Single Lady Molten Chocolate Cake

Think warm, intense chocolate cake with a crackly top that gives in to the molten fudgy core. That's the type of cake we're talking about with this single-serving Molten Chocolate Cake.

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It's always nice to be back home with family and friends for Thanksgiving break. Sometimes, a break from the intense rush and bustle of college life can be really rejuvenating. Baking, especially, is something I miss a lot when I'm in the dorm. I'm also really looking forward to hitting the books on my reading list this winter. NYT columnist Nicholas Kristof had given a talk at Northwestern earlier this fall, and it inspired me to want to read his latest work entitled, A Path Appears.

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After these couple days off, then I'll be back to the library, doing research and churning out those final papers. Writing a combined total of over 30 pages of various essays within the span of two to three weeks is not exactly the most relaxing thing, but I am grateful that this quarter I'm able to take classes on topics that truly captivate me. For example, I'm taking one class on health activism, and it's really transformed the way I think about activism movements and how our conceptions of health and disease are shaped by sociocultural norms and expectations. Now, for the final paper, I'm analyzing the various contributory facets of eating disorders and bipolar disorder. It's great.

Hope everyone had a fun and relaxing break!
Monica

One year ago: Chocolate Caramel Cheesecake
One year ago: Perfect Couple Chocolate Chip Cookies
Two years ago: Peanut Butter Oreo Brownie Pie

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Single Lady Molten Chocolate Cake

From The Thoughtful Plate Blog (Original recipe from Joy the Baker Cookbook)
Yield: 1 serving | Time: 25 minutes

Ingredients
1/4 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
1 tablespoon unsalted butter
1 egg
2 teaspoons granulated sugar
Pinch of salt
2-3 drops of pure vanilla extract
1 teaspoon all-purpose flour

Directions
Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Butter/grease a ramekin and dust with cocoa powder. Set on small baking sheet.

Melt chocolate chips and butter together until smooth. Let cool, then add egg, sugar, and salt. Finally, add vanilla and flour. Pour batter into ramekin and bake for 7 - 12 minutes, until edges are set and center no longer jiggles. The longer it cooks, the less molten the center becomes.

Remove from oven and let cool for 2 minutes. Run knife/spatula around the edges to loosen, then invert cake onto plate. Enjoy!

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Gingersnaps

I’m sitting here at my desk, in a little puddle of late afternoon sunlight. Not really late, it’s only 2:30, but it’s a Sunday in November in Boston, and it feels like the sun is already dipping towards the horizon. Anyways, I’m supposed to be brainstorming for this final paper I have to write about Ireland’s financial crash 2008.

It was largely triggered by a housing bubble, much like the one here, but the property market was much more inflated than the American one. For the past two weeks I’ve been going through academic papers and novels and movies about risky lending, about a boom driven by ever increasing domestic demand, about the attitude that property values could only keep on going up. Cheerful reading.

And when it came crashing down, Ireland was left with these ghost estates, housing developments driven by the boom that were abandoned when the market collapsed. They’re standing empty in the countryside and towns and cities, sometimes still next to piles of construction waste, built and immaculate and completely empty.

They’re like ghost towns, but they’re untouched and have never been lived in. I’ve been looking at some of Valerie Anex’s work; she has a portfolio of photographs of these abandoned estates. Some of the houses look quite normal. They’re not run down, completely finished, well-painted and look quite new. Yet there’s a certain wrong-ness about them that you immediately pick up on in the photos: they’re too perfect, too symmetrical, too empty. The lawns are green and flawless, but yield no sign of life, the clean white windows are completely dark and empty. No cars, no people, none of the clutter of everyday life. You know immediately that something looks off, but in some of them, it takes a moment for the horrible emptiness to hit you. 

They’re deeply creepy and beautiful, and remind me why I love photography. That one shot, the lighting, the framing, it captures a tiny moment in time that no video and no words could. 

Which sort of brings me to my own pictures of these gingersnaps. I sat down to write this post instead of my paper, but somehow started writing about Ireland anyways...I’ve been doing a lot of writing about Ireland this semester. 

