Simple Chicken Dinner & A Fabulous Fallen Cake

Simple is my middle name these days. I used to just relish working on recipes that had a gazillion steps and were a labor of love to create.

Now, I still aim for fabulous and crave fantastic, but the first thought on my mind is “simple”.

Something simple that won’t take me hours to make, where the cleanup won’t exhaust me, that really anyone with basic cooking skills can make, and still have it be delicious and not taste or look simple.

Both the chicken dish and the spicy cauliflower and broccoli dish are extremely easy with very few ingredients.

The dinner had a prep time of 20 minutes and cook time of about 35 minutes.

Delicious, simple, fantastic.

The chicken has amazing layers of flavor. The onion, garlic, and sundried tomatoes work perfectly together. Distinct flavors, but not so much that they overpower the chicken. The spicy cauliflower and broccoli has just enough spice to contrast the sweetness of the cauliflower but not too much heat to take away from the flavors of the chicken.

The not so fantastic part? Enjoying it on the patio overlooking our dirt back yard. 

Yep.

Landscaping was supposed to start Tuesday, now it’s Friday…they “think” they’ll be able to start the sprinkler system on Monday then it will take “about” 10 days to complete all the landscaping. At this point, I’m convinced that the majority of construction and landscape laborers live in an alternate universe where time is of no consequence.

As many of you already know I’m doing a grain free trial run. Baking grain free has been a challenge to say the least. So far I haven’t been impressed with even one bread recipe I’ve tried. But I’ll save that post for later.

For now we’ll discuss the flourless fallen cake.

I tweaked the recipe a bit like I said I would. Added more chocolate and a bit more coconut oil. Also baked it in a regular sized cake pan rather than two tart pans. Turned out much more moist and now has the perfect balance of chocolate. However, with the fear of over cooking it and having it be too dry, I believe I may have under cooked it just a touch. It looked wonderful coming out of the oven…and then.

You may be wondering why I’m calling it fabulous… Of course I didn’t know it was fabulous when I was taking pictures of it. So I took my shots and then set it aside and ignored it while it cooled.

I’ve seen tons of recipes on Pinterest for Paleo frosting made with avocado. So I found one that looked promising from Gourmet Innovations and tweaked it to suit my needs.

Behold, the Fabulous Fallen Cake.

Amazingly enough….FABULOUS in every way.

Even the avocado frosting. Not weird at all.

Both the cake and the frosting are very rich but in a light and airy way. The cake was perfectly moist and now I’m convinced that the fallen aspect is no big deal and just gives it rustic character.

I like rustic character.

Fabulous Fallen Cake

*Instructions in bold are what have been updated from my previous recipe

Prep time: 15 minutes

Cooling time: 1 hour

Cook time: 34 minutes (Maybe add another 5…)

(Adapted from Martha Stewart’s Cakes)

4 Tablespoons of Raw Unrefined Organic Coconut Oil

8 ounces of 70%  Dark Belgian Chocolate, chopped (or Enjoy Life chips)

6 Large Organic Eggs, yolks and whites separated

1 Cup of Organic Coconut Sugar Crystals

1 teaspoon of Instant Coffee or Espresso Powder (decaf is fine!)

2 Pinches of Iodized Sea Salt (1 for the chocolate mixture and 1 for the egg whites)

2 teaspoons of Pure Vanilla Extract

Preheat oven to 325 degrees (I use convection). Line the bottom of one 9 inch cake pan with parchment paper and rub the paper and pans with coconut oil or spray with coconut oil. Place the 4 Tablespoons of coconut oil and chopped chocolate in a small glass bowl over a steaming pan of hot water. Stir until combined and fully melted. 

Remove bowl from steaming pan, wipe bottom of bowl with a towel to avoid any water dripping into the chocolate. Set aside. In the bowl of your mixer, beat the egg yolks and 1/2 cup of coconut sugar crystals on medium high until thick and fluffy and crystals have dissolved completely.  Add the instant coffee or espresso powder, salt, and beat until combined and coffee has dissolved. Add the vanilla and slowly drizzle the melted chocolate mixture in and beat for about 1 minute until combined.

In a large bowl, beat the egg whites and a pinch of salt until foamy. Increase beating to high and slowly add the remaining 1/2 cup of sugar crystals in small batches. Continue beating on high until stiff peak (close to 5 minutes). Gently fold the egg white mixture into the chocolate mixture. Pour batter evenly in one 9 inch pan. 

Bake for 34 minutes, remove and cool completely on baking rack.

Chocolate Avocado Frosting

Prep time: 3-5 minutes

Mix time: 5 minutes

(Adapted from Gourmet Innovations)

1 Organic Avocado, pitted & scooped out

1/4 Cup of Organic Cocoa Powder

2 Tablespoons plus 2 teaspoons of Pure Maple Syrup

1 teaspoon of Organic Coconut Sugar Crystals

1 Tablespoon of Dairy Free Butter

Place all ingredients into a food processor. Process until smooth and fluffy, scraping down sides several times. 

Frost cake when it is completely cooled. After serving, store lightly covered in fridge. 

Simple Chicken Dinner

Prep time: 10 minutes

Cook time: 35 minutes

5-6 Organic Boneless, Skinless, Chicken Thighs

1 Organic Medium Onion, peeled and sliced thinly

2 Organic Cloves of Garlic, peeled & pressed or shredded over chicken

About 1 teaspoon of Organic Dried Thyme

3 Sun Dried Tomatoes In Oil, chopped

Paprika

Sea Salt

Organic Olive Oil

Place chicken thighs in an 8×8 baking dish. Layer sliced onion on top, in between, and under thighs. Shred garlic cloves over chicken (I used a zester). Sprinkle the thyme over the chicken, disperse the chopped tomatoes. Sprinkle with a little paprika and sea salt. Drizzle somewhat generously with olive oil.

Bake in a preheated 350 degree oven for 35 minutes.

Spicy Cauliflower & Broccoli

Prep Time: 10 minutes

Cook Time: 20-25 minutes

About 1 1/2 Cups of Organic Cauliflower, large stalks removed and heads broken into small bite size pieces

About 1 1/2 Cups of Organic Broccoli, large stalks removed and heads broken into small bite size pieces

1/4 of A WHOLE Jalapeno, membrane and seeds intact, diced

Organic Olive Oil

Sea Salt

In a medium saute pan add the cauliflower, broccoli, and jalapeno. Drizzle with olive oil. Saute on Medium Low for about 20-25 minutes until aldente. Season with sea salt. (I added another drizzle of olive oil toward the end of the cooking process).