Is it still cake if it’s dense, ultra-rich and more like fudge? That’s what I wondered about this recipe, a cake I made this past weekend for my husband Ed’s birthday. This cake is dark-chocolatey. The kind of dark-chocolatey that experts say is healthy to eat (can you imagine that?). I’ve baked it before and eaten it still warm, when it is lighter, more tender and more like cake.

And absolutely wonderful.

But because my kids and grandkids were coming for the birthday weekend, I made it in advance and kept it in the fridge and we ate it cold. It was thicker, felt richer on the tongue and with a more concentrated chocolate flavor, more like fudge.

And absolutely wonderful.

It’s a simple recipe, easy to make and just needs a little whipped cream to make it complete. Although probably vanilla ice cream would do just as well.

This made a festive birthday cake. But I can’t think of a better treat for Valentine’s Day.

Chocolate Fudge Cake

1 pound semisweet or bittersweet chocolate

10 tablespoons butter at room temperature

1 tablespoon all-purpose flour

1/4 teaspoon salt

4 large eggs, separated

1-1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract

1 tablespoon sugar

whipped cream

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees. Butter an 8-inch springform pan. Place a parchment or waxed paper circle on the bottom of the pan. Set aside. Melt the chocolate in the top part of a double boiler set over barely simmering water. Remove the top pan with the melted chocolate from the bottom pan. Add the butter, flour and salt and blend them in thoroughly. Add the egg yolks and vanilla extract and blend them in thoroughly. Beat the egg whites until they are foamy. Add the sugar and continue to beat until the egg whites are stiff, but the tips still lop over slightly. Add about 1/3 of the whites to the chocolate mixture and blend it in thoroughly. Add the remaining whipped whites and fold them in gently until the batter is a uniform color. Spoon the batter into the prepared pan. Bake for 15 minutes. Turn off the oven. Leave the door open. Let the cake cool in the oven. Remove the sides of the springform pan. Serve with whipped cream. Best the first day, slightly warm, but wonderful, denser and more fudgy when cold and a day old. Makes 8-10 servings

If desserts were football, who would win the Superbowl: brownies or chocolate chip cookies? 

Brownies seduce you from the first dizzying perfume they give off as they bake to the last caress of tender crumbs on your lips. They are edible magnets of melted chocolate mixed with just enough ingredients to give them some form. Brownies are winners for sure. 

But chocolate chip cookies! Mmmm. Buttery and tender, with a compelling crisp edge and oozy half-melted, half-firm chocolate melting on your tongue. Aren’t they the champions of all cookies, outshining all others? The classic you call on when you want to be on top of your game?

At a bake sale, which outsells the other, brownies or chocolate chip cookies?

If you serve either or both, brownies or chocolate chip cookies, are any left over and if so, which ones?

Maybe it’s time to find out. Serve both on Superbowl Sunday. Or on Valentine’s Day. Or anytime. Here’s a recipe for Chocolate Cheesecake Brownies. But there’s another recipe for classic fudge brownies here and click on the link above for a recipe for the best chocolate chip cookies ever. 

Then let me know which won.

Chocolate Cheesecake Brownies

4 ounces unsweetened chocolate

1 cup butter

2 1/2 cups sugar

4 eggs

1 cup all-purpose flour

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 cup chopped nuts

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

1 (8-ounce) package cream cheese

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Lightly grease a 13-by-9-inch baking pan. Put the chocolate and butter together in the top part of a double boiler set over barely simmering water. Stir 3 to 4 minutes or until the chocolate has melted. When the butter and chocolate have melted and are blended, stir in 2 cups sugar and 3 eggs. Whisk ingredients thoroughly.

Add the flour, salt, nuts and 1 teaspoon vanilla extract and stir in the ingredients with a large wooden spoon. Pour the batter into the prepared pan. In a medium bowl, beat the cream cheese, 1/2 cup sugar, 1 egg and 1 teaspoon vanilla until thoroughly blended. Place blobs of the cream cheese mixture over the top of the chocolate batter. Cut through the cheese, making swirls and designs with the chocolate.

