bubble. Reduce the heat to medium-low, and cook until reduced by 1/3 (about 10-15 minutes). You can tell if it has reduced sufficiently by stirring it with a spoon. If the vinegar "sticks" to the back of the spoon, it is probably ready.
- Switch the heat to low and whisk in the chocolate until smooth. Drizzle 3/4 of the glaze over the blueberries.
- Let set for 5 minutes, then cut into 16 slices, plate and top with some homemade whipped cream, and drizzle a little more of the glaze over the cake and plate.
- Enjoy with an Americano from your AeroPress. :)
*If you do not have a 10" springform pan, go ahead and use a smaller one but remember that you will need to adjust the cooking time.
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