Melting Chocolate Cakes

I've discussed my deep and abiding love for lava cake before. It's one of my absolute favorite desserts. It's chocolate...it's rich....it's molten...it's the best. BUT--have you guys heard of melting chocolate cakes??? I hadn't until recently but I have got to say...I'm totally on board with the idea.

They're like lava cakes...BUT WITH MORE LAVA! It's just a lot of gooey chocolatey goodness. Like...to the point where you HAVE to serve them in their ramekins because they're too gooey to plate. You just dig in. Which sounds like heaven to me!

Valentine's Day is coming uuuup. And I've always associated lava cake with Valentine's Day--they're individual serving sizes (so you don't feel too bloated and full from eating a giant dessert by mostly yourself--and so you don't ruin the mood by fighting over it), they're chocolate (helloooo the most romantic food out there!), and they look so pretty dusted with sugar or topped with ice cream! Plus...if you make them for your sweetie they'll be so impressed (even though they're actually insanely easy to make. But that'll be our little secret.)

Here's what a "good" wife I am:

I made these.

I ate 3 within the first day of making them.
I wanted to eat the last one...but I decided to inform Michael that I made them and give him the opportunity to have one. He said we could share the last one and eat it together.
Summary--my husband is much nicer than I am.

They're perfect. They're the best amount of chocolatey, and the melting chocolate centers are everything. Definitely one of my favorites. And, whether you're going on a first date or begrudgingly sharing with your husband, I suggest you make them.

{Healthier} Chocolate Peanut Butter Swirl "Cupcakes"

Are these muffins? Are these cupcakes? Are they some sort of healthier hybrid?? We may never know. But-for simplicity's sake...we'll call them cupcakes. Even though they have no frosting...and are actually acceptable for breakfast...

...just....go with me on this.

These cupcakes are made with whole wheat flour, Greek yogurt, egg whites, TWO bananas, and  swirl of peanut butter (or-in my case-homemade almond peanut butter). They also have unsweetened cocoa powder and dark chocolate chips which are perfectly fine. And...and I mean...there's also a little bit of all purpose flour, sugar, and some peanut butter chips. But not much of them! So I definitely still ate these as my healthy snack and for breakfast. (Not that I've never eaten a full on cupcake or cookie for breakfast...I have...I just, ya know, felt semi-bad about it.)

My brother and I were big fans of these--which makes sense. They combine chocolate, banana, and peanut butter. Which we love. Our only complaint is a wish that there was more peanut butter sooo---if you wanna be extra generous with your peanut butter swirl...I certainly would approve. Michael didn't adore these (he thought they were fine), largely because they have a fairly obvious banana flavor and he is not a banana fan. But that's ok! They're so moist and soft and there's gooey chocolate chips (if you're smart and eat these warm) and a bit of peanut butter and just...mmm. They're delicious enough that I don't mind not sharing!

Flourless Chocolate Cake

I've made my fair share of flourless chocolate cakes (and this one is still the best. Although the recipe I'm sharing today is a close 2nd!). And there's a reason.

They. are. pure. DECADENCE.

Another upside to flourless chocolate cake is how EASY it is to make but how impressive it seems! You can serve the cake super elegantly with garnishes, powdered sugar, etc. (to make a symbol on the top of the cake just cut out a shape with paper, place it on top of the cake, and then dust with powdered sugar. Remove the paper and voila'!) or you can just sit on the couch in your p.j.'s and eat it warmed up with some ice cream while you watch  Millionaire Matchmaker. Up to you, really.

The texture of this flourless chocolate cake is like the most moist and chocolatey chocolate cake you've ever had times a thousand. It's intensely dense and almost melts in your mouth. I also can't decide whether I like it best cold, room temperature, or warmed. They're all delicious!

Look....it's still the holiday season. We have a bit more time to enjoy parties and indulging before January 1st rolls around and we're all hitting the gym and only eating salads. So let's live up the rest of 2014 and make ourselves and our favorite people a flourless chocolate cake. I think 2014 deserves it. I think WE deserve it!

Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Cupcakes-Cupcake Day!

As you may be aware...I only have 2 cupcake recipes on this blog. Which is crazy, I know. It's just....cookies....ya know? BUT I am so excited that I got an excuse to make you guys another cupcake because today is CUPCAKE DAY! I mean...not officially...but myself and some other bloggers dubbed it such because we're all sharing cupcake recipes. You get the idea. It's a good thing.

And look....I'm gonna tell you straight up....I registered for some piping tips and pastry bags. Because...I mean...look at that frosting. I apologize. These turned out way prettier in my head. Try your best to forgive me lack of decorating skills, mk? Thanks, guys. You're the best.

These cupcakes led to Michael's co-workers accusing me of witchcraft. This is due to my, apparently, delectable treats + the fact that the cookie dough inside the cupcake "magically" didn't bake. 

I'm not a witch (in spite of my Sabrina the Teenage Witch and Charmed loving young self's hopes and dreams). And I'm not even a magician who will protect my secret. Because it's not a secret-it's just a filling! You add the cookie dough into the cupcake after it's baked (I used the "cone" method that's detailed below as well as in this post---and, for the record, thus far those are the only cupcakes I've made that I've really been super into. But that makes sense because choc/pb cupakes are usually what I like best when I buy them, too.).

They are pretty tasty, though. There's a gorgeously fluffy brown sugar cake that you fill with the eggless cookie dough and top with-my favorite component-the chocolate chip cookie dough frosting. That frosting is the bomb dot com. Best part. Now...as previously stated....I'm not obsessed with cupcakes. I just wasn't head over heels for the cake itself (there's nothing wrong with it, this was just my own general "meh"-ness about non-chocolate cakes) and Michael is attempting to cut back slightly on the sweets (he'd like to not think he's fat in our wedding pictures-he's not fat for the record). And that is why these were sent to his work, I was accused of witchcraft, and they were devoured within 20 minutes of Michael getting there. I'm spoiling his co-workers and I'm okay with that.

Spoil your co-workers. Or friends. Or family. Or YOURSELF!

Now go check out the tons of other completely drool-worthy cupcake recipes we have for you!!

• Hot Cocoa Cupcakes by The Redhead Baker
• Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Cupcakes by The Cooking Actress
• Vanilla Candy Cane Cupcakes by Noshing With The Nolands
• Gingerbread Cupcakes with Cinnamon Cream Cheese Frosting by A Day in the Life on the Farm
• Nerds Cupcakes by Amy's Confectionery Adventures
• Vegan Midori Melon Cupcakes by NinjaBaker
• Chocolate Bourbon Cupcakes with Candied Butter Pecan Frosting by From Gate to Plate
• Dark Chocolate Rum Cupcakes with Salted Caramel Buttercream by Lemony Thyme
• Gingerbread cupcakes with cinnamon cream cheese frosting by Eva Bakes
• Cranberry Apple Cupcakes by The Pajama Chef
• Almond Joy Cupcakes by Our Eating Habits
• Buttered Rum Cupcakes by Adventures in All Things Food
• Maple Cupcakes with Maple Cream Cheese Frosting by Karen's Kitchen Stories
• Cone Head Cupcakes with Ice Cream Frosting by The Spiffy Cookie
• Candied Buddha's Hand-Eggnog Cupcakes by Culinary Adventures with Camilla
• Almond Joy Cupcakes by Food Lust People Love
• Sweet Potato Cupcakes with Marshmallow Frosting by Sew You Think You Can Cook
• Chocolate Cupcakes with Nutella Frosting for 2 by Kate's Recipe Box
• Cranberry Cupcakes with White Chocolate Buttercream by Cheese Curd In Paradise
• Peppermint Patty Cupcakes by Comfortably Domestic
• Pumpkin Spice Cupcakes with Biscoff Marshmallow Buttercream by Making Miracles
• Chocolate Cupcakes with Red Velvet Frosting by {i love} my disorganized life
• Lemon Cupcakes by Miss Information
• Peppermint Hot Chocolate Cupcakes by Kosher Kitchen
• Peppermint Cream Cookie Cupcakes by Take a Bite Out of Boca
• Cupcake Christmas Wreath by Lick the Spoon

Chocolate Molten Cakes

I love lava cakes. LOVE EM. 