Bake about 45 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Let cool. Cut into bars with a sharp knife dipped into hot water. Refrigerate brownies. Makes 32 to 40 brownies.

So which wins the Superbowl of desserts, brownies or chocolate chip cookies?

Can you eat just one piece of chocolate? My brother Jeff can. He eats one piece every day. He says it satisfies his craving, that he doesn’t need more than his little daily nibble.

This is quite a statement coming from someone who can’t hold back at all when it comes to bread. 

But I am sure Jeff will be thrilled to know about this article, which speaks to the benefits of chocolate, specifically dark, bittersweet chocolate. 

It sounds almost too good to be true. But, at least according to what I read here, there’s evidence that dark chocolate fights cancer, heart disease, stroke and high blood pressure. It has antioxidants and flavanoids that fight free radicals and may protect us from aging too quickly and from Alzheimer’s disease. And it also may help improve your vision.

Holy cow! Get me some of this stuff now!

My mother always said my brother Jeff was smart.

Of course the article does say not to overdo the chocolate thing. Be more like Jeff. Just a small portion each day.

So maybe just one piece of these brownies every day? (Freeze the leftovers)

Btw, these would be nice for Valentine’s Day. Or anytime, really.

Dark Chocolate Brownies

12 ounces bittersweet chocolate

8 ounces unsalted butter

3 large eggs

1/2 cup sugar

1-1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract

1-3/4 cups all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 cup chopped nuts or semisweet chocolate chips, optional

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Lightly grease an 8-inch square baking dish. Melt the chocolate and butter together in the top part of a double boiler set over barely simmering water. Stir, remove the top part of the pan from the heat and let cool. Beat the eggs and sugar together in a mixer at medium speed for 2-3 minutes or until the mixture is thick and pale. Add the chocolate mixture and vanilla extract and blend them in thoroughly. Combine the flour, baking powder and salt, add to the batter and blend thoroughly. Fold in the nuts or chocolate chips, if used. Spoon the batter into the prepared pan. Bake for about 35 minutes or until a cake tester inserted into the center comes out with a few crumbs clinging. Let cool and cut. Makes 16-20 pieces

Chocolate instead of broccoli to stay healthy?

No, not really. But in a recent study the results indicated that eating chocolate might cut a woman’s risk for stroke. Read about it here.

This is not the first time I’ve heard that chocolate is healthy (it has flavanoids, which have anti-oxidant properties, which in turn help lower LDL (bad) cholesterol).

But this is the one of the only times I’ve heard someone caution women not to over-interpret the results. Like, do not substitute chocolate for broccoli. And a cardiologist who was interviewed said that although chocolate may be good for you, maybe the study results would have been similar if they used apple skins or grapes.

I’ve always wondered about some of these studies. I wonder whether you can prove whatever you want depending on how you go about the study.

Well, I am no scientist, so I don’t know.

But I do remember, many years ago, when the information regarding dietary fat was still in its infancy and Nabisco came out with SnackWells, the so-called “healthy” cookies because they were lower fat. And people started eating SnackWells because they thought it was okay. And judging from the number of people I met (and watched at the supermarket) who ate boxes and boxes of those cookies, most didn’t seem to realize that it’s way too many calories and that it might be more harmful than if you ate a butter cookie or two.

So the broccoli warning makes sense.

But if you want to eat something delicious and chocolate-y — for your health — try these truffles. They are amazingly easy to make and you can give them away as gifts so they’re good for the upcoming holiday season.

But don’t eat the whole batch at once.

