Category: Food

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Molten Chocolate Cake

We’ve discovered something…

“molten” is quite a relative term. But no matter how it is used, if it’s attached to the word “chocolate” well then….

it’s positively glorious.

We’ve tasted Molten Chocolate Cake in many of it’s incarnations, or—various levels of done-ness—and found that each and every version has it’s own unique…charm…

Yeah, charm is a good word. My favorite version is this moist and fluffy but not-quite-so-liquid center darling. If, however you want the molten chocolate to actually be more like lava–then just take it out of the oven a minute or so sooner than I did.

Either way…don’t make any plans.

You’re going to want a moment alone.

Trust me.


Chocolate Molten Cake

Ingredients:

1/2 cup butter, cut into pieces

6 ounces semi-sweet or milk chocolate

3 large eggs, separated

1/3 cup white sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1/8 teaspoon cream of tartar

1 tablespoon granulated white sugar

Preheat oven to 400 degrees and place rack in center of oven. Generously butter 4 – 3/4 cup molds, ramekins, or custard cups and dust the insides with granulated white sugar. Place the prepared molds on a baking sheet and set aside.

Melt the butter and chocolate in a double boiler over medium heat. Remove from heat and set aside.

Beat the egg yolks and 1/3 cup sugar until thick, pale, and fluffy. Beat in the vanilla extract. Now, then fold in the melted chocolate mixture.

In a clean bowl whip the egg whites until frothy. Add the cream of tartar and continue to whip until soft peaks form. Gradually add the 1 tablespoon of granulated white sugar and whip until stiff peaks form. With a wire whisk gently fold the beaten whites into the chocolate mixture, just until it is well combined. Don’t over mix or the batter will go flat. Divide the batter between the prepared cups, filling about 3/4 full. Bake for 10 to 15 minutes or until the outside edges of the cakes are set but the middle still looks a little wet. You may have cracks on the top surface of the cakes.

Immediately remove from oven and let them rest for a minute or two. Run a knife around the edge of each cake and then turn it out onto the center of a serving plate.  Carefully remove the mold. Sprinkle the top of each cake with confectioners sugar and serve with Vanilla ice cream.

Makes 4 – 3/4 cup  individual cakes.

Oh, and whatever you do–don’t cook them longer than 15 minutes…or they tend to…ahhhh….blow up.

Yeah. Don’t ask.

Molten Chocolate Cake
 
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Ingredients
  • ½ cup butter, cut into pieces
  • 6 ounces semi-sweet or milk chocolate
  • 3 large eggs, separated
  • ⅓ cup white sugar
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • ⅛ teaspoon cream of tartar
  • 1 tablespoon granulated white sugar
Instructions
  1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees and place rack in center of oven.
  2. Generously butter 4 - ¾ cup molds, ramekins, or custard cups and dust the insides with granulated white sugar.
  3. Place the prepared molds on a baking sheet and set aside.
  4. Melt the butter and chocolate in a double boiler over medium heat. Remove from heat and set aside.
  5. Beat the egg yolks and ⅓ cup sugar until thick, pale, and fluffy.
  6. Beat in the vanilla extract.
  7. Now, then fold in the melted chocolate mixture.
  8. In a clean bowl whip the egg whites until frothy.
  9. Add the cream of tartar and continue to whip until soft peaks form.
  10. Gradually add the 1 tablespoon of granulated white sugar and whip until stiff peaks form.
  11. With a wire whisk gently fold the beaten whites into the chocolate mixture, just until it is well combined.
  12. Don't over mix or the batter will go flat.
  13. Divide the batter between the prepared cups, filling about ¾ full.
  14. Bake for 10 to 15 minutes or until the outside edges of the cakes are set but the middle still looks a little wet.
  15. You may have cracks on the top surface of the cakes.Immediately remove from oven and let them rest for a minute or two.
  16. Run a knife around the edge of each cake and then turn it out onto the center of a serving plate. Carefully remove the mold.
  17. Sprinkle the top of each cake with confectioners sugar and serve with Vanilla ice cream.

 

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Easter Gummi Candies

You are going to love these cute little gummies. I was amazed at how easy they were to make. You can use your favorite flavor of Jello or even make them two flavors at once–by filling the molds half full, letting them harden and filling them the rest of the way with a second flavor. If you don’t have small candy or chocolate molds you can use ice cube trays or mini muffin tins. You can even pour the gummies out onto a cookie sheet and cut them with cookie cutters.

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Gummi Candies

Ingredients:

1/2 cup cold water

1 package Jello– any flavor

4 packets unflavored gelatin

Directions:

1. Spray candy molds or pans with nonstick cooking spray.

2. Combine unflavored gelatin, flavored gelatin, and cold water in a small pyrex 2 cup measuring cup. Stir with a small whisk or rubber spatula until well mixed. Cover with plastic wrap and let mixture rest for 10 minutes.

