Lava Baby Cakes...Oh Baby!!!

When I crave something sweet, it’s usually a chocolate cake with ice cream.  In my Better Homes & Gardens cookbook, there is a picture of a chocolate cake that looks soooo good.  Over the years, I would look at the recipe but would eventually move on to a different recipe because this one calls for whipping cream and I never had it on hand. 

As I have started cooking more, I have learned that whipping cream is sort of a staple.  At least, that is, with the recipes that always catch my eye.  So I have started keeping it in the fridge.  I finally attempted this recipe and love making it as a follow up to Sunday dinner.  It does take a little TLC to make, but it is so worth it! 

Lava Baby Cakes



This is how the lava cake looked last month when I served it to my family

This is how the lava cake looked when my friend Melissa is in charge of plating.  SOOOO much better! 

Ingredients:

1 ¾ c. semisweet chocolate chips

2 T. whipping cream

¾ c. butter

3 eggs

3 egg yolks

1/3 c. granulated sugar

1 ½ t. vanilla

1/3 c. all-purpose flour

3 T. unsweetened cocoa powder

Powdered sugar (optional)

Raspberries/strawberries (optional)

Directions:

For filling, in a small heavy saucepan, combine ¾ c. of the chocolate  chips, and whipping cream.  Cook and stir over low heat until chocolate melts. Remove from heat.  Cool, stirring occasionally.  Cover; chill about 45 minutes or until firm.

Meanwhile, in a medium heavy saucepan, cook and stir the remaining cup chocolate chips and the butter over low heat until melted.  Remove from heat; cool.

Form filling into 6 equal-size balls; set aside.  Lightly grease and flour six ¾-cup soufflé dishes or six 6-ounce custard cups.  Place dishes or cups in a 15x10x1 inch baking pan (cookie sheet) and set aside.

In a mixing bowl, beat eggs, egg yolks, granulated sugar, and vanilla with an electric mixer on high speed for 5 minutes or until lemon-colored.  Beat in cooled chocolate mixture on medium speed.  Sift flour and cocoa powder over mixture; beat on low speed just until combined.  Spoon 1/3 c. batter into dishes.  Place 1 ball of filling into each dish.  Spoon remaining batter in dishes.

Bake in a 400 degree over for about 13 minutes or until cakes feel firm at edges.  Cool in dishes for 2 to 3 minutes.  Using a knife, loosen cakes from sides of dishes.  Invert onto dessert plates.  If desired, dust with powdered sugar and garnish with raspberries or strawberries.  Serve immediately.

In my test kitchen:

I add a little raspberry extract (1/2 t.) to the chocolate chips and whipping cream…just to give that inside melty chocolate a little raspberry flavor.  I also found that I can’t get six cakes out of my recipe.  I get more than enough for 6 balls of filling…actually a little too much for my liking.  I make my chocolate balls just a little smaller than probably recommended.

It can be a little tricky to invert the cakes onto dishes.  Mostly because you want to serve the cakes warm.  So the cups can be a little hot when trying to flip them.  I typically put the plate on top of the cup and cover the soufflé cup with an oven mitt when flipping it all upside down. 

Definitely, definitely serve this with a scoop of ice cream, fresh fruit, and some raspberry sauce.

 

~Happy Cooking!

 

 

Berry Spinach Salad with Almonds

This is an easy salad to take to parties or family gatherings…or just to eat at home.

 Berry Spinach Salad with Almonds

Ingredients:

1 T. butter
½ c. sliced almonds
1 T. sugar

1 package (10 oz) fresh baby spinach

3 c. sliced fresh strawberries

Dressing:

½ c. sugar
½ c. canola oil
¼ c. cider vinegar
¼ t. paprika
¼ t. Worcestershire sauce

Directions:

In a small skillet, melt butter over medium heat.  Add almonds; sprinkle with sugar.  Cook and stir for 3 minutes or until almonds are lightly browned.  Spread on foil to cool; break apart.

In a large salad bowl, combine spinach and strawberries.  In a small bowl, whisk the dressing ingredients.  Pour over salad.  Sprinkle with sugared almonds; toss to coat.

In my test kitchen:

I find that my almonds need to cook longer than 3 minutes.  But my stovetop is a little slow at getting to the appropriate temperature.  Before I transfer to foil to cool, I put the almonds on a paper towel.  Just to soak up any leftover butter.  That way the almonds don’t come out greasy.  You could also substitute store-bought candied walnuts or pecans and I think this would taste good.

I have never used 3 cups of strawberries.  I usually use about 2 cups.  And I like to add ¼ c. dried cranberries as well.  Just to shake things up a bit.

I don’t use all the dressing.  In fact, I probably only use half the amount and it seems to be plenty.  So I would recommend starting with a smaller portion of the dressing and toss to coat.  You can always add a little more until you get it to your liking.

~Happy Cooking!

Green Beans with Cherry Tomatoes

My husband has always hated green beans.  For the first 8 years of our marriage I NEVER cooked them.  But for some reason, this last summer I just needed a break from carrots and zucchini and bought some fresh ones.  I cooked them up and surprise, surprise!  He actually liked them!  So now we eat them all the time. 

I came across this recipe on the AllRecipes site.  It is now my favorite way to cook grean beans.

Green Beans with Cherry Tomatoes

Ingredients:

1 ½ pounds green beans, trimmed and cut into 2 inch pieces

1 ½ c. water

¼ c. butter

1 T. sugar

¾ t. garlic salt

¼ t. pepper

1 ½ t. chopped fresh basil

2 c. cherry tomato halves

Directions:

Place beans and water in a large saucepan.  Cover, and bring to a boil.  Set heat to low, and simmer until tender, about 10 minutes.  Drain off water, and set aside.

Melt butter in a skillet over medium heat.  Stir in sugar, garlic salt, pepper, and basil.  Add tomatoes, and cook stirring gently just until soft.  Pour the tomato mixture over the green beans and toss gently to blend. 

In my test kitchen:

Some people who reviewed this recipe said the sugar was not necessary.  So the first time I tried this I put in a ½ T.  It was very sweet.  So I would recommend a good pinch of sugar but no more than that. 

I reduced the garlic salt down to ¼ t. and added 1-2 cloves of chopped fresh garlic.  I also have a hard time finding fresh basil at the grocery store sometimes.  But Walmart has this cool tube of chopped fresh basil…in a paste form.  I used that as an alternative once and it was great!  I don’t think you will get quite the flavor you want if you use dried basil. 

I used grape tomatoes instead of cherry tomatoes.  I read somewhere that they have less water in them?  Who knows.  Grape tomatoes worked well though. 

This makes a lot of sauce.  I would recommend not pouring the whole thing over the green beans.  Start with half the sauce and toss to coat and add more as needed. 

Last, I crumbled up some crisp bacon and sprinkled it over the top of the green beans just before serving.  It was a nice touch! 

~Happy Cooking!