These are the fluffiest chocolate chip cookies you will ever eat. If you don’t believe me, look at the picture and see for your own eyes. They are ncredibly ooey and gooey, may not be cooked through (I’m told this is a plus), and will melt in your mouth. I really don’t feel the need to say much more than that – just make yourself a batch!

Fluffiest Chocolate Chip Cookies

Adapted from Puffy Chocolate Chip Cookies (Levain Bakery Copycat)

Ingredients:

• 1 stick cold organic butter, cut into small cubes
• 3/4 cup light brown sugar, firlmy packed
• 2 tblspn granulated sugar
• 1 large egg, cold (cage-free, organic, brown)
• 2.5 tsp vanilla extract
• 1 & 3/4 cup unbleached AP flour
• 3/4 tsp baking powder
• 1/4 tsp baking soda
• 1/4 heaping tsp salt
• 1 heaping cup semi-sweet chocolate chips (suggestion: guittard fair trade!)

Process:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees & prep your Silpat (or parchment paper) onto a large baking sheet.
2. Beat the cold butter and sugar until barely combined (not creamed, not fluffy, not runny- still very cold) Then beat in the egg and vanilla until combined.
3. In a separate, medium-sized bowl, mix together the dry ingredients, then add them in 2 batches to the wet dough. Once mixed together, add in the chocolate chips, and be liberal with them! You only make puffy chocolate cookies for the first time once :)
4. Using an ice cream scooper, scoop out the cookie dough onto your baking sheet and then freeze the baking sheet for 10 minutes. The taller your mounds of cookie dough, the more puffy (and undercooked in the center) your cookies will be.
5. Bake your cookies for 11-13 minutes or until the outsides are lightly browned and the insides are mostly done – or, if you’re like most of my friends, purposefully undercook these guys so they’ll be mushy masterpieces. Cool on a wire rack for 15 minutes or as long as your willpower holds… then devour.

They’re waiting for you. Will you make a batch? They’ll make you new friends, repair problems relationships with old ones, perhaps even pave your way to lifetime luck and happiness. Try it out for yourself :)

Also known as the Sebastian Cake, this four-layer heavyweight was brought into existence for the birthday of a good friend and coworker of mine. All the guys from work were going to be over at the apartment that weekend for a retreat, so clearly cake needed to be involved (fall 2010… I’m still catching up!) I wanted this to be a special surprise and thus cunningly- if I do say so myself- asked Seb his cake preferences, and got to work.

As seems to be traditionally the case with my making layer cakes, the first two layers weren’t thick enough, so I baked an additional one- which rose to the occasion (far more than expected)- resulting in a taller cake than initially intended, but hey, who’s going to complain about having more cake?

This cake follows a roadmap of fudge brownie bottom, followed by moist white-chocolate vanilla cake encased between white chocolate ganache, vanilla buttercream, chocolate ganache, and double-chocolate cake. The whole thing is then encased in a thick layer of hardened dark chocolate ganache, liberally hosed with runny white chocolate ganache, and topped with Callebeaut bittersweet shavings. Yes, it’s a doozy. So, naturally, you’d like a piece, right? :)

Tuxedo Layer Cake

Note: For the ingredients and process for baking each cake layer, as these closely resemble cakes already posted on Fruippe, please use the ingredients listed here and the process described on that recipe’s page, altering as needed to take into account the slightly-modified ingredients list.

Ingredients (Brownie Layer):

• 2 cups semi-sweet or milk chocolate (chips, baker’s chocolate, you pick!)
• 1/2 cup soy butter, softened
• 2 tablespoons organic canola oil
• 3 teaspoons 2x vanilla extract
• 3 large eggs (cage-free!)
• 1 & 1/4 cups granulated sugar
• 1.5 tsp sea salt
• 1 cup (slightly heaping) AP flour (preferably organic)
• 2-3 tablespoons cold water (based on your texture preference)

Ingredients (Chocolate Cake Layer):