3. Set cup in pan of hot water and cook over medium heat. Continue stirring while mixture melts and becomes liquid.

4. Once mixture is fully liquid and pretty much clear, remove it from the heat and pour into your molds.

5. Allow it to set and cool slightly, then place in freezer for 10 minutes to solidify.

6. Once solid, remove from molds, and gobble them up!

Easter Gummi Candies
 
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Ingredients
  • ½ cup cold water
  • 1 package Jello-- any flavor
  • 4 packets unflavored gelatin
Instructions
  1. Spray candy molds or pans with nonstick cooking spray.
  2. Combine unflavored gelatin, flavored gelatin, and cold water in a small Pyrex 2 cup measuring cup. Stir with a small whisk or rubber spatula until well mixed.
  3. Cover with plastic wrap and let mixture rest for 10 minutes.
  4. Set cup in pan of hot water and cook over medium heat.
  5. Continue stirring while mixture melts and becomes liquid.
  6. Once mixture is fully liquid and pretty much clear, remove it from the heat and pour into your molds.
  7. Allow it to set and cool slightly, then place in freezer for 10 minutes to solidify.
  8. Once solid, remove from molds, and gobble them up!

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Buttermint Cookies

Oh, yummmm! The tender melty taste of real live butter-mints, only in a cookie. No lie. The first bite is such a surprise–you may need to prepare for a mild addiction…of a sort.

One batch was just not quite enough–

at least for us.

So plan accordingly.

Buttermint Cookies

Ingredients

1 cup butter, softened
1/2 cup confectioners’ sugar
1-1/2 teaspoons peppermint extract
1-3/4 cups all-purpose flour
Pastel colored sugar

Directions:

In a large bowl, cream butter and confectioners’ sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in extract. Gradually add flour and mix well.
Roll tablespoonfuls of dough into balls. Place 1 in. apart on ungreased baking sheets; flatten with a glass dipped in colored sugar—think Easter colors. Bake at 350° for 12-14 minutes or until firm. Remove to wire racks to cool.

Yield: 3 dozen.

Found in the pages of Taste of Home magazine.

Buttermint Cookies
 
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Ingredients
  • 1 cup butter, softened
  • ½ cup confectioners' sugar
  • 1-1/2 teaspoons peppermint extract
  • 1-3/4 cups all-purpose flour
  • Pastel colored sugar
Instructions
  1. In a large bowl, cream butter and confectioners' sugar until light and fluffy.
  2. Beat in extract.
  3. Gradually add flour and mix well.
  4. Roll tablespoonfuls of dough into balls.
  5. Place 1 in. apart on ungreased baking sheets; flatten with a glass dipped in colored sugar---think Easter colors.
  6. Bake at 350° for 12-14 minutes or until firm.
  7. Remove to wire racks to cool.

 

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Cinnamon Roll Wickedness

Heard the prophetic statement, “Wickedness never was happiness?” Of course it’s true, and I’m no heretic. However…

I’m afraid I’ve found one teensy, weensy exception.

Oh yeahhhhh. I just bet I’ve got your attention now. heh heh heh

One of my cute little moms in my cute little class brought a couple pans of these amazing…no, no…FABULOUS cinnamon rolls–and seriously, it was all I could do not to hang on her leg as she went out the door. Lucky for me, and now you–she is a very good recipe sharing girl (thanks *Megan!).

Before we start here, let me just make one gigantic disclaimer. This recipe makes a busload of cinnamon rolls–enough to pass around the neighborhood, maybe even the world. That’s not the disclaimer part.

This is…

If you make these unbelievable little babies–and I’m thinkin’ you will–and decide to eat the entire batch all by yourself, and the kids find you later that evening sitting on the floor of the pantry with frosting on your chin in a sticky cinnamon stupor—mumbling something about a cruise to Cozumel and Johnny Depp, well now, my friends, I’m just not going to take responsibility for that.

Any more than I took when it happened…

to…

me.

Go on–make them.

I dare you.

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The Perfect Cinnamon Rolls

Ingredients

4 cups milk

1 cup vegetable oil

1 cup sugar

2 pkgs. or 2 Tbsp. Dry Active Yeast

9 cups flour

1-1/2 tsp. baking powder

3/4 tsp. baking soda

1-1/2 tsp. salt

1-1/2 cups melted butter

1 cup sugar

Cinnamon

Mix milk, oil, and sugar in a large saucepan and heat to “scalding.” That means—just before it starts to boil. You don’t have to stir it the whole time but I would advise you not to wander off. It will boil over in a foamy-frothy-messy surge the second you do. Don’t ask me how I know this.

Turn off the heat and let it cool for about an hour. NOW you are free to explore the universe…for only an hour. Set a timer.

Once it rings, and you make sure it is lukewarm, sprinkle the yeast over the top. Leave it a few minutes to soften and do it’s thing.

When you come back, add 8 cups of flour to the mixture and stir it in. Cover with a warm, wet towel and let it sit for one hour. Now you are free to go again–until the timer rings.

Stir in the final cup of flour with the baking powder, soda and salt. Mix well, right there in the pan.