I mean...chocolate cake with a molten, decadent, rich rich rich chocolate center. There's nothing not wonderful about it. My first taste of lava cake was at a dinner theatre (that is now closed) when I was a teenager, and I fell head over heels. Then...I started eating these packaged microwaveable lava cakes. And now-I make every recipe I get my hands on.

Thus far my favorite lava cake recipe came from Michael's stepmom--it is foolproof (a PERFECT molten center) and delicious. This recipe is a very close second place---the only reason it's not number 1 is I could not get them out of their ramekins unscathed, so I couldn't get that pretty picture of a cake with lava-like chocolate oozing out. Instead you're safer just eating them out of the ramekins. However the molten center is on point and the level of chocolatey decadence is FAB.

One of the beautiful things about lava cake is how perfect it is for entertaining. You can easily make these ahead of time and just bake them when you're ready to serve. They're sorta fancy. And they're impressive-people are going to think you're an exquisite chef and nothing beats the wow-factor of breaking in to a cake to find that liquid chocolate goodness, ready to make your tastebuds siiiiing.

And...although Thanksgiving is generally all about that pie game...maybe you wanna mix things up and serve some chocolate indulgence? I know if I showed up to a Thanksgiving dinner and was given a lava cake for dessert I would think to myself, "This person is a total rock-star. I want to be their best friend for liiife."

Don't you want people to think that about you? Yeah, me too.

NY Cheesecake with Strawberries

So....I don't like cheesecake. (I knooow, I'm crazy.)

But even I can tell that is is one DANGED good cheesecake.

New York, New York...one of the things I miss most about you is your food. Mostly the pizza. Ah...the pizza. But I also know that their cheesecake is pretty danged awesome (Michael certainly loved it.), so when Michael's birthday snuck up on me this year, I knew the perfect treat would be a NY style cheesecake---with strawberries...because he loves 'em.

Apparently 1 whole cheesecake is a bit too much for my boy to polish off on his own, though, so we shared some pieces with my mom and his family as well. And from all these sources, the reviews came in: this is a DANGED good cheesecake. All you have to do is look at it to see the amazing texture (and, boy, does it smell great), and I've been told it tastes silky and tangy, yet sweet.

And making it is surprisingly easy (time consuming, but easy)--I didn't even need to do a water bath and it didn't crack (mind you, I've made this once. Perhaps it will crack for you--I do not know for sure.) This was my first full-sized cheesecake and it went so smoothly. And you get a total sense of accomplishment saying to yourself, "I just made an amazing cheesecake. GO ME!"

And soon you'll make this and I can say, "GO YOU!"

S'mores Lava Cakes

Honestly...these photos were so rushed. When I made and photographed this recipe I was in the midst of calling people and dealing with my car that was at the shop. The repair place gave me a crazy high estimate so I had to call Michael's cousin and then rush and drive my car to Youngstown (which is an hour away) for him to fix it (which didn't work and I ended up having to take it somewhere else and fix something else but...I digress...)and just....these poor s'mores lava cakes did not get the amount of effort that they deserve. Sorry lava cake. I love you.

Forgive me dear friends.

Even taking into account the rushed-ness of this shoot...I mean...just....look at how gorgeous these lava cakes are! They're photogenic, that's for sure! They're just wonderfully chocolatey and full of molten chocolate...and toasted marshmallows....and a buttery graham cracker mixture....mmmm. So rich and heavenly. Ah s'mores desserts. I adore 'em.

I did have to tweak this recipe a bit as it originally said it made three 2-3 oz. ramekins when in actuality I filled up four of my 6 oz. ramekins. Sooo, the recipe below will reflect my personal findings therein. 

