Recipe: "Date Night" Chocolate Cakes

Two things led me to these delicious, quick-bake, mini chocolate cakes: 1) The desire to recreate the fantastic little warm, gooey chocolate cake that my friends and I enjoyed on our 2011 spring break cruise (pretty sure I ordered it four nights in a row) and 2) the continual pop-up of Nigella Lawson's "Chocohotopots" recipe online when I'd search for quick-bake chocolate cake recipes (seriously, I think her "chocohotopots" thing is a big deal in the food world because I've seen the recipe everywhere and everyone always raves about how good it is). I worked late last night and all I wanted to do when I got home was curl up on the big, comfy leather couch in the basement and watch a movie on the big screen. I had a major craving for chocolate and thought, "What the hell? Why not try to make those "chocohotopot" things? Who cares if it's 10:30PM and I'm not actually having a date night"...so I made them, and I'm so glad I did. The original recipe makes 4 servings, and it's a little hard to halve because you have to kind of guess on measurements a bit (which you're really not supposed to do with baked goods), but I halved it anyway, and ended up with two perfectly cooked, warm, chocolate cakes (which meant I got to eat one after lunch today). They have this amazing quality of being both gooey and soft on the inside, and chewy around the edges like a freshly-baked brownie, and they are absolutely amazing with a drizzle of caramel or fresh strawberry slices. I call them "Date Night" chocolate cakes because they're the perfect dessert for two, but you could easily double the recipe (i.e. make the original) and serve them as a regular dessert after dinner. And yes, I realize I did not have my own date night last night, but who cares—they're delicious! :) All together, these cakes take just 30 minutes to make, and they require only a handful of ingredients, so they're perfect when you need a really nice dessert but don't have the time to pull something fancy together, if you're a beginner in the kitchen, or if you just want to curl up with a nice dessert and a good movie.

 
Serves: 2
Prep. time: 10 minutes
Cooking time: 20 minutes
Difficulty: Easy
Special equipment: Small (about 1 cup size), ovensafe dishes (ceramic ramekins, like the Corningware brand dish pictured above, are perfect)

Ingredients

• 1/2 stick unsalted butter, plus about 1 tbsp. to butter the ramekins
• 2-2.5 oz. semisweet chocolate chips (I highly recommend Ghirardelli brand)
• 1 egg
• 1/4 cup plus half of a 1/4 cup granulated sugar (fill up a 1/4 cup, then fill it up again only halfway—I know it's not precise, but just watch carefully and you'll be fine)
• 1 tbsp. of plus 1/2 tbsp. all-purpose flour (do that same thing as above: fill up a tbsp., then fill a tbsp. halfway)
• Caramel, powdered sugar, or sliced strawberries for garnish, if desired

Directions
Place a small baking sheet in the oven and preheat the oven to 400*F. Butter the ramekins (rub a pat of butter around inside the ramekins) with the 1 tbsp. butter. In a microwave, gently melt the chocolate and butter together in a bowl (heat in 25-30 second increments, stirring after each time, until the mixture is melted but not burnt). Set aside to cool. In another bowl, whisk together the egg, sugar, and flour, then add in the cooled butter and chocolate mixture and mix until thoroughly blended. Divide the mixture between the two buttered ramekins. Bake for approx. 20 minutes, until the tops are slightly cracked and the chocolate cake is moist-looking inside. The ramekins and cake will be very hot, so let them cool slightly, and serve the ramekins on a plate, so you don't burn yourself on them. Garnish with a drizzle of caramel sauce, a dusting of powdered sugar, or some slices of strawberries.

Perfect

These cakes are so easy and quick to pull together and, for the little amount of effort and ingredients involved, they turn out incredibly well. Using semisweet chocolate makes them rich and decadent, but their small size makes you feel a little less guilty when you dive in. They are the kind of thing you can make any time of day, whether you just want a little cake with your afternoon tea or you want an easy dessert to serve after dinner. They're gooey, chewy, warm, melty, and oh-so-chocolatey and they're quite possibly my new favorite dessert. You can eat them as is or dress them up with fancy garnishes and you can easily double the recipe or quadruple it to serve more people.