• 2 whole eggs (brown, organic, cage-free)
• 2/3 cup granulated sugar
• 1/4 cup canola oil (make sure it’s fresh!)
• 1 tblspn vanilla extract (feel free to be liberal with this one)
• 1 cup light sour cream
• scant 1/2 cup cocoa powder
• 1 pinch salt
• 1 cup milk chocolate chips, melted
• 1/4 cup skim milk
• 1.5 cups self-rising flour

Ingredients (White Chocolate Cake Layer):

• 1 & 1/3 cups King Arthur organic cake flour
• 2 tsp baking powder
• 1 cup white chocolate chips, melted
• 3/4 tsp sea salt
• 3 large cage-free eggs
• 1 cup plain low-fat Stonyfield organic yogurt
• 1 cup granulated sugar
• 3 tsp vanilla extract
• 1/4 cup organic canola oil

Ingredients (Chocolate & White Chocolate Ganaches): For the ganache portion, the below ingredients correspond to the chocolate ganache; repeat and switch out the chocolate chips for white chocolate chips and voila, you have the white chocolate ganache :)

• 1/2 cup (one stick) salted butter (I’m so sorry, I know it’s a lot…)
• 1 bag (usually 12 oz) bittersweet chocolate chips (suggestion: ghirardelli or guittard)
• 4 tblspn skim milk
• 2 tsp vanilla extract

Ingredients (Vanilla Buttercream):

• 1 cup (2 sticks) salted butter, softened to room temp (I know, I know, so much butter, I’m sorry!)
• 2 tsp vanilla extract
• approx. 2 lb confectioner’s sugar

Process:

1. Assemble in the following order:
2. Take out a heavyweight plate or cakestand and begin assembling. First, place the fudge brownie layer on the bottom- then coat with a light layer of ganache followed by a thicker layer of the vanilla buttercream.
3. Now add on the first vanilla cake layer, and top that with a good layer of the vanilla buttercream followed by some of the chocolate ganache.
4. Add on the chocolate cake layer, and top that one with a thick layer of the white chocolate ganache.
5. Now add on the final vanilla cake layer and top that one with some of the buttercream and white chocolate ganache. Use all of the buttercream that’s left- or store the leftovers in the fridge for when you’ll feel guilty at midnight because you should have been working but really just want frosting.
6. Spread on a thick layer of the chcolate ganache so that it coats the entire cake. Let it harden a bit, then drizzle the remaining white chocolate ganache on top and shave the callebeaut (or whatever block chocolate you desire) on before it hardens so it can settle into the ganache a bit.

…you probably were better off not knowing what went into it, but it’s too late now. If you’re looking for a showy cake that can feed an army of young men, then this is the cake for you! It’s a sugary overload and very intense, but… well… it was fun :)

This cake is the image of decadence: four layers of chocolate cake with toblerone pieces melted into the batter, layered in between dark chocolate ganache, encased in a rich chocolate cream cheese buttercream, topped with more chocolate ganache and mini toblerones…. need I say more? :)

A coworker of mine recently celebrated her 30th anniversary of being at our company- a great achievement!- and I knew celebrations needed to be underway. She’s a fantastic lady and helped me on my first project when I began working there, and I wanted to thank her for her kindness and friendship through the means I find easiest- cake.

January was a milestone in that it was my first month of beginning cakes in which I don’t even consult a recipe for proportions or basics – February is a milestone for icings and ganache to join that list. I’m happy to say I’m now able to complete an entire layer cake fully from scratch, lack of recipe included- something that’s made me quite happy. :)

This guy is big and heavy- the four layers will weigh on you, and if you’re looking to exercise your arms, cake weights can definitely do it- but well worth it. It’s really rich and can easily feed a very large group of people (I think 20-25) so it’s ideal for party/birthday size.

