Chocolate for Every Lover

With Valentine’s Day just around the corner, I am focused on only one thing: love.

Love of chocolate, that is.

I know I’m not alone. is featuring an impressive roster of chocolate-themed flavors this month, and last weekend a score of Brookline merchants offered samples of their best chocolate wares at the Rotary Club’s sold-out .

While decadent desserts will finish off many a romantic dinner in the coming days, chocolate is not reserved for the couples among us. These simple recipes make enough to satisfy a small crowd. And since allergies shouldn’t stand in the way of dessert, the cake uses no dairy and the brownies can be made gluten-free.

For sheer chocolate indulgence, nothing works quite as well as a dense, fudgy brownie. My favorite recipe contains just enough flour to hold everything together without overshadowing the passionate interplay of dark chocolate with brown sugar. Yet I baked countless pans of these brownies before realizing they were nearly perfect for several friends with gluten sensitivities. I set out to adapt the recipe for them, and I learned two things: First, experimenting with gluten-free baking is not for the weak of spirit. Second, even the grainy failures were delicious.

The chocolate, butter and brown sugar dominate this recipe, so please do not skimp on these. Your brown sugar should be moist and fragrant. The butter is essential; do not substitute oil or margarine. The chocolate should have no additives and at least 65 percent cacao—higher percentages will produce a richer, more intense brownie. And as with wine for cooking, choose a chocolate you would eat on its own. Sample a small piece; if it has a burned aroma, gritty texture or bitter aftertaste, find something better for this recipe. It will be worth it.

Have you already reached your limit with decadent truffles and luscious ice cream? Perhaps heavy winter soups and stews have set your cravings for something less intense. This chocolate cake is lighter than most, with no dairy, no egg yolks and minimal oil. Orange juice adds some dimension, brightening the chocolate rather than intensifying its fudginess. Bring out the citrus accent with a shiny glaze, or keep things simple with a light dusting of powdered sugar.

For both recipes, keep things beautiful by dusting your greased pan with cocoa powder. Flour may leave unattractive white splotches on your dessert.

If you must, serve small pieces to those who want “only a small taste.” I promise they’ll ask for seconds.

Fabulously Fudgy Brownies
(with gluten-free variation)

Adapted from Katharine Hepburn’s Brownies, epicurious.com
Yield: 16 brownies
Active Time: 15 min
Total Time: 1 hour, plus cooling time

• 1 stick (½ cup) butter, cut into 8 pieces, plus more for greasing pan
• 3 ½ ounces good bittersweet chocolate, broken or chopped into about 12 pieces
• ½ cup sugar
• ¼ cup plus 2 Tbsp brown sugar
• 2 large eggs
• ½ tsp vanilla
• ¼ cup all-purpose flour
• ¼ tsp salt
• cocoa powder, for dusting pan

1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Grease an 8-inch square pan with butter. Sprinkle about two teaspoons of cocoa into the pan; shake and turn the pan in all directions to coat all interior surfaces, and then gently tap out excess cocoa.

2. Place chocolate and butter into a 2-3 quart metal mixing bowl. Fill a small or medium saucepan with about an inch of water; the bowl should be able to rest snugly in the rim of the saucepan without touching the surface of the water. Heat the water to a simmer, place the bowl over the pan and melt chocolate and butter together, stirring occasionally. Remove bowl to the counter, stir chocolate mixture until smooth and let cool for about 2 minutes.

3. Mix in both sugars. Add eggs and vanilla and mix until fully combined. If you prefer a crisp top crust, continue to beat vigorously by hand for a minute or two, until batter has lightened somewhat in color.

Dark Chocolate Orange Cake
(dairy-free)

Adapted from a recipe from Estelle Wald
Serves 10-12
Active Time: 15 minutes
Total Time: 1 hour 10 minutes, plus cooling time

• 1 ¾ cups all-purpose flour
• 1 2/3 cups sugar
• ¾ cup cocoa powder, plus more for dusting pan
• 1 ½ tsp baking soda
• 1 ½ tsp baking powder
• 1 tsp salt
• 1/3 cup canola oil or other neutral oil
• 1 cup orange juice
• 4 egg whites
• 2 tsp vanilla
• 1 ½ cups boiling water
• margarine or cooking spray, for greasing pan
• confectioner’s sugar or Chocolate-Orange Glaze (recipe below)

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease a 12-cup Bundt pan with nondairy margarine or cooking spray. Sprinkle about a tablespoon of cocoa into the pan; shake and turn the pan in all directions to coat all interior surfaces, and then gently tap out excess cocoa.

2. Sift together flour, sugar, cocoa, baking soda, baking powder and salt in a large bowl or the bowl of a stand mixer. Add oil, orange juice, egg whites and vanilla; beat on medium speed for 90 seconds to two minutes (or beat vigorously by hand for several minutes).

3. Add boiling water and beat until thoroughly incorporated. Batter will be very thin.

4. Pour batter into prepared pan and bake 50-55 minutes. To test for doneness, insert a toothpick midway between the inner and outer sides; it should come out clean or with a couple of crumbs attached.

Chocolate-Orange Glaze

Yield: enough for one Bundt cake
Time: 5 min

• 1 cup confectioners sugar
• 2 Tbsp cocoa powder
• 2-3 Tbsp orange juice

1. Sift sugar and cocoa together into a one-quart bowl. Be sure to eliminate all lumps.