Nothing like those beautiful portraits by professional photographers, but they’re here. Capturing (I do like that word, capturing, I think it describes the thing perfectly). Capturing a moment in time, a cold Sunday afternoon and a plate of warm and chewy gingersnap cookies. The slightly crisp edges, the chewy center, the spicy bite that awakens your senses, sitting on a foil-wrapped tray on my windowsill in the dying light. 

-Caroline

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Gingersnaps

Click here for the printer-friendly version.
Yields about 40 cookies | Very lightly adapted from Smitten Kitchen

Ingredients
2 ¼ cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking soda
½ teaspoon salt
3 teaspoon ground ginger
1 teaspoon cinnamon
½ teaspoon allspice
½ teaspoon nutmeg
1 cup butter, room temperature
⅓ cup granulated sugar
½ brown sugar
1 egg, room temperature
⅓ cup molasses

Directions
Whisk together the flour, baking soda, salt, ginger, cinnamon, allspice, and nutmeg. Set aside.

Beat together the butter and sugars until fluffy. Beat in the egg and the molasses. Mix in the dry ingredients.

Transfer the dough onto a piece of plastic wrap. Wrap well and refrigerate for at least one hour or overnight. Do not skip this step. The dough is very soft, and will spread too much in the oven if it isn’t cold.
Preheat the oven to 350 F. Grease 2-3 cookie sheets.

Roll the dough into 1-inch spheres. Place onto the cookie sheet and bake for 10-12 minutes, until the edges begin to turn brown. Let cool, then eat!

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Banana Cream Cake

This cake in many ways is an inspiration cake. This past summer, at a friend's dinner party in Evanston, I had my first taste of Magnolia Bakery's famous banana pudding, which was just simply amazing. I knew I had to go back to the bakery for more of this pudding (which is totally surprising because I'm usually not such a huge fan of pudding). So this banana pudding idea became implanted in my mind.

Still, however, I wasn't totally enamored by the idea of trying to recreate Magnolia's banana pudding just by itself. I wanted something with more umph power, so to speak. More like, cake power. And what could be better than cake? Cheesecake.

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Specifically, banana cream cheesecake.

And then there's this vanilla cake recipe that looks so delicious I couldn't just give it up.

So banana pudding + banana cream cheesecake + vanilla cake = ...banana cream cake!

Really, the flavors and textures really came perfectly together in this cake. It's light, fluffy, and super satisfying. Hope you enjoy!

Love,
Monica

One year ago: Nutella-Swirled Banana Bread
Three months ago: Banana Bread Muffins
Nine months ago: Nutella Hand Pies

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Banana Cream Cake

Adapted from All Recipes and Taste of Home   |   Time: 1 1/2 hour   |   Yield: 12 servings

For the Vanilla Cake

Ingredients
3/4 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup salted or unsalted butter, room temperature
2 eggs
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
1 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1 3/4 teaspoons baking powder
3/4 cup milk

Directions
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease and flour a 9 x 9 inch baking pan.

THOROUGHLY cream butter & sugar for 5 - 10 minutes. Beat in eggs, one at a time. Stir in vanilla and baking powder. Slowly add flour and milk in an alternating fashion. Batter should look like a yellow-ish Cool Whip.

Bake for 30 - 40 minutes. If making cupcakes, bake for 18 - 23 minutes. Cake is done when it springs back to the touch, or toothpick comes out clean.

For the Banana Cream Layer and Assembly

Ingredients
1 package (8 ounces) cream cheese, room temperature

1/3 cup granulated sugar
1 carton (8 ounces) frozen whipped topping, thawed
3 - 4 medium firm bananas, sliced
1 3/4 cup cold milk
3.4 ounces instant pudding mix (banana or vanilla flavor)

Directions

Beat cream cheese and sugar until smooth. Fold in 2 cup whipped topping. Arrange half of the banana slices on cake. Top with half of the cream cheese mixture. Place rest of bananas, then rest of cream cheese.