Chocolate Toblerone Layer Cake

Ingredients- Cake: You’ll be making this twice, so you’ll need double of all the cake ingredients. Written here is the recipe for ONE cake (which will make 2 layers)

• 2 whole eggs (brown, organic, cage-free)
• 2/3 cup granulated sugar
• 1/4 cup canola oil (make sure it’s fresh!)
• 1 tblspn vanilla extract (feel free to be liberal with this one)
• 1 cup light sour cream
• scant 1/2 cup cocoa powder
• 1 pinch salt
• 1 cup toblerone, melted
• 1/4 cup skim milk
• 1.5 cups self-rising flour

Ingredients- Ganache:

• 1/2 cup (one stick) salted butter (I’m so sorry, I know it’s a lot…)
• 1 bag (usually 12 oz) bittersweet chocolate chips (suggestion: ghirardelli or guittard)
• 4 tblspn skim milk
• 2 tsp vanilla extract

Ingredients- Frosting:

• 1 cup (2 sticks) salted butter, softened to room temp (I know, I know, so much butter, I’m sorry!)
• 2 packages (8 oz each) light cream cheese, softened to room temp
• 1/4 cup of the above chocolate ganache
• 2 tsp vanilla extract
• approx. 1 lb confectioner’s sugar

Process:

1. Heat oven to 355 degrees F and get out two large mixing bowls. Grease two 9-inch springform pans.
2. Crack 2 eggs and whisk with 2/3 C sugar in each bowl. Then add in the 1 cup of sour cream to each bowl and whisk until smooth.
3. Add canola oil (still to each bowl!) and whisk again until smooth. Then add vanilla, cocoa powder, salt, and milk, and still whisk until smooth. Now add the melted toblerone and it’ll become a thicker, darker batter. Lastly, whisk in the flour slowly until JUST combined – do not overmix so as to not toughen the cake.
4. Pour the batter into your two greased 9-inch springforms and place both on a large baking sheet. Place baking sheet in oven. The cakes will need to bake for approximately 30-35 minutes. Set your timer for 30 minutes and check with a toothpick after the 30-minute mark. If the toothpick has liquid-y chocolate-y-ness upon it, return to oven and check again in 5 minutes. Repeat process (these can be finnicky) until your toothpick is fully or almost clean.
5. While the cakes are baking, place all ganache ingredients in a small stockpot over medium heat and melt together, stirring the entire time to make sure nothing dries or clumps. Once melted, let it sit on low heat for another 10 minutes – then turn off and leave alone to cool.
6. Remove your finished cakes from the oven and open the springforms. Place on a wire rack (leave the metal bottom for now if it’s sticky- remove if it’ll come off easily) to cool for at least 2 hours.
7. While your cakes cool, you can prepare the buttercream frosting: Place cream cheese in a stand mixer bowl (or large mixing bowl and get out your electric handheld mixer) and mix until smooth. Then add butter and continue mixing until it’s a thick, smooth paste. Add vanilla and 1/4 cup of the chocolate ganache that has now cooled a bit. You’ll get a light-brown goopy mixture. Now, begin pouring in the confectioner’s sugar gradually as it continues to beat until you reach your desigred consistency- it should be stiff enough to where you could pipe shapes but soft enough to where if you press upon it lightly, you’ll make an indention with your finger.
8. Tip: If you’re worried about pieces of cake showing through your frosting, add a bit of vanilla bean paste to the icing. The little spots will camouflage any cake pieces that get unattached from the cake and join the icing party.
9. Once the cakes are cooled, cut each in half to make two fairly even layers (I use a large serrated bread knife to do this).
10. Begin assembly: place one layer cut-side up on a plate. Using a silicone spatula or icing utensil, spread on about 1/4 of the chocolate ganache. Spread ALMOST to the edges but leave a centimeter or so un-ganache-d: when you press on subsequent layers, the frosting will ooze to the sides, so this will create an even layering.
11. Continue alternating adding on layers of cake and frosting on the ganache. Reserve at least 1/4 cup (preferably 1/2 or 2/3 cup) of ganache for the top of the cake.
12. Once all four layers are assembled, let stand 10-15 minutes so the ganache hardens into the cake (this way it won’t disturb your buttercream). Then, using a frosting utensil again (rinsed), spread on your icing. I start by placing most of it in the top center of the cake, then slowly moving it out to the sides, over the sides, and around, so that it’s fairly even.
13. You can then pipe designs around the top and bottom if you like, or just go straight to pouring on the ganache haphazardly. Top with mini toblerones so as to alert your guests of the degree of yummyness to be found inside the cake.
14. Chill overnight so the icing settles – or at least a few hours. Then devour.

