Um….YUM. That’s pretty much all there is to say about these little cakes. Molten, gooey, chocolaty goodness oozing from the center of a dense, warm chocolate cake. (Ok, now do me a favor and wipe the drool off of your mouth.) These Gooey Chocolate Cakes have quickly become my favorite “I’m-craving-something-warm-and-chocolatey-and-I-need-it-NOW” desserts (They surpassed brownies and chocolate chip cookies long ago). When you cut into them, the warm gooey filling oozes out all over your plate. Its almost like sitting down and eating a bowl of raw cake batter (don’t deny it – you know you’ve always wanted to do it)….except so much better! And the fact that they only take about 13 minutes total to make…well, that would make any chocolate-craving-woman-on-the-edge jump for joy!
So, we’ve covered the fact that these cakes will satisfy even the most severe chocolate cravings, but they can also serve as a fancy “show off-y” dessert when you’re having company. I served these when I recently had some friends over for a nice sit-down meal and they were a HUGE hit. I’m pretty sure my guests were on the verge of licking their plates clean.
Gooey Chocolate Cakes
1/3 cup all-purpose flour
3 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder
¼ teaspoon salt
4 ounces coarsely chopped milk chocolate,
1 stick (8 tablespoons) unsalted butter, cut into 8 pieces
2 large eggs, at room temperature
1 large egg yolk, at room temperature
6 tablespoons of sugar
Getting ready: Center a rack in the oven and preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. butter (or spray – it’s easier) 6 cups of a regular-size muffin pan, preferably a disposable aluminum foil pan, dust the insides with flour and tap out the excess. Put the muffin pan on a baking sheet. (I discovered that there is just enough batter to perfectly fill 4 ramekins)
Sift the flour, cocoa and salt together.
Set a heatproof bowl over a saucepan of gently simmering water, put the coarsely chopped chocolate and the butter in the bowl and stir occasionally over the simmering water just until they are melted – you don’t want them to get so hot that the butter separates. Remove the bowl from the pan of water.
In a large bowl, whisk the eggs and yolk until homogeneous. Add the sugar and whisk until well blended, about 2 minutes. Add the dry ingredients and, still using the whisk, stir (don’t beat) them into the eggs. Little by little, and using a light hand, stir in the melted chocolate and butter. Divide the batter evenly among the muffin cups.
Bake the cakes for 13 minutes. (the first time I made these, 13 minutes was too long – they came out totally firm in the center. Now I bake them at 11 minutes and they’re perfectly runny and gooey every time.) Transfer them, still on the baking sheet, to a rack to cool for 3 minutes. (There is no way to test that these cakes are properly baked, because the inside remains liquid.)
Line a cutting board with a silicone baking mat or parchment or wax paper, and, after the 3-minute rest, unmold the cakes onto the board. Use a wide metal spatula to lift the cakes onto dessert plates.
Recipe source: Dorie Greenspan, Baking From My Home to Yours
I typically don’t try new lasagna recipes. I figure, if I’m going to make lasagna, I’m going to use my mom’s recipe – it’s by far the yummiest (same situation with banana bread, banana pudding and pot roast, to name a few – but that’s another post.) But, last week I was having company (two good buddies and fellow opera singers, one of whom was a cook in a really nice restaurant in London for a couple of years), and I wanted to serve an impressive, yet “comforting” meal – and while my mom’s lasagna would have definitely fit the bill, I wanted something a little more unusual and slightly “different”. I flipped through all kinds of cook books, cooking websites, food blogs, and my personal favorite recipe resource – the Nest’s “What’s Cooking” discussion board (love ya, girls!!) and finally found myself thumbing through my “Giada’s Family Dinners” cookbook, pausing to glance at the Lasagna Rolls recipe thinking, “hmmm, spinach…prosciutto…bechamel, all rolled up in pasta….now that’s impressive and different…” I decided lasagna rolls would be perfect!