In a small bowl, use a whisk to combine milk and pudding mix for 2 minutes. Let sit for 2 minutes until set. Fold in remaining whipped topping. pour over cream cheese layer. Refrigerate for 1 - 2 hours, or until set. Serve & enjoy!

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French Apple Tart

Last Friday, I finally gave in and got a big slice of caramel apple pie from a local cafe. It was welcome, if not entirely needed; it's just been one of those weeks. 

I admit I'm guilty of stress-eating sometimes. Like this week, for instance, I've gone through quite a bit of sugar (let's not even talk about the chocolate) and have been craving pie. To me, pie is one of the ultimate comfort foods. Warm, sweet, buttery. Crumbly and homely, so you don't have any qualms about just digging in with a fork.

Mid-November always brings a few weeks of extreme stress at college; I think it's the combination of the last round of papers and midterms of the semesters, the onset of final exam and final papers preparation, plus a slew of elections for most of the major student elections. It's one of those moments when it hits me that I really am at Harvard, surrounded by people who are used to having straight As and being president of all their extracirriculars. It's generally quite inspiring, but at times like this, it can all seem rather overwhelming.

Anyways, I'm posting this recipe for French Apple Tart that I made a couple of months ago, right before I came to school, in the last lazy days of summer. It's a lighter, more sophisticated take on American apple pie. I hesitate to use the word "light" - it implies some sort of tasteless diet food, which this is not. It simply tastes like...apple. Apple, and buttery pastry. If you're looking for an alternative to traditional Thanksgiving pie, this is it. It's sure to impress, yet surprisingly easy to make.

Give this one a try; it's definitely a keeper. It's perfect for a fancy dinner, or if you're looking for a tart without the sticky syrup of apple pie filling. Or simply because you could really do with a slice of something sweet and warm.

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French Apple Tart

Click here for the printer-friendly recipe.
Yields: One 9-inch tart
Crust adapted from David Lebovitz, Filling adapted from Tartelette

Ingredients
For the crust
½ cup butter, cubed
4 teaspoons vegetable oil
¼ cup water
4 teaspoons sugar
¼ teaspoon salt
1 ⅓ cups all-purpose flour

For the Apple Compote Filling
6 medium apples, such as Gala, Golden Delicious or Honeycrisp
⅓ cup water
2 tablespoons sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

For the Topping
3 medium apples
1 tablespoon lemon juice
2 tablespoons apricot jam
1 teaspoon hot water

Directions
Preheat the oven to 410 F.

Place the butter, vegetable oil, water, sugar, and salt in an oven-proof bowl. Bake in the oven for 15 - 20 minutes, until the mixture is boiling and the edges turn golden brown.
Carefully take the bowl out of the oven, and even more carefully, add the flour and mix until incorporated and it forms a soft dough. (The butter/water mixture will spit when you add the flour, so do not lean directly over it!)

Let cool for about 15 minutes. Scoop the dough into a tart pan, and let cool for another 15 minutes or so.
Meanwhile, make the apple compote. Peel and dice the apples, then place them in a medium pot with the water and sugar. Cook the apples over low heat for 45 minutes to 1 hour, until the apples have stewed down to a paste. Stir every 15 minutes or so and add some water if the mixture becomes too dry.  Stir in the vanilla and let cool until just warm.

Using your hands, shape the dough around the tart pan. Prick the bottom all over with a fork. Bake the tart at 410 degrees F for about 15 minutes, until the edges are slightly golden-brown.

Lower the temperature of the oven to 350 F. Spread the apple compote evenly over the crust.

Thinly slice the three apples for the topping. Toss the slices in lemon juice. Arrange them on top of the compote; start from the outer edge, overlapping the slices slightly, and work your way in . Bake the tart for about 20-25 minutes, or until the edges of the apple slices on top turn golden brown. 
Mix together the apricot jam and hot water, and brush over the top of the tart. Let cool until warm, then serve.