Those instructions are long, but that’s just me being wordy – it’s not a difficult cake to make at all, and quite delicious. It’s very rich, so don’t plan on eating too large a piece, but hey, that just encourages sharing :). You can always halve the recipe, make it in a 6-inch mini springform, and make a smaller version of the cake.

There’s a funny thing I’m discovering about baking- that which I would assume is most difficult, turns out to be quite simple… and that which looks simple (ie: a little, cute macaron) is incredibly terrifying. Who knew? Luckily, eclairs fall under that category of  things-you-thought-were-crazily-difficult-but-not-so-much! So, below is the recipe… and with some powdered sugar, strawberry sauce, and fresh berries, these are a quick and simple dessert that’s sure to impress.

Mini Eclairs with Strawberry Sauce

Eclair Ingredients:

• 4 tbsp butter (the original recipe calls for unsalted but I say salted is fine, you’d add a pinch anyway)
• 2/3 cup water (temp doesn’t matter)
• 1/2 cup sifted AP flour
• 2 beaten eggs
• pinch of salt if you use unsalted butter

Sauce Ingredients:

• 1 cup frozen strawberries, chopped roughly
• 1/3 cup water
• 1/3 cup granulated sugar
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 1 tblspn honey
• 1 tsp cornstarch (dissolved in a bit of water to form a paste)

Process:

1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees F, grease a large baking sheet (or silpat it)
2. Place butter and water in a small saucepan and heat to boil
3. Remove from the heat, put in the flour, and quickly stir it into a thick dough
4. Transfer this to a bowl and beat the pre-beaten eggs in slowly, until the mixture is smooth, glossy, but still very thick
5. Place your mixture into a ziplock bag, close it while letting all the air escape, and cut off one corner approximately 1/3 inch thick
6. Pipe eclairs that are about finger-size, about 2 inches apart, onto the sheet. you very well may need two sheets depending on how large your sheet is
7. Into the oven they go for about 10-12 minutes or until lightly golden on top – then take them out, cut a small slit in the middle of each, and return to the oven for 2-3 more minutes; then transfer to a wire rack t cool
8. Place your sauce ingredients into your now-clean small sauce pan and simmer until the mixture begins to thicken and stick to the spoon- should be about 10 minutes on medium heat- and set aside
9. Spoon some melted chocolate, strawberry sauce, and fresh berries onto you rmini eclairs, dust with powdered sugar, and you’re set for yummyness! :)

These are very portable; make great gifts; perfect for parties; are adorable; and delicious. You could set up an eclair bar at a birthday with a bunch of different toppings and sauces (I’m tempted to do so myself) – it’s a fun and interactive dessert and since they’re mini, you can eat several and have each one be different!

It’s my take on red velvet, and it’s not red, but I do believe all the other necessary elements are there. Right? I mean, for a cake to be red velvet, from what I understand, it needs to:

• -be a moist, midway-density chocolate cake
• -be adorned with a thick and creamy cream cheese icing
• -be red

…two out of three! Clearly, this is a red velvet cake. So, now that we’ve discussed the formalities of the naming conventions, we can discuss the making, baking, and eating of this thing. These were a HIT. I hadn’t realized the passion Southerners have for red velvet prior to this day but, goodness, they really do love it. And the best part is that, all in all, it was fairly simple: a chocolate cake with creme brulee coffee, chocolate chips, some icing and cocoa powder and voila, you’re set. I have only one in-production picture of this one because the chocolate made it SO DARK in colour that the camera had trouble focusing on the mixture. I’d consider that to be a good thing :).

Triple Chocolate Mocha Cupcakes with Cream Cheese Frosting

Ingredients:

• 1 cup cocoa powder
• 1/3 cup Ghirardelli semi-sweet chocolate chips (whole)
• 1 cup Ghirardelli semi-sweet chocolate chips (melted)
• 2 tsp baking soda
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1 tsp sea salt
• 2 & 1/4 cups organic AP flour
• 1 cup granulated sugar
• 1/3 cup organic canola oil
• 1/2 tsp 2x vanilla extract
• 2/3 overflowing cup Folgers Selects creme brulee coffee
• 2/3 cup cool water
• 4 large eggs (cage-free!)

