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Today is already February 28th…the end of the month means another Daring Bakers reveal.

The February 2009 challenge is hosted by Wendy of WMPE’s blog and Dharm of Dad ~ Baker & Chef. We have chosen a Chocolate Valentino cake by Chef Wan; a Vanilla Ice Cream recipe from Dharm and a Vanilla Ice Cream recipe from Wendy as the challenge.

Here is what we had to do…
1. Use the recipe for Chef Wan’s Valentino Chocolate Cake
2. Make our own ice cream using our favorite flavors and recipe
3. Use our favorite chocolate…I used semi sweet

I have been super busy recently and was relieved that this recipe was quite simple and would not require days of prep work and a lot of ingredients. In fact, I had everything for this recipe in my pantry and fridge. I have a KitchenAid ice cream attachment which got quite the workout over the summer months, but honestly has not seen the light of day since October. I was pretty excited to pull it from the depths of my cupboards and put it to work. I knew exactly which ice cream I was going to make as soon as I read the recipe. This cake needed to be accompanied by Tyler Florence’s Vanilla Bean ice cream which tastes just like crème brûlée. I have made Tyler’s recipe several times and I always cut the recipe in thirds. I love the recipe because it is a great base and can be tweaked to suit your taste!
The Valentino Chocolate Cake came together so quickly, I was paranoid that I was missing a step or an ingredient. I have a heart shaped pan, but I decided to use a variety of ramekins that I have picked up in recent weeks. I was nervous about cake releasing from the walls of the ramekins, so I also used a 4 inch springform as a preventative measure. These popped right out the ramekins, so no preventative measure was needed!

I served my mini cakes with the ice cream, whipped cream and a delicious raspberry sauce from allrecipes. All of the flavors complimented each other wonderfully and we were truly impressed with the simplicity of this recipe and the fact that is produced such a magnificent dessert. Many thanks to Dharm and Wendy for picking this fabulous dessert…you can find the recipe by clicking the links to their blogs. If my post leaves you craving more flourless chocolate cake, head over to the Daring Bakers Blogroll for my versions of this sinfully delicious dessert.

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29 Comments

  1. Jaime says:

    wow i love how you used ramekins!! i’m surprised they just popped out for you w/o any problems! beautiful job!

  2. Audax says:

    The mini cakes were a great idea and the raspberry a delight. Chocolate and berries go so well together. Great job on this challenge. Cheers from Audax in Australia.

  3. Maria says:

    I am in love with your ramekins!! These are the cutest cakes ever!! Nice job!

  4. vibi says:

    I’m not sure which I like best… the beautiful, dainty little star cakes… of the moulds themselves.

    Humpf… either way, I’m jealous.

    Very nice, very delicate… totaly you, Jamie!

  5. Emily says:

    Wow! Your cake looks amazing. I love the raspberries.

  6. Jamie says:

    These look so good! So pretty in those little ramekins and yummy with the raspberry sauce!

  7. pixie says:

    it looks so appetizing with the sauce and the mint! YUM!

  8. anjelikuh says:

    your ramekins are so cute! great photos and presentation, well done!

  9. lisamichele says:

    Your cakes look so light and feathery! Beautiful job on the presentation, so vibrant and mouth watering! Finally, Tyler’s vanilla bean ice cream tastes like creme brulee? Now I have to try it, although burnt sugar ice cream has always been my ‘frozen’ creme brulee :)

  10. CookiePie says:

    What a beautiful presentation, and a fantastic, classic flavor combo — yum!!