Chocolate Truffles

1/2 pound semisweet or bittersweet chocolate

3/4 cup heavy cream

4 teaspoons brandy or rum or 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

5 tablespoons butter at room temperature

1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder, sprinkles, toasted coconut, ground nuts, etc. (approximately)

Chop the chocolate in a food processor into small bits. Heat the cream over medium heat until it is hot and bubbles form around the edges of the pan. With the processor on, pour in the cream through the feed tube and process  until well blended (you may have to scrape the sides of the bowl once or twice). Refrigerate the mixture for 30 minutes. Add the brandy or rum and the softened butter and blend them in thoroughly. Spoon the mixture into a bowl and refrigerate for at least one hour or until the mixture has firmed enough to form a soft “dough.” Take small pieces of the dough and shape into small balls. Place the balls on waxed paper or aluminum foil on cookie sheets. Refrigerate until firm, at least 30 minutes. Roll the balls in cocoa, sprinkles, etc. Makes about 3 dozen. 

School’s out. Make brownies.

If you have a kid or a grandkid, make brownies with the kid or grandkid. That way you get delicious dessert, delicious photos and delicious memories.

This picture shows my granddaughter Nina, almost 4, after making a batch of our favorite chocolate-chip brownies. Her brother and cousins weren’t at my house so she had the beaters, spatula, wooden spoon and bowl all to herself.

Check out the jewelry. She was wearing her finest plastic rubies, sapphires and diamonds.

Here’s the recipe;

Chocolate Chip Brownies

4 ounces unsweetened chocolate

6 tablespoons unsalted butter

2 large eggs

1 cup sugar

3/4 cup all-purpose flour

3/4 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1/2 cup semisweet chocolate chips

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Lightly grease an 8-inch square baking pan. Put the chocolate and butter in the top part of a double boiler over barely simmering water. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the chocolate and butter have melted. Stir to blend the ingredients thoroughly. Remove the top part of the double boiler from the bottom pan and set it aside to cool. Combine the eggs and sugar in a mixing bowl and beat them with an electric beater set at medium speed for 2-3 minutes or until thick, light and well-blended. Add the flour, baking powder and salt and blend ingredients thoroughly. Stir in the vanilla extract. Add the chocolate-butter mixture and blend ingredients thoroughly. Stir in the chocolate chips. Spoon the batter into the prepared pan. Bake for 28 minutes or until a cake tester inserted into the center comes out clean. Cool the brownies in the pan. Cut into 16 squares. Makes 16

Love and pairing off doesn’t just apply to humans. There are some really good food marriages too, culinary matches made in heaven.

Who hasn’t heard of peanut butter and jelly, spaghetti and tomato sauce, ham and eggs?

As with people, sometimes the pair works well even though one of the partners is more dominant. Think cinnamon and sugar, or hot chocolate, which wouldn’t taste good at all without the gentle grace of a little vanilla. Or a robust English Stilton, tempered by a sweet, more docile pear.

But sometimes it’s better if the partners are more or less equal as they are with sausage and peppers or tomatoes and basil.

Opposites attract, as they do sometimes with people: strawberries (plump and sweet) and rhubarb (skinny and sour) or hot apple pie with cold ice cream a la mode.

But sometimes couples are more compatible if they are more alike: fish and chips (both crunchy) or prune and apricot pie, (both bold and intense).

And of course, some couples endure because they are just plain good for each other and with each other: beans and rice, lentils and bulgur, peanut butter and whole wheat bread.

One of my favorite food pairings is chocolate and orange. This quick and easy fondue recipe is so quick and easy you can make it today even if you haven’t planned ahead for Valentine’s Day.

Chocolate-Orange Fondue

10 ounces orange flavored bittersweet chocolate, chopped

1/2 cup whipping cream

2 tablespoons orange flavored brandy or liqueur

1/2 teaspoon orange extract

strawberries, pineapple chunks, banana pieces

doughnuts, cake, cookies, macaroons, etc.

Melt the chocolate and cream together in the top part of a double boiler set over barely simmering water. Stir until the mixture is smooth and uniform. Remove the top part of the pan from the heat. Stir in the brandy and extract. Spoon the mixture into a fireproof container set over a candle. (Or use a fondue pot). Use cut up fruit, doughnuts, cake etc. to dip into the chocolate. Makes 4-6 servings