Process:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
2. Melt chocolate by pouring the hot coffee into a bowl containing the chocolate chips, and stir slowly until melted. Add canola oil, water, and vanilla extract; set aside.
3. Mix together all dry ingredients (flour, salt, baking powder, baking soda, coacoa powder) in another bowl; set aside.
4. Beat eggs lightly together for about 45 seconds, until slightly thickened. Add sugar slowly while continually beating. Add in the melted chocolate mixture and mix slowly but thoroughly. Then add in the flour and briskly mix together, being sure not to overmix.
5. Add in the chocolate chips (remaining, not to be melted) and mix briskly.
6. Pour into baking cups (small or large or both!) and bake at 350 degrees for approximately 18-20 minutes (depending on the heat of your oven).

Icing Ingredients:

• 1 package Neufchatel cream cheese (reduced fat)
• 1 tsp 2x vanilla extract
• 4 tablespoons soy butter
• 1.5 cups confectioner’s sugar

Process all of that together in your food processor until it reaches a thick, creamy, smooth consistency, and then place in a ‘poor man’s piping bag’ (a ziplock). Then cut a tiny corner and pipe it onto the tops of the completed cupcakes. For decoration, sprinkle on some cocoa powder.

And there you have it! A bit of a variation on your typical red velvet cupcake. Yum yum yum yum. :) Moist, chocolate-y, flavoured, and rich.

This past week (Tuesday, to be precise) marked my one-year anniversary of working at, well, the company at which I work :). It’s been a really wonderful year- I’m blessed to have some amazing coworkers (incredibly sweet, humours, caring people, and I’m surrounded by nerds, which is wonderful), many of whom have a sweet tooth. I had promised baked goods for my anniversary (my new hobby is finding excuses to bring baked goods in to work, so birthdays, anniversaries, etc) and decided to make it a cupcake extravaganza. I decided upon three (well, actually four, but unfortunately due to a rather untimely migraine I was unable to make the fourth) batches, the first of which was this one. The sister and I had sampled some new nut varieties (they’re always coming up with new coatings and flavourings for them, it seems!) and we really enjoyed these white-chocolate-covered pecans. Mmh. Clearly, it was a sign- they were meant to be mashed into brownies, right? Right. So, herein lies the secret to making your own. NOTE: my brownies do not usually rise, but for some odd reason (I blame the pecans) these did… therefore, underfill your cups (mine were a little over 3/4 of the way up and that was too much) just in case! At the worst, you can just add extra frosting. No one will mind this. Just be wary, because spilled cupcake is usually no big deal, but spilled brownie hardens. I had many coworkers resigning themselves to eating ‘extra fiber’, aka the paper wrapping. Oops. Learned my lesson!

White Chocolate Pecan Fudge Brownie Cupcakes with Vanilla Frosting

Ingredients:

• 2 cups semi-sweet or milk chocolate (chips, baker’s chocolate, you pick!)
• 1/2 cup soy butter, softened
• 2 tablespoons organic canola oil
• 3 teaspoons 2x vanilla extract
• 3 large eggs (cage-free!)
• 1 & 1/4 cups granulated sugar
• 1.5 tsp sea salt
• 1 cup (slightly heaping) AP flour (preferably organic)
• 1 cup white-chocolate covered pecans, chopped chunkily
• 2-3 tablespoons cold water (based on your texture preference)

Process:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
2. Melt chocolate using a double-boiler with salt and soy butter (or, if you’re trying to cheat, go ahead and use the microwave).
3. Once smooth, take off the heat, and slowly beat in the eggs one at a time. Then add in the vanilla and sugar and stir quickly- don’t worry about not mixing it perfectly. 
4. Add in the oil and water and stir again, then pour the flour in and mix until just combined. Lastly, add in the pecans, slowly mixing and do be careful not to overmix, this will ruin the texture of the brownies.
5. Gently pour the battle (slightly over 1/2 cup full) into brownie cups lined with papers (I did minis, you can do any size) and place in oven for approximately 15 minutes (or until firm and giving only slightly to the touch).
6. For the icing, I did the following: take half a package of betty crocker vanilla rich and creamy frosting (migraine = not enough time to make all my icings = sad), and place in the food processor. Add 1/8 tsp 2x vanilla extract, 1/8 tsp peach fondant gel colour (or none at all, or any colour), and a heaping cup of confectioner’s sugar. Mix until just combined.
7. Ice the cupcakes by piping on the frosting (once chilled), then add on fruit and coconut shavings for decoration.

