Molten Chocolate Cakes

 If you are looking for a dessert to celebrate a special day - anniversary, bday, promotion, awesome report card - these Molten Chocolate Cakes are just for you. But if you want them on any ordinary day, they totally work for that, too!!!

You do need baking ramekins for this dish. I only have 4, but the recipe calls for six. I was able to bake the remaining batter a day later in my clean ramekins, and they turned out just as awesome as on day one. The batter did firm up quite a bit, but that was the only change. Side note: I must order more ramekins!

These little cakes would go perfectly with ice cream or whipped cream. We just sprinkled some powdered sugar on top. My son absolutely loved them. 

Handle with care when flipping them from the ramekin to the plate. I used a spatula to get under the ramekins and used kitchen mitts as the ramekins are hot when plating.

Check out my son Evan digging in! What a treat!

Molten Chocolate Cakes

From Betty Crocker's Cookbook

Serves 6

Unsweetened baking cocoa

6 oz. semisweet baking chocolate, chopped

1/2 cup plus 2 Tbsp. butter

3 whole eggs

3 egg yolks

1 1/2 cups powdered sugar

1/2 cup all-purpose flour

1. Heat oven to 450 degrees F. Grease bottoms and sides of 6 (6-ounce) custard cups with shortening; dust with cocoa.

2. In a 2-quart saucepan, melt chocolate and butter over low heat, stirring frequently. Cool slightly.

3. In large bowl, beat whole eggs and egg yolks with wire whisk or hand beater until well blended. Beat in 1 1/2 cups powdered sugar. Beat in melted chocolate mixture and flour. Divide batter evenly among custard cups. Place cups on cookie sheet with sides.

4. Bake 12 to 14 minutes or until sides are set and centers are still soft (tops will be puffed and cracked.) Let stand about 3 minutes. Run small knife or metal spatula around side of each cake to loosen. Immediately place heatproof serving plates upside down onto each cup, turn plate and cup over and remove cup. Sprinkle with additional powdered sugar. Serve warm.

Make ahead directions: Batter can be made up to 24 hours ahead. After pouring batter into custard cups, cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate up to 24 hours. You may need to bake the cakes 1 to 2 minutes longer.

Chocolate-Dipped Brown Sugar Shortbread

 My son and I have decided that all Barefoot Contessa desserts are extremely decadent. Meaning: Eat one cookie and it sends you over the moon on a sugar high.

These Chocolate-Dipped Brown Sugar Shortbread Cookies are no exception. 

The recipe says the batch makes 30 to 36 cookies, but I got 45 out of one batch.

The recipe says you can bake two trays at a time, but I would do one tray at a time on my next go around. I ended up using three baking sheets. The one sheet that baked on its own produced the cookies with the best browning around the edges. Plus, they were sturdier.

Which leads me to my next finding: Dip the cookies fast and use a light hand. These cookies are delicate and are easily breakable. But, of course the baker gets to eat the rejects. Ha.

The dough was very easy to shape. It does not need to chill. It was not crumbly like a traditional shortbread dough that uses powdered sugar. The brown sugar component definitely makes the actual cookie extremely sweet.

The recipe calls for milk chocolate chips, but we roll with semi sweet or dark chocolate in this house, so I went with the semi sweet.

I omitted the nuts as I am deathly allergic. I was thinking of decorating with sprinkles but my son ixnayed that, and in retrospect I think that was a good call because I don't think they need anymore sweetness. Although, sprinkles would look cute. When I make them again - and I definitely will - I will still go no sprinkles. I'm sure pecans add a salty finish, but we can't do that here.

These were so much fun to bake and eat.

I hope my tips help you!

Chocolate-Dipped Brown Sugar Shortbread

From "Modern Comfort Food"

By Ina Garten

Makes 30 to 36 cookies

3/4 lb. (3 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature

1 cup light brown sugar, lightly packed

2 tsp. pure vanilla extract

3 cups all-purpose flour

1 tsp. kosher salt

For the chocolate coating:

1 cup milk chocolate morsels, such as Hershey's (6 ounces)

6 Tbsp. (3/4 stick) unsalted butter

1/2 cup toasted pecans, minced and lightly salted

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Arrange two racks evenly spaced in the oven.

Place the butter and brown sugar in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a paddle attachment and mix on medium speed just until the butter and sugar are combined so you don't whip a lot of air into it. With the mixer on low, add the vanilla and scrape down the bowl with a rubber spatula. In a separate bowl, sift together the flour and salt. With the mixer on low, slowly add the flour mixture to the butter and sugar mixture and mix just until the dough comes together.