Recipe: Super Chocolatey Chocolate Icing

My grandmother is moving out of her home and downsizing considerably, so a big group of my not-that-big family spent last weekend at her house, sorting, claiming, tossing, and moving things. My cousin, Kate, had the great idea to bring baked goods as a sort of way to make the day a little brighter and hopefully help minimize family drama and meltdowns (we still had one or two—this whole process has been fairly stressful) and she ended up bringing some delicious chocolate chip cookies (I ate a lot...let's just say WeightWatchers was the furthest thing from my mind that weekend). Last Friday just so happened to be my grandmother's birthday, so my mom and I decided we would bring a birthday cake. My dad's high school reunion also happened to be last weekend, so not only was it decided that I'd make cake, but I also got roped into making cupcakes for the reunion. To make things simple, we used a delicious boxed yellow cake mix, but I wanted to make homemade icing. My grandmother has always liked yellow cake with chocolate icing, so I decided to do a variation on my vanilla buttercream from a little while ago and make a chocolate buttercream.

Now, I wasn't quite sure how to write this post, because, to be perfectly honest, I messed up the icing when I made it. And then I made a different version and messed that up. And then I combined the two, added a little milk, and they miraculously combined to make the most delicious chocolate icing ever. See, I made one batch of icing in a buttercream style using melted Ghiradelli chocolate chips, but the mixture was so thick, it was like eating fudge, though the flavor was fantastic. For the second batch, I followed the recipe on the back of the Hershey's cocoa powder box and used that cocoa for the chocolate flavor—unfortunately, I didn't read carefully and, instead of melting the butter, I whipped a whole, unmelted stick into the mixture (I was in a buttercream mindset, and you use a whole, unmelted stick of butter in that type of icing), so once again, I got too-thick icing. I knew I needed to fix the problem, and I knew milk was often recommended as a way to thin out icing, so I poured some in, whipped it, and the icing came out with the perfect consistency and flavor. I had enough icing to ice (I spread it on with a knife rather than pipe out a big pile on top) 24 cupcakes and one, two-layer cake.

So, here's what I'm gonna do: I'm going to share each recipe that I made, and say that you can either try to combine the two and make it all in one go, or, do what I did (and would probably do again), and make each icing separately, then combine and add a little milk until the desired consistency is reached. I know it seems like a lot of work, but seriously, this icing was really good—thick, super chocolatey, creamy, and rich.

M is for Molly, my grandmother's name

Too-Thick Chocolate Buttercream Icing

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature
• 4 cups powdered sugar, sifted (sifting removes lumps that would clump up in the frosting) 
• 3-4 tbsp. milk
• 8-10 oz. semi-sweet chocolate chips (I used Ghirardelli brand, because it's good quality chocolate and creates a rich chocolatey flavor in the icing) 

Directions
Put the butter in the mixer bowl and, using the paddle attachment, blend it on low for about a minute until the butter is a little creamy. Turn off the mixer and add the powdered sugar and milk to the bowl. Blend the mixture on low for about a minute, until the powdered sugar is incorporated into the wet ingredients. Increase the speed to medium and whip until the mixture is completely blended and looks thick. In the meantime, melt the chocolate either very slowly and carefully in the microwave or use a double boiler to melt the chocolate chips. Slowly add the melted chocolate to the other ingredients and whip on medium speed until fully incorporated into the icing. The icing will appear a medium to dark brown and will be thick.

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Too-Thick Hershey's Cocoa Powder Icing

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature
• 2/3 cup Hershey's brand natural unsweetened cocoa
• 3 cups powdered sugar
• 1/3 cup milk
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Directions
Put the butter in the mixer bowl and, using the paddle attachment, blend it on low for about a minute until the butter is a little creamy. Turn off the mixer and add the powdered sugar, cocoa, vanilla extract, and milk to the bowl. Blend the mixture on low for about a minute, until the powdered sugar and cocoa are incorporated into the wet ingredients. Increase the speed to medium and whip until the mixture is completely blended and looks thick.