These were the least popular of the three, but then again, it’s all up to choice. They were by far the sister’s favourite- which just goes to show that when it comes to cupcakes, we all have wildly different tastes! This one’s a tried-and-true happy one, easy to make, and oh so delicious.

I’ve learned one rather important lesson with this cake: brownies are heavy, heavy things, and don’t have the aerodynamic properties of light, spongey cakes.

For my birthday, I opted to do a great deal of baking to lure in celebratory folk. I work in a company where the men greatly outnumber the women and the cake-lovers comprise a minimum 90% of the employees- so clearly, making a cake would bring the masses to my office and we would have a happy birthday time together. That said, as soon as I sent out my bait, far more fish than expected took hold- one cake would certainly not do the trick, so I decided on two, and opted to have them be very different, so as to please everyone.

This was the first, then, of the two (office) birthday cakes (not counting the one for the home celebration. as can be seen, I take birthdays qutie seriously when it comes to entertaining others by way of cake). My friend B had recently been qutie generous and had gifted me a large amount of kitchen gadgetry, amoung them a large and lovely bundt pan. And thus I decided to yet again ignore the norm and make a brownie bundt, never, of course, stopping to wonder why it’s not usually done.

I found that the reason is simple: to make a proper fudge brownie, one can not expect to do so in a cake mold. It WILL fall- and it did, but luckily, not on the outsides! Ironically, the bundt pan was part of a fillable cake mold of which I decided to only use the bundt base and not insert a cavity for filling. The baking process was very long, as I had to be certain the outside shape of the cake would hold (even if the inside did not). The result (unfortunately I was unable to get a good picture of a slice prior to my coworkers demolishing it) was a well-shaped exterior, a bit difficult to cut through, with a very fudgy inside that had stuck to the edges, thus creating a hole.

Despite this, the cake had a wonderfully rich flavour, as I had added pralinutta to the brownie dough to make it more rich and flavoured with hazelnut. Melted pralinutta was glazed over the top of the cake, with honey-toasted pecans (the best part of the dish, honestly) were encrusted in the spread.

Hazelnut Fudge Brownie Bundt with Honey-Toasted Pecans

I’m not sharing the recipe as this one may have a commercial future… but I can share that it was eaten quickly and happily. I took an exit poll of those leaving my office to ask which cake they had liked best, and it was exactly half and half, so I’ve deemed both worth making again. All I can say is mmh! :)

However, I’ve decided to disclose a simplified version of the cake!

Ingredients:

• 2 boxes low-fat fudge brownie mix (look for one with no trans fats!) or to take the longer route, or double your usual recipe of fudge brownie
• 2 cups pralinutta spread
• 3/4 cup lukewarm water
• 2 eggs
• 3.5 tablespoons organic canola oil
• 1 cup honey-toasted pecans

Process:

1. Prepare brownies in your usual fashion. If using a box, be sure to ONLY add 3/4 cup water- no more. Mix 1 & 1/4 pranlinutta spread into brownie batter. Mix thoroughly until well-integrated. For extra flair, add in chopped hazelnuts (I sadly had none at the time)
2. Generously butter a large bundt pan, then pour in brownie batter (you may need to coax it out; it will be very thick)
3. Baking time will vary on your recipe, your bundt pan, and your oven. The important part is to ensure that the sides are hard enough to retain/hold the shape once removed from the oven. For me, this took approximately an hour, starting on 350 degrees and moving down to 300, reducing heat by 25 degrees every 30 minutes.
4. Remove from oven, flip over (it should come right out), and cool on a cooling rack
5. Once fairly cooled, spoon remaining pralinutta (3/4 cup) onto top of cake in circular fashion; it should melt a bit, creating a gooey, sticky surface
6. Encrust pecans into pralinutta onto the top

Et voila! You are finished! It’s rather simple when you look at what goes into it… but the taste is intricate, flavourful, and downright yummy.

