Cooking School – Baja California, Mexico

Rancho La Puerta is my favorite place on earth. From my first trip, over 25 years ago when we wore leotards, tights & leg warmers and did aerobic dancing to Let’s Get Physical to this past September with more emphasis on pilates, yoga & hiking, it’s been a place for me to try and get balance. But recently, it’s also become a place to learn to cook.

La Cocina Que Canta, “The Kitchen That Sings”, was conceived by Sarah Livia Szekely Brightwood, daughter of Edmund (“the Professor”) and Deborah Szekely who founded the Ranch 70 years ago. The gorgeous building, surrounded by 6 acres of organic garden, is now inspiring guests to take the ranch home to their own kitchens. Every week, celebrated chefs and cookbook authors, teach and feed gloriously happy guests. It will probably be the best meal you ever ate.

La Cocina Que Canta is a Mexican cooking school – because it’s located in Mexico – but they have a wide variety of fantastic guest instructors with different styles of cooking; all emphasizing fresh, local, organic meals.

On my last trip, I was a guest of the ranch with a group of fantastic lifestyle bloggers. They wined and dined us, and we attended classes by vegetarian cookbook author Robin Asbell (although she cooked pescatarian for us – that’s vegetarian + fish) and gluten free chef Carol Fenster. The classes were fun, educational and most of all delicious. We purchased their cookbooks – I suggest you do the same.

Carol adapted the delicious chocolate cake from the Rancho La Puerta cookbook and made it gluten free — just for our readers she’s sharing the recipe.

Chocolate Cake with Almonds (from Cooking with the Seasons cookbook)
By Carol Fenster (www.carolfenster.com)

This decadent chocolate cake is adapted from Rancho La Puerta’s marvelous cookbook. Chocolate chips by Tropical Source and Enjoy Life have no gluten or dairy and are available in health food stores. Don’t forget the xanthan gum; the cake will fall apart without it.

Serves 16 small pieces
1/2 cup milk of choice
1 cup gluten-free chocolate chips, divided
1/2 cup lightly toasted almond slices
3 large eggs, at room temperature
1/3 cup firmly packed light brown sugar
1/4 cup olive oil
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1/2 cup brown rice flour or buckwheat flour (see note below)
1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder (not Dutch or alkalinized)
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon xanthan gum
1/4 teaspoon sea salt
1/4 cup powdered sugar (for garnish)
Fresh fruit sauce or berries (perhaps chocolate-covered strawberries) plus mint, for garnish

[1] Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

[2] In s small saucepan, gently heat the milk over medium-low heat until warm, about 2 minutes. Remove from the heat and stir in ½ cup of the chocolate chips. Stir until the chips are melted. Set aside to cool.

[3] Lightly butter an 8×8-inch round or square nonstick pan and line the bottom with parchment paper. Sprinkle the almonds and the remaining ½ cup chocolate chips evenly over the parchment.

[4] In a large mixing bowl, beat the eggs, brown sugar, oil, and vanilla together with an electric mixer on low speed until well combined. Beat in the melted chocolate until smooth. Sift together the flour, cocoa, baking soda, xanthan gum, and salt and beat into the eggs on low speed until thoroughly combined. Spread the batter evenly in the pan.

[5] Bake 25 to 30 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Remove the cake from the oven, run a knife around the outside edge, and invert the cake onto a plate. Remove the parchment paper and invert onto the serving plate to cool completely (nut-side down).

[6] To serve, dust with powdered sugar, cut into 16 slices, and serve, garnished with your choice of sorbet, fresh berries, or a pureed fruit sauce and a sprig of mint.

NOTE: You can purchase buckwheat flour, but to make your own light-flavored buckwheat flour, grind 1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons Bob’s Red Mill Creamy Buckwheat Cereal or The Birkett Mills Buckwheat Cereal (Pocono) Cereal in a small coffee or spice grinder until very fine, like flour. This makes about 1/2 cup flour, the right amount for this recipe.

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Plan your own trip to Rancho La Puerta & her Cocina Que Canta. You will thank me for this advice. You can find out all about the Ranch and what her thousands of fans think by joining the Rancho La Puerta Facebook Page.

Rancho La Puerta
La Cocina Que Canta
Website: Rancho La Puerta

Reservations: USA 1.800.443.7565
Reservations: Worldwide 1.858.764.5500

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