Chocolate!
What else needs to be said?
According to a recent TLC survey chocolate treats occupy the top 4 slots of America’s 10 most popular desserts:
#1 Fudge
#2 Chocolate Cake
#3 Chocolate Chip Cookies
#4 Brownies
Chocolate has been around for a few millennia originating in the America’s and first used in chocolate beverages. Ground nibs from fermented and dried beans of the cacao tree make pure chocolate, the base for the forms of chocolate used to make the treats we love so well. Unsweetened chocolate is also used in many savory foods from the Americas. Europeans tend to confine their chocolate to sweets. I love European cuisines, but all forms of chocolate appeal to me.
The most common types of chocolate are dark, milk, and white. Dark chocolate contains antioxidants, which has lead to speculation that it may help reduce the risk of heart attack and cancers. Milk chocolate is what its name implies — sweetened chocolate with milk added. White chocolate contains only the cocoa butter, but no cocoa solids.
One of my favorite chocolate desserts is flourless chocolate cake. It gives me a rich blast of flavor without the gluten, to which I’ve developed a sensitivity. You can find a great recipe for the flourless chocolate cake pictured here in Easy Weekly Meals for Moms on the Go. And, the first 15 readers to like the Easy Weekly Meals Facebook Page will receive a free recipe to make this delicious dessert for National Chocolate Cake Day, celebrated today.
Enjoy!