Peanut butter and chocolate- what’s not to love? When you combine those in the form of a cookie that is both flourless and butterless… and uses all natural ingredients- and only 5 of them, at that… well, life gets peachy (and yes, that was a terribly-structured run-on). Happiness takes on an all-new form in these cookies that- I’m almost ashamed to say- are mildly adapted from a recipe of Paula Deen’s. It’s true- she at times will make something that won’t fill your arteries in semblance to Houston’s highways.

Peanut Butter Chocolate Chunk Cookies

Mildly Adapted from Peanut Butter Cookies by Paula Deen

The only changes I made were as follows:

• I used Skippy Naturals creamy smooth peanut butter (no-stir, it’s fantastic) as opposed to your usual high-fructose-corn-syrup-ladden variety
• I added 2 teaspoons of vanilla extract to the dough prior to first mixing
• As the sugar requirement ambiguously stated “sugar” without clarification, I opted to diversify my “portfolio” and used 1/2 cup packed light brown sugar, 1/2 cup granulated sugar
• I chopped 3/4 of a Hershey’s Symphony tablet into small chunks which I mixed into the dough right before forming into balls to bake
• My oven- which usually is on the hot side- took about 23 minutes to bake the cookies, not 10… so be warned that the 10 may be far too conservative.

For the rest, I honestly followed the recipe as-is and it produced splended results. Mine don’t look a thing like her picture, but that doesn’t detract from the superb flavour and texture! They’re really delicious, very quick, and perfect for when you’d like to make cookies but have few ingredients on hand.

H and I developed a strong affinity from our first attempt at molten chocolate cake and were craving it, so… why not make it again? We yet again followed the recipe to the letter (Martha Stewart’s excellent recipe is super simple), this time completing it fully rather than halving it. It continues to be not molten or lava-like but rather very squishy and moist in the middle, and they’re really quite dense.

There’s something oddly gourmet about them- we’re unable to pinpoint the exact thing that brings it about- but one thing’s for certain, they’re absolutely delicious. My friend Saloni suggests baking them in a muffin tin for lava texture, so I suppose we’ll have to- for the same of experimentation- try them again in the future. It’s a hardship, but we’re willing to slave for our cause. I really highly suggest you try this cake- it’s perfect for entertaining, easy to make in large batches if you have a good set of rammekins (rammies!), and are very easy do-ahead cakes to heat up for the next day. We had ours warm, with melting vanilla ice cream and a small pile of strawberries; the next day I ate this demo cake pictured above cold with blueberries. It’s delicious either way (hot or cold), and would probably go wonderfully with any berry!

Gooey, warm chocolate cake + fresh strawberries + melting vanilla ice cream = rather heavenly. My friend Saloni had tipped me off that Martha Stewart had a rather incredible molten chocolate cake recipe, and as H had mentioned some time ago that we ought to make it, we decided it the perfect night to do so. These cakes are perfect because they’re individually-sized, and we already had all the necessary ingredients at home- I love it when that happens!

We opted to half the recipe (a tad bit complicated on the egg but nothing else) as H had half the necessary quantity of baker’s chocolate on hand- that, and having extra molten cakes waiting about the apartment seemed unproductive and potentially dangerous.

Thus we made the cakes, perfectly according to the recipe- it’s simple, very few ingredients! In they went to the oven (in rakemins, not a muffin tin) and as per suggestions on the recipe website, we cooked them for only 8 minutes. Despite the short time frame, the middle was gooey but not liquid- so clearly this one is difficult to master on timing. After a 5 minute cooling period, we turned them up-side down onto plates, dusted with powdered sugar, topped it off with fresh strawberry halves and a big scoop of vanilla ice cream and mmmh. Now I just want to go make some more of them :) It’s a nice cake- not too airy, not too dense, and with the ice cream, fantastic. They’re quick, easy, and make for a perfect dessert if entertaining with fairly large parties, as it’s easy to upscale the recipe and make more!