Really...end of day...a day with s'mores lava cake is 10,000 x better than a day without.

Milk Bar Inspired Cereal Milk Cupcakes-Guest Post with The Brunette Baker

Jenny. Oh Jenny Jenny Jenny. Jenny is The Brunette Baker. Guys....her blog name alone....I already have a bunch in common with her-we're brunettes and we bake! Instant friendship! Ha jk but no really-I think I discovered her via instagram and she was so sweet and so funny and just crazy nice and supportive to me on there that it was like...impossible not to wanna be her best friend. This girl is seriously gorgeous and smart and BAKES SO MANY DELICIOUS THINGS IT'S LIKE OMGEEE GET IN MY BELLY! Like...I can't...I can't even make you wait any longer for this recipe. You guys are gonna love it:

Hey kids! I'm Jenny over at The Brunette Baker and I'm super chuffed for the opportunity to have a small walk on role here at The Cooking Actress.

It should come as no surprise to her readers, or anyone that is blessed to know her, that Kayle is truly something special. I’ve had the utmost pleasure of meeting her through the love of blogging. Although I haven't met her in person (YET), she's the sort of person you don't need to meet in the flesh to know what an amazing girl she is. She's a talented and smart girl with incredible beauty - inside and out. In fact, her heart is bigger than all the Hollywood egos put together. Needless to say, this girl is going places.

I will not be surprised to see her on the red carpet in the near future, wearing a gorgeous vintage Valentino gown donning a jewel-encrusted Balenciaga clutch as the dashing Michael, wearing Armani, escorts her while 10,000 camera flashes go wild. I’ll, of course, be in my living room, wearing my cupcake flannel pajamas and holding a bucket of fried chicken, jumping up and down, screaming, ‘OH MY GARSH! I KNOW HER! I knew her when she made those Browned Butter Brownies and Michael chugged a can of Spaghettio’s!” Then I’ll probably choke on a chicken bo-. Sorry. Tangent.

Anyway. Miss Kayle moved from The Big Apple back to Ohio. I know how tough it is moving in the same town, let alone a couple States away. I was only happy to oblige when she reached out to her blogger friends to help her while she readjusts to her surroundings.

New York City has always appealed to me. When I was 18 before heading off to university, a group of girls and I would hop the 6am bus to Port Authority almost every Saturday and explore all the amazing things the city had to offer. I was only a budding foodie back then, so I didn't have the appreciation I did once I hit my 20s and all ten of my 29th birthdays.

It's been a few years since I've been back to the city, but my memory does not fail me. Eileen's on Cleveland has some proper cheesecake, Serendipity's frozen hot chocolate is moan-worthy, Veniero's on East 11th has the bestest cannoli, and of course, there's William Greenberg's for Black & White Cookies.

Of course, there have been several desserteries (totally a word, yes?) that have popped up since my last visit and have been calling me to visit. Bouchon Bakery (I would secretly like one of everything in that bakery to follow me home), Wafels And Dinges (OMG. Hello?!) And Momofuku's Milk Bar.

I have had the pleasure of hitting Milk Bar’s Toronto location quite a few times (and I'm proud to say I'm officially the first Canadian customer to try their cereal milk soft serve – sorry, I’m milking that bragging right. Pun totally intended) and I can honestly say it's one of the most unique desserteries (Oop. There's that word again) out there. I can’t say there is one thing I tried that I didn’t like. In fact, I wanted to #EATALLTHECOOKIES.

So, to celebrate the NYC-TORONTO-OHIO-BLOGGER-FRIENDS connection (I’m sorry. I have no idea why I was screaming just then), I made some Milk Bar Inspired Cereal Milk Cupcakes. Instead of using the traditional cornflakes Milk Bar uses, I used one of my favourite cereals, Capt'n Crunch. Because, why not?

Keep reaching for the stars, Kayle, and feeding my eyes with your gorgeous creations.