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Super Chocolatey Chocolate Icing (The Right Icing)

Ingredients

• First batch of icing, the too-thick chocolate buttercream icing
• Second batch of icing, the too-thick Hershey's cocoa icing
• Milk (about 4-8 tbsp., more or less until desired consistency is reached)

Directions
Combine the two different icings in the mixer bowl and blend on medium speed. Add milk, a tbsp. at a time, until the desired consistency is reached. Icing should be somewhat shiny and thick. It will spread easily and hold its shape.

This icing, though a lot of work, is absolutely delicious. It's thick and creamy, and it has an intense chocolate flavor that's so delicious. Perfect on cupcakes, cakes, and brownies (I even put a little leftover icing from the cake on my cousin's cookies...so tasty!).

Recipe: Vanilla Buttercream Frosting (for Caribbean-themed vanilla cupcakes)

A few weeks ago, I found a recipe for these beautiful seaside-themed cupcakes, topped with molded chocolate seashells and pale blue frosting—gorgeous! I showed them to my mom and asked if she had any need of them for an upcoming event and, lucky for me, she had a Caribbean-themed potluck dinner going on tonight that would be the perfect place for them. She picked up ingredients for them yesterday afternoon and we made a change of plans when she found some Swedish Fish packages that included fun multicolored sea creatures. My seaside-themed cupcakes became Caribbean-themed vanilla cupcakes, topped with homemade vanilla buttercream, hand-colored sanding sugar, and assorted Swedish Fish shapes. Fun, tasty, and perfect for any ocean-themed party! I used a boxed French Vanilla cupcake mix (yes, I know...I should be ashamed of myself for not making homemade batter, but I wanted this dessert to be as easy and quick as possible). What I'm sharing here is my recipe for buttercream frosting. I absolutely hate that disgusting, fluffy, oily frosting they use at grocery stores and cheap bakeries and ice cream shops. I'm also not really a fan of the pre-made stuff they sell to go along with boxed cake mixes. I like thick, substantial icing, with a rich, yet creamy texture and flavor. This buttercream frosting, adapted from a recipe from Anne Bryn's The Cake Mix Doctor, is thick without being stiff and it has a delicious vanilla-and-sugar flavor.

One of these things is not like the other. Haha. Gotta love the random green fish.

Yields: About 2 cups (the original recipe said it yields 3.5 cups, but I definitely got less and ended up needing to make a second batch). Two batches will be enough to cover approx. 24 cupcakes with a nice thick swirl of frosting)
Production Time: 10-20 minutes
Difficulty: Easy
Special equipment: Electric mixer

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature
• 4 cups powdered sugar, sifted (sifting removes lumps that would clump up in the frosting) 
• 2 tsp. vanilla extract
• 3-4 tbsp. milk

Directions
Put the butter in the mixer bowl and, using the paddle attachment, blend it on low for about a minute until the butter is a little creamy. Turn off the mixer and add the powdered sugar, milk, and vanilla to the bowl. Blend the mixture on low for about a minute, until the powdered sugar is incorporated into the wet ingredients. Increase the speed to medium and whip until the mixture is completely blended and looks thick and creamy. If you find it's not holding its shape or seems to be "melting" on top of the cupcakes or cake you're putting it on, add just a little more powdered sugar to thicken it up (don't add too much, because it'll make your frosting gritty and dry-tasting). The frosting can be spread on cupcakes or cakes with a knife, but I used one of my "fancy" frosting tips for my culinary classes, fashioned myself a pastry/piping bag out of a Ziploc back, and piped the frosting in a simple swirl on top of of the cupcakes. Turned out great!

This is a great basic buttercream that can easily be altered to suit your needs. Add food coloring, mix in a flavor other than vanilla (like orange extract or cocoa), or mix in finely chopped ingredients (like nuts or chocolate chips) to make it perfect for any cake. For my Caribbean-themed cupcakes, I just added a few drops of blue food coloring to achieve a pretty pale blue color. That, topped with blue sugar and fish decorations made for some fun and tasty cupcakes!