I really wanted to make brownies for this week because SXSW is in full swing, which means that portable chocolate snacks are a must (my most trusted form of headache medicine). I was going to make a sheet brownie and then cut it into pieces, but the boyfriend still has our square pyrex (my sister had made him a brownie cake for his birthday and we have yet to recover its pyrex)… thus I decided to try out brownie cupcakes (Chrissie makes some very yummy ones), and naturally decided to experiment a bit. My dinner guest is allergic to nuts, so I went with half tranditional, half not.

Vanilla extract went into the entirety of the batter, but in the latter half I added a cup of chopped cashews and three tablespoons of pralinutta. I made this batter be particularly fudgy by adding veeeery little water- the recipe I use calls for 1/2 cup, and I added closer to 3/4 tablespoon… I lined a muffin pan with cupcake papers and simply put the batter in- no need to butter first! I also made these with olive oil in stead of any butter. They’re yummy, and the nut ones are intensely nutty, but the flavour isn’t overbearing in the least. They’re my favourite iteration of brownies yet, very moist! To ensure that moistness and fudgy quality, be sure to undercook the brownies to JUST the point where they no longer are liquid/jiggly inside. Then after a short cooling period on a rack or stovetop, move to the fridge to cool for several hours.

They’re portable, simple… great as snacks or gifts. Try it out and make some friends happy- they’re delicious and, with the nuts and olive oil, more nutritious than the average brownie!

I think the most amusing part of this one is that the recipe I started with is labeled “Eggplant Dumplings in Cherry Tomato Sauce” in my Antipasti recipebook. Sadly, this recipe didn’t quite completely work out- hence it being labeled in the accident category. But it was an educational experience, and one I was able to turn around… mostly… in the end.

My mistakes began with the eggplant filling. I made far too many changes here, wanting to be adventurous. Here’s what went into the filling:

• 3 zucchini squashes (I misread the recipe and didn’t realize it called for eggplant…)
• 1 stem of green onion
• 2/3 cup chopped cilantro
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1/3 cup water
• 1 tablespoon organic low-fat vanilla yogurt (not cooked- added right before blending into puree)
• salt and pepper

I took the lot, covered the pot, and let it simmer on medium heat for quite some time (perhaps about 20 minutes?) until the zucchini was fairly creamy. I then transferred the mixture to a bowl and put it in the freezer for about 20 minutes- then the fridge for another 15- then out on the counter for another 5 (it picked up a number of frequent flyer miles what with all this travelling). Meanwhile, I chopped about 1.5 cups of carrots, a handful of cherry tomatoes, added a little dark brown sugar, closed the pot again (after having scrubbed it thoroughly, o’course) and let it simmer. Unfortunately, I decided it was safe to sit with the boyfriend and sister to eat the strudels at this point… and thus the mixture had burned and caramelized to tar (I have issues with tar! Just like the failed tarte tatin…) and I had to throw the thing out. This meant no carrot-tomato sauce to put the bundles in- which, in the end, was for the best, as my crepes were too thick to bundle!

To make the crepes, I followed the suggestions in the book, but halved the recipe: Mix a cup of milk (I used skim), 3/4 of a cup of AP flour, and an egg. Whisk, then let sit for 15 minutes. Then lightly coat a sautee pan with olive oil, ladle a bit of the batter on, and cook each side for about 3 minutes or until browned until you’re happy. For a more tortilla-looking crepe, add more oil- for a more burnt crepe, keep the pan as dry as possible.

Unfortunately, the zucchini puree turned out not yummy at all. It’s not unpalatable, but the boyfriend and I agreed the taste was off. Why do you think this was? Does anyone know? Which ingredient do you think is the main culprit? Is zucchini just not meant to be pureed? 

Clearly there was only one thing to do here: take picture with the puree, then take it out and replace it with a far better alternative. Out came the jar of pralinutta (yes, I know, it’s not nutella- I was curious to try the domestic alternative, and it’s quite nice)- just spread it on, roll up your crepe, and yum! Much better- though no longer an appetizer and now a dessert, at least it was partially saved.

…By the way, if anyone wants the puree, it’s sitting in the fridge, waiting for someone to show it some love (and that shan’t be me!) And if someone has suggestions on how to better make that puree in the future, I’m all ears!