Molten Lava Cakes

I've had a few requests for this recipe. It's a MUST if you are a chocolate lover...yum.

4 oz. semi-sweet chocolate
4 oz. unsalted butter
2 eggs
1/3 c. sugar
1/4 c. flour

This is the chocolate I prefer to use.


Melt the chocolate in a double boiler.

In a separate boil, beat eggs with sugar (I use a hand blender to make sure they’re well blended).

Remove the melted chocolate from the stove and add the butter until melted and well combined.

Combine chocolate mixture with the egg mixture.

Whisk in flour until well mixed.

Butter sides and bottoms of 4 custard cups (or ramekins).

Bake in cups at 350 for 10-15 minutes.

[Notes: Don’t over fill the cups because they will rise significantly as they bake. The baking time varies A LOT depending on your altitude, how full your cups are, etc… (mine take longer to cook because I place the cups inside another pan, otherwise my cups will tip. If your cup/ramekin has a wider bottom you can just place it in the oven and it will take less time to cook). You will need to watch them very closely to make sure they are cooked to your likeness (the people I got the recipe from cooked theirs for only 11 minutes, I have to cook mine 20-23 min – just to give you an idea).
The outside should be firm with a gooey center. If you bake them too long, they will cook through. If you don’t bake them long enough, they will fall apart when you dump them out.
Once the cakes are cooked to my liking, I dump them onto a plate that’s been drizzled with a small amount of chocolate syrup and caramel syrup (just the ice cream topping variety. In the picture above I used raspberry syrup and chocolate syrup. Joe didn't like the raspberry as much because it made it 'too healthy', whatever that means). I place one scoop of vanilla ice cream on the top of the hot cake and serve.]

P.S. My sister-in-law will make extras and freezes them. When she needs them she just pops them in the microwave and warms them up. She says it works wonderfully! I haven't tried it, I've never had extras...

Pretty and Delicious...

I've become somewhat obsessed with making breads. Over the past several months I've made French Bread, Rolls, Rye Bread, White Bread, Milk and Honey White Bread, Challah and several others (including several whole wheat, 9 grain and white/wheat variations). The reason for my obsession? It's two fold: 1. Desserts have always been my strength, breads my weakness. I want to improve my weakness. 2. In my quest to create delicious bread I enrolled in a 4 day Bread Baking course at Le Cordon Bleu in PARIS!!!! Wahoo! Joe and I are headed there in June and I'm determined to be able to make, at the very least, passable bread before I have a culinary expert try to teach me how to make croissants, baguettes, etc...
So, I suppose it's really just a one fold mission not to completely humiliate myself with crappy bread!

I had a couple of people ask for recipes, so here is my latest:

ChallahThis bread is very easy to make and it has a unique taste (because it uses eggs). My personal preference with this bread is to eat it toasted...yum (a little butter and homemade raspberry jam don't hurt either). I found the recipe in 'The Taste of Home Baking Book'.

2 pkgs active dry yeast
1 c warm water
1/2 c vegetable oil
1/3 c sugar
1 tbsp salt
4 eggs
6-61/2 c flour

Topping:
1 egg
1 tsp cold water
1 tbsp sesame or poppy seeds, optional

1. In a large mixing bowl, dissolve yeast in warm water. Add the oil, sugar, salt, eggs and 4 cups flour; beat until smooth. Stir in enough remaining flour to form a firm dough.

2. Turn onto a floured surface; knead until smooth and elastic, about 6-8 minutes. Place in a greased bowl, turning once to grease top. Cover and let rise in a warm place until doubled, about 1 hour.

3. Punch dough down. Turn onto a lightly floured surface; divide in half. Divide each portion into thirds. Shape each piece into a 15in rope. Place three ropes on a greased baking sheet and braid; pinch ends to seal and tuck under. Repeat with remaining dough. Cover and let rise until doubled, about 1 hour.

4. Beat egg and cold water; brush over braids. Sprinkle with sesame or poppy seeds if desired. Bake at 350 for 30-35 minutes or until golden brown. Remove from pans to wire racks to cool.

Enjoy!

Yum...

Last week I found a cook book at the kids school book fair that intrigued me called, "Fast Family Dinners" from Deanna F. Cook and the experts at Family Fun Magazine.

I love new cookbooks and trying new recipes. Today after church I made 'Sweet and Sour Grilled Chicken' from my new cookbook. Super YUMMY! Everyone finished their food, licked their plates and some of the kids even asked for seconds. I cooked five chicken breasts that I had cut into three equal, 1 serving size pieces. That makes 15 servings of chicken for 8 people, and I only had one piece of chicken left. I served the chicken with rice and veggies. I reserved part of the marinade and used it as a sauce on the rice. I hope you enjoy!

Sweet-and-Sour Grilled Chicken

Combine in food processor:
2 garlic cloves
2 tbsp balsamic vinegar
Juice of 1/2 lime
Juice of 1/2 lemon
1/3 c light brown sugar
*2 tbsp Dijon mustard
1/3 c honey
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper

Once ingredients are well blended and your garlic is nicely diced, add:
**4 tbsp olive oil

Blend just until mixed.
Divide out 1/3 of sauce to use for dipping or to put on rice. Place remaining sauce in ziploc bag with chicken (recipe calls for 2 breasts, cut in half - I used 5, cut in thirds but did not change the amount of sauce). Turn to coat.
***Grill chicken until juices run clear.

*(I was out of Dijon mustard, so I substituted 1 tbsp yellow mustard and 1 tbsp spicy brown mustard)
**(I only had extra virgin olive oil on hand, so that's what I used)
***(I have found that in order to keep your chicken nice and juicy it is best to grill your chicken, on the lower level of your grill, on only one side until nice and brown (4-5 minutes). Then place the chicken on the upper level of the grill (on the un-cooked side) on a piece of heavy duty aluminum foil (I just use two pieces of regular foil) that's been sprayed with non-stick cooking spray. I pour all of the remaining marinade from my ziploc bag on the chicken and let them continue cooking through (another 4-5 minutes). The foil helps keep the chickens juices in and prevents the chicken from getting over cooked. It also helps keep the marinade on your chicken so it keeps better flavor.)

Super easy, and super delicious. I hope you all enjoy!