Scoop out 1-ounce pieces of dough (about 1 Tbsp.), roll each one into a ball, then roll it into a 2 1/2-inch-long log. Place the logs 2 inches apart on two sheet pans lined with parchment paper and bake for 15 to 17 minutes, until the cookies start to brown around the edges and spring back when lightly touched. Set aside to cool on the pans.

For the coating, place the chocolate and the butter in a heatproof bowl and microwave on high for 30 seconds. Stir the mixture vigorously and continue to microwave in 30-second increments until the chocolate is just melted.

Drag half of the rounded top of each cookie through the chocolate and place it, chocolate side up, on a piece of parchment paper. While the chocolate is still warm, sprinkle on the pecans. Repeat with all the cookies. Set aside for at least 30 minutes for the chocolate to firm.

Please note: The Jersey Girl omitted the pecans due to a food allergy. Her batch yielded 45 cookies. She used three baking sheets instead of two. She used semi-sweet chocolate instead of milk chocolate. She melts the chocolate on the stove top instead of the microwave.

Chocolate Stuffed Churro French Toast

 Oh my.

This is some deliciousness right here: Chocolate Stuffed Churro French Toast. I found the recipe around Valentine's Day, so the recipe instructions say to cut the bread into hearts. I just cut the edges off and left it as rectangles. Practically speaking, I felt the heart cookie cutters would waste a lot of bread. But, I'm sure the hearts are super cute.

I used Pepperidge Farm sliced bread. It was thick and it really absorbed the egg mixture wonderfully.

This seems like a special occasion type of breakfast, but we made it for no reason at all. It was chocolate and cinnamon bliss. 

My photos were limited during the actually batter dipping and frying of the French toast sandwiches, because making French toast means your hands are a MESS.

You also may want to up your workout game during the week you eat this. Ha.

My little man Evan loved making these and eating them. They were very luxurious. 

Here's the recipe:

Chocolate Stuffed Churro French Toast Hearts

From bhg.com

Yields 8 hearts

4 servings

1/2 cup packed brown sugar

1 tsp. ground cinnamon

4 eggs

1 cup milk

2 Tbsp. granulated sugar

2 tsp. vanilla

16 slices white sandwich bread

1/3 cup miniature semisweet chocolate chips or 8 miniature dark or milk chocolate squares (Ghiradelli)

2 Tbsp. butter

In a shallow dish, stir together the brown sugar and cinnamon. In a shallow bowl, beat together eggs, milk, granulated sugar and vanilla; set aside.

Using a 3 1/2-inch heart-shaped cutter, cut shapes out of each slice of bread. Lay 8 of the shapes on work surface. Place about 2 tsp. miniature chocolate chips on each piece of bread leaving a 1/2-inch border. Using a pastry brush, lightly coat the borders with some of the egg mixture. Top with remaining bread shapes. Use a fork or fingers to seal edges of bread pieces together.

Dip sandwiches in egg mixture, coating both sides. Let soak in egg mixture about 5 seconds per side.

In a large skillet or on a griddle melt 1 Tbsp. butter over medium heat. Add half the sandwiches and cook for 2 to 3 minutes per side until golden brown. When done, add each sandwich to the brown sugar mixture, turning to coat. Keep warm in a 200 degree Fahrenheit oven while cooking remaining sandwiches. Repeat with remaining butter, sandwiches and sugar mixture. Serve warm.

Optional: In a small microwaveable bowl, combine 1/4 cup miniature semisweet chocolate chips and 1/2 tsp. shortening. Microwave on 100 percent power (high) for 30 to 40 seconds or until melted and smooth, stirring once. Place in a resealable plastic bag; snip small hole from one corner. Pipe drizzle onto warm French toast.

Please note: The Jersey Girl cut the crusts off the bread slices, making rectangle sandwiches rather than hearts.

Grammy's Chocolate Cookies

My son has an affinity for the old-timey soft chocolate cookies made by Archway that I find in the grocery store. They are pretty delish. 

But, I thought I could do better with a homemade variety. And I was totally correct. Grammy's Chocolate Cookies by Martha Stewart are soft, intense and chocolatey good. The flavor is so much deeper than those I buy at the grocery store.

These use a lot of sanding sugar. Definitely plan for a cup, but I probably used even more. The recipe doesn't have a measurement for the sanding sugar. I would have a few bottles on standby. I made mine blue and red. I thought they were fun colors to celebrate the Phillies returning to play! 

Be sure to chill the dough, but expect it to be very soft. Rolling is a messy process but just go with it. I used a small cookie scoop so that my balls of dough were consistent in size. 