Flour the counter generously. Take half the dough at a time and pat it out into a rectangle.

Now start rolling it into a bigger and more glorious rectangle.

Gently smush up the edges a bit so that the next step works better. Pour the butter over the dough.

Now sprinkle 1 cup of sugar evenly over the dough.

Next, sprinkle cinnamon generously over the sugar. I thought I was going way over board, but seriously, we could have put even more and been good.

Starting from the far side, start rolling the dough as tightly as you can towards you.

When you get nearly to the end, stop rolling and carefully pull the dough edge up and pinch it to the roll. That will help keep all that sugary goodness inside the roll.

Butter four 9×15 pans and have them ready. You can cut the rolls in 1 inch slices with a knife or use the thread method (remember the pumpkin roll?).

Place them in the pans and let them sit and get to know each other for about 20 minutes.

Heat the oven to 400 degrees and cook these lovelies for 15-18 minutes–depending on your oven and how it behaves. You want them to be a light golden brown.

While that is happening–scurry on ahead and make this:

Evil Maple Frosting

Ingredients:

1-32 oz. bag powdered sugar

2 tsp. maple flavoring

3/4 cup of milk

1/4 cup melted butter

1/8 tsp. salt

Stir all the ingredients together in a mixer or by hand–whatever floats your boat.

When the cinnamon rolls are out of the oven and cooling safely away from any creature with a working sniffer–you can begin pouring the icing over the cinnamon rolls. 

Spread it around generously and don’t lick the spoon until you are completely finished…then you’re on your own.

Try to give the darlings their space for about 20-30 minutes to settle into their new sweet life—

before…

wolfing them down with shameless abandon…

taking to the neighbors.

All is well in Zion.

Dude.

—————–

*Original “untweeked” recipe from Pioneer Woman

Cinnamon Roll Wickedness
 
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Ingredients
  • 4 cups milk
  • 1 cup vegetable oil
  • 1 cup sugar
  • 2 pkgs. or 2 Tbsp. Dry Active Yeast
  • 9 cups flour
  • 1-1/2 tsp. baking powder
  • ¾ tsp. baking soda
  • 1-1/2 tsp. salt
  • 1-1/2 cups melted butter
  • 1 cup sugar
  • Cinnamon
Instructions
  1. Mix milk, oil, and sugar in a large saucepan and heat to “scalding.”
  2. Turn off the heat and let it cool for about an hour.
  3. Sprinkle the yeast over the top and leave it a few minutes to soften.
  4. Add 8 cups of flour to the mixture and stir it in.
  5. Cover with a warm, wet towel and let it sit for one hour.
  6. Stir in the final cup of flour with the baking powder, soda and salt.
  7. Mix well, right there in the pan.
  8. Flour the counter generously.
  9. Take half the dough at a time and pat it out into a rectangle.
  10. Now start rolling it into a bigger and more glorious rectangle.
  11. Gently smush up the edges a bit so that the next step works better.
  12. Pour the butter over the dough.
  13. Now sprinkle 1 cup of sugar evenly over the dough.
  14. Next, sprinkle cinnamon generously over the sugar.
  15. Starting from the far side, start rolling the dough as tightly as you can towards you.
  16. When you get nearly to the end, stop rolling and carefully pull the dough edge up and pinch it to the roll.
  17. Butter four 9×15 pans and have them ready.
  18. You can cut the rolls in 1 inch slices with a knife.
  19. Place them in the pans and let them sit and get to know each other for about 20 minutes.
  20. Heat the oven to 400 degrees and cook these lovelies for 15-18 minutes.
  21. You want them to be a light golden brown.
  22. Allow them to cool completely then frost.
Notes
Evil Maple Frosting Ingredients: 1-32 oz. bag powdered sugar 2 tsp. maple flavoring ¾ cup of milk ¼ cup melted butter ⅛ tsp. salt Stir all the ingredients together in a mixer. Spread it around generously on cooled cinnamon rolls.

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Ahhh…Spring…

Have you ever wondered what on earth “Vernal Equinox” means? Well, my lovelies, I’ll tell you–and then you’ll be wise and all knowing…

like me.  :]

There are two days each year when daytime and nighttime hours are approximately equal– each being 12 hours long. One occurs between March 19 and 21 and is called the Vernal Equinox—or Spring’s Equal Night. Did you know that Easter is always the Sunday after the first full moon–after Equinox? I’ve always wondered how they figure all that stuff out.

Vernal Equinox in Vilnius, Lithuania    (The Daily Herald)

People all over the world celebrate this day with candle ceremonies, planting seeds and flowers and Spring feasts–that usually include eggs, cheese, seeds, potatoes, pork or fish and asparagus, which I suppose are considered particularly “springy” foods. Don’t you positively love any reason to make a day an unforgettable event?

It’s not too late–if you want to celebrate the return of Spring–and who doesn’t? Gather up your own festival foods and enjoy a family night planning your garden or working in the yard–at last, at last!

Truly–whatever means spring to you–today’s the day. Do it!