Calling All Chocoholics...

Chocolate Lava Cakes

        I can barely contain my excitement. Thoughts are rushing through my head, all jumbled together and confusing… things like "oh my goodness - HOW can this BE?!"  and "chocolate heaven does exist"! Seriously. The following recipe is a real keeper, and I say this with complete conviction.

The Pear Frenzy: Part II

        Pears. We poached them, we stuffed them, we ate them, we loved them. There was a time not long ago when I was unable to say I'd eaten poached pears, but now that time has come and passed. I just had my first encounter with a poached pear. It ended with a prediction of events to come, and what does my future hold? More poached pears, of course.
        Earlier this week, I shared with you a batch of pear crisp minis, and today: wine-poached pears.

Chocolate-Stuffed Poached Pears

Let's Call It "Breakfast"

        Scones. What are scones? Just a few days ago I hardly knew the answer to that question. For years I had very little motivation to try one, as the mistaken idea of a rock-solid and crumbly scone had planted itself in my mind.

        Then, I saw the light. I tried my very first scone and realized they weren't at all as I imagined. The notion in my head of a dry hockey puck diminished the moment I took the first bite… the interiors were soft and moist, apparently just as a good scone should be.

Nutella Scones

Beating the Soufflé Clock

        One day I want to be able to say I've baked everything, so since I had (emphasis on the past-tense) never attempted to make a soufflé... I went and made a soufflé. Rather, I made a bunch of cute, itty-bitty chocolate soufflés in my new mini ramekins, the ones I bought just recently as a spur-of-the-moment type thing. 
        I was quite the sight running through my kitchen with my camera after taking these chocolate soufflés from the oven, desperately trying to snap some good shots before the beautifully risen puff could begin to settle. This photo was as fast as I could manage, though I'm pleased to say they rose well past this point!

Mini Chocolate Soufflés

The Mississippi Mud Challenge

        I've always enjoyed a challenge, and you know what? I just took on a super, super big challenge. 

        Okay, so maybe this challenge wasn't all that big. Maybe this challenge can't be classified as big at all, or even a challenge for that matter. Maybe you should completely disregard the second sentence of this post, as it will probably hurt my brain a little less.

        I call it a challenge in the sense that this little baking project of mine was fairly time-consuming. Yes, it was pretty lengthy, but a very, very excellent investment of my time indeed.

Mississippi Mud Pie

A Bumper Crop of Zucchini Makes Mean Cake

I have news of an accomplishment. Delicious news. Zucchini news. 
        I love zucchini (that isn't the news). However, the strange word doesn't always bring pleasant thoughts. That's because I don't immediately associate zucchini with food and eating; I instead get the familiar image in my mind of my grandparents shoving bags at me stuffed full of the fresh vegetables they grew in their gardens. Sounds great, right? Sort of. Let me get one thing straight--my grandparents' garden-grown vegetables taste fantastic and better than any from the grocery store. For that reason, I love the veggies and am delighted to take a few bags off their hands. One problem, though. When the veggies are in-season... the bags pile up until our fridge is overflowing. We end up with vegetables coming out the wazoo: tomatoes, cucumbers, onions, garlic, and the most popular of them all… zucchini. 

Chocolate Zucchini Cupcakes with Cocoa Meringue

When Life Gives You Chocolate, Make Crackle Cookies

        The other day, I spent the night at my cousin Leah's. She's the greatest for many reasons, one of them being the fact that Leah is the only other baker my age I know. Consequently, she's the only person with whom I can discuss one of my life's greatest joys. We spent most of our time that night talking, laughing, and (of course!) baking. It was wonderful to have a baking partner for a change… I almost always have no choice but to fly solo. Even on those rare occasions when I'm able to force some unwilling individual to bake with me, it just isn't the same as having another baker by my side who revels in it every bit as much as I do.

        Now, before we did anything else the pair of us had to choose what to make. We took our time rifling through a few of her baking cookbooks… and finally settled on these teeny and delightful cookies.

Chocolate Crackle Cookies

Eat This Chocolate Cake... I Dare You

The fifth of July was my Mom's birthday. I did something special, of course. Something deliciously special. Something called chocolate cake. Oh, yes. My Mom's favorite. My younger brother Robert's favorite, too, but on July 5th, this baby was all Mom's.

When I say it's her favourite, I mean she loves, loves, LOVES it. While my Dad raves to people about the coconut cream pie I make, my Mom raves about this chocolate cake. She's a chocoholic to the extreme... and this just so happens to be the most extreme chocolate cake in existence. I wholeheartedly believe that you could scour the entire universe in search and never find a better one. Hence, this was my cake of choice for my Mom's 48th.

Daredevil's Chocolate Cake