Needless to say, these were delicious – so delicious in fact, that I made them again only one week later! Its a nice change from your usual meat and cheese lasagna! My dinner guests really enjoyed them – they ate two huge helpings and cleaned their plates! Success!
Lasagna Rolls
-from Giada’s Family Meals by Giada DeLaurentiis
Bechamel Sauce (White Sauce)
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
4 teaspoons all-purpose flour
1 1/4 cups whole milk
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon ground black pepper
Pinch ground nutmeg
Lasagna:
1 (15-ounce) container whole milk ricotta cheese
1 (10-ounce) package frozen chopped spinach, thawed, squeezed dry
1 cup plus 2 tablespoons grated Parmesan
3 ounces thinly sliced prosciutto, chopped
1 large egg, beaten to blend
3/4 teaspoon salt, plus more for salting water
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1 to 2 tablespoons olive oil
12 uncooked lasagna noodles
2 cups marinara sauce
1 cup shredded mozzarella (about 4 ounces)
To make the sauce: Melt the butter in a heavy medium saucepan over medium-low heat. Add the flour and whisk for 3 minutes. Whisk in the milk. Increase the heat to medium-high. Whisk the sauce until it comes to a simmer and is thick and smooth, about 3 minutes. Whisk the salt, pepper, and nutmeg into the bechamel sauce.
Preheat the oven to 450 degrees F.
Whisk the ricotta, spinach, 1 cup Parmesan, prosciutto, egg, salt, and pepper in a medium bowl to blend.
Add a tablespoon or 2 of oil to a large pot of boiling salted water. Boil the noodles until just tender but still firm to bite. Drain. Arrange the noodles in a single layer on a baking sheet to prevent them from sticking.
Butter a 13-by-9-by-2-inch glass baking dish. Pour the bechamel sauce over the bottom of the prepared dish. Lay out 4 lasagna noodles on a work surface, then spread about 3 tablespoons of ricotta mixture evenly over each noodle. Starting at 1 end, roll each noodle like a jelly roll. Lay the lasagna rolls seam side down, without touching, atop the bechamelsauce in the dish. Repeat with the remaining noodles and ricotta mixture. Spoon 1 cup of marinara sauce over the lasagna rolls. Sprinkle the mozzarella and remaining 2 tablespoons of Parmesan over the lasagna rolls. Cover tightly with foil. Bake until heated through and the sauce bubbles, about 20 minutes. Uncover and bake until the cheese on top becomes golden, about 15 minutes longer. Let stand for 10 minutes. Meanwhile, heat the remaining marinara sauce in a heavy small saucepan over medium heat until hot, and serve alongside.
Originally, I had found a pretty good sounding recipe for pulled pork on allrecipes.com, but somehow, I ended up sort of ditching the recipe and just throwing in whatever I thought sounded good. As it turns out, I ended up with a pretty tasty result (if I do say so myself).
Pulled Pork
1 pork butt roast (2-5 pounds, depending on how many servings you need – I used a pretty small roast since it was just the two of us)
1/2 Cup Hickory Brown Sugar BBQ sauce (however much you want, really), plus 1/2 cup
salt and pepper to taste
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1/2 teaspoon onion powder
Season pork roast with salt, pepper, garlic powder, and onion powder and place in crock pot with 1/2 cup water. Cover with 1/2 C. BBQ sauce, and cook on high heat for 4-5 hours or low heat for 6-8 hours. (Cooking time will really depend on how big your roast is).
For the Sauce:
When pork is done, remove from crock pot and set aside. Pour the remaining juice into a medium sized pan over medium heat. Stir in a little flour (approx. 1 tablespoon) and whisk. After flour is fully incorporated, add remaining BBQ sauce and whisk until sauce thickens. Season with salt and pepper to taste.
Take two forks and pull apart the pork roast into small “shreds”. Pile shredded pork on top of kaiser rolls and top with homemade sauce and pickles.