I only baked 8 at a time on each baking sheet. I thought they needed a lot of space to spread out.

I brought these cookies to a pool party, and they were definitely a hit. I feel like they would be amazing with a scoop of ice cream.

Grammy's Chocolate Cookies

Makes about 3 1/2 dozen

From "Martha Stewart's Cookies"

By Martha Stewart

2 cups plus 2 Tbsp. all purpose flour

3/4 cup unsweetened Dutch process cocoa powder

1 tsp. baking soda

1/2 tsp. salt

1 1/4 cups (2 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature

2 cups granulated sugar

2 large eggs

2 tsp. pure vanilla extract

Sanding sugar, for rolling

Sift together flour, cocoa powder, baking soda and salt into a bowl.

In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat butter and sugar on medium speed until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes. Add eggs and vanilla, and beat to combine. Reduce speed to low, and gradually add flour mixture; beat to combine. Form dough into a flattened disk, wrap with plastic wrap, and chill until firm, about 1 hour.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Shape dough into 1 1/4-inch balls. Roll each ball into sanding sugar. Place on baking sheets lined with parchment paper, about 1 1/2 inches apart. Bake until set, 10 to 12 minutes, rotating halfway through. Transfer to a rack to cool for 5 minutes. Transfer cookies from baking sheet to wire rack. Cookies can be stored between layers of parchment in an airtight container at room temperature up to 1 week.

Celebration Cake: Yellow with Chocolate Icing

"A party without cake is just a meeting."

So says Julia Childs, which means this statement is 100 percent fact.

The fave cake in these parts is yellow with a fab chocolate frosting. It holds beauty and comfort. Here she is:

 I always rock out some rainbow sprinkles on this. My son used to call the bundt-style cake a doughnut cake when he was a toddler. So cute.

And here's my secret about this cake: It originates from a box of cake mix. Listen up, all y'all who think making cakes is hard work: The recipes that follow are from the Cake Mix Doctor aka Anne Byrne. This amazing lady teaches us home cooks how to gussy up a box of cake mix that will wow a crowd. And her frostings are always a homerun. 

Next time you have a celebration that needs something sweet and special, be sure to make this Basic Sour Cream Yellow Cake. There is nothing basic about it! I love how homemade and imperfect it looks, which makes it perfectly perfect in my book.

Basic Sour Cream Yellow Cake

From "The Cake Mix Doctor"

By Anne Byrn

Serves 16

Vegetable oil spray for misting the pan

Flour for dusting the pan

1 package (18.25 ounces) plain yellow cake mix

1 cup sour cream

1/3 cup vegetable oil, such as canola, corn, safflower, soybean or sunflower

1/4 cup water

1/4 cup sugar

4 large eggs

1 tsp. pure vanilla extract

Place a rack in the center of the oven and preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Lightly mista 10-inch tube pan with vegetable oil spray, then dust with flour. Shake out the excess flour. Set the pan aside. 

Place the cake mix, sour cream, oil, water, sugar, eggs and vanilla in a large mixing bowl. Blend with an electric mixer on low speed for 1 minute. Stop the machine and scrape down the sides of the bowl with a rubber spatula. Increase the mixer speed to medium and beat 2 minutes more, scraping the sides down again if needed. The batter should look thick and smooth. Pour the batter into the prepared pan, smoothing it out with the rubber spatula. Place the pan in the oven.

Bake the cake until it is golden brown and springs back when lightly pressed with your finger, 50 to 55 minutes. Remove the pan from the oven and place it on a wire rack to cool for 20 minutes. Run a long, sharp knife around the edge of the cake and invert it onto a wire rack, then invert it again onto another rack so that the cake is right side up. Allow the cake to cool completely, 30 minutes more. Frost as desired.

Store the cake, unfrosted, covered in aluminum foil, at room temperature for up to 4 days or in the refrigerator for up to 1 week. 

Martha's Chocolate Icing

From "Chocolate from the Cake Mix Doctor"

By Anne Byrn

Makes 1 and 1/2 cups, enough to frost a bundt or tube cake, 24 cupcakes or a 13-by-9-inch cake

1 cup granulated sugar

5 Tbsp. butter

1/3 cup whole milk

1 cup semisweet chocolate chips

Place the sugar, butter and milk in a medium-size saucepan over medium-high heat. Stir until the mixture comes to a boil, 3-4 minutes. Still stirring, let the mixture boil until the sugar dissolves, 1 minute. Remove the pan from the heat.

Stir in the chocolate chips and continue to stir until the mixture is smooth and the chocolate has melted.

Spread the icing over the cooled cake or cupcakes of your choice.