I big, red, puffy heart you.

Xo

Gooey Texas Sheetcake-Guest Post with The Domestic Rebel

What can I say about today's guest post-er, Hayley, The Domestic Rebel? She's already guest post-ed over here once before. Anyone with a brain would fall head over heels for her evil genius treats and her sassy, hilarious, writing style (and, speaking from experience, legitimate voice). Our friendship was cemented when she spent a few days with me in NYC-staying at my apartment, eating some of the tastiest foods NY has to offer, and pretty much just being my bestie (She's visiting this September and I won't be there and it is BREAKING. MY. HEART!). Hayley always makes me smile-she is so smart and insanely fun and talented and just HAYLEY. Just look at her colorful hair and glasses and clothes and tattoos (she has so many foods tattoo'd on her I get a little bit hungry when I see her legs...BECAUSE SHE HAS ICE CREAM AND CUPCAKES AND MACARONS AND PIE ON THEM!) Anyway, I could go on forever. I adore her. You should too!

Hey there, Cooking Actress peeps! My name's Hayley and I blog over at The Domestic Rebel. I'm so excited that Kayle asked me to blog for her today! After meeting her last year, I fell in love with her beautiful face, sweet personality, serious cooking chops, aaaaaand her Texas-sized love for all things chocolate. You see, last year I visited Kayle in New York City and stayed with her for a few days while I nursed a fresh breakup. I figured being in a foreign city thousands of miles away from my homeland (aka, California) with a good girlfriend was exactly what the doctor ordered for my broken heart. And you know what the best cure for heartbreak is? Food. It's not exercise (too lame), but rather the exercise it takes to get to the nearest bakery. Or exercise walking to the subway to head to Wafels & Dinges, this AMAZING Belgian waffle stand I practically dragged Kayle to every day I was there. It's falling in love -- with butter, sugar, and delicious, scrumdiddiliumptious FOOD and forgetting about that loser who broke your heart or whatever. Anywho, Kayle showed me some of NYC's hottest bakeries and her local favorites and I quickly realized this girl -- while pint-sized -- had a HUGE appetite for all things chocolate. At Levain Bakery, she insisted we get piping hot chocolate chip cookies, oooooozing with thick chunks of chocolate. At Max Brenner's, she forced me to try their signature hot cocoa which was easily thebestthingeveromg. And at all of our Wafels & Dinges stops, she slathered her liege with Nutella and powdered sugar. Coincidence? I think not. This chickadee loves her cocoa.
So to commemorate all of those amazing, scrumptious memories I had with Kayle in NYC, I made an ooey, gooey Texas Sheetcake that's sure to get her milk-chocolate-coated heart melting. It's king-sized in both size AND flavor, making it an awesome option for potlucks or family gatherings (she is having a wedding coming up after all -- do I spy the wedding cake?!). And it's easy to make, too -- no muss, no fuss. Just giant slabs of gooey, rich chocolate cake with the most amazing ganache-like frosting. Topped with sprinkles, it's a chocoholics dream come true. This one's for you, Kayle!

Matcha Genoise Cake-Guest Post with Blahnik Baker

YAY! ZAINAB IS HERE! Guys, Zainab is the beautiful, talented, sweetie pie behind the blog Blahnik Baker. And I ADORE her. We became very fast friends-like....one day she started commenting on here, so I started commenting there, then next thing I know-BAM-she sends me the COOKIE DOUGH LOVER'S COOKBOOK! guyyyyysssss.....friends.for.liiiiife right there. And she has just continued to be an extremely supportive and wonderful friend. And I hope to meet her someday soon (I was thisclose to meeting her a couple weeks ago but I had to go to Michael's cousin's bridal shower! *sob*) And her blog? Amazingness. She takes beautiful pictures and makes crazy delicious foods. And like....really fantastic things that I'd be afraid to try (because I worry I'd fail miserably.) She's pretty much fab. So yeah. Read on!

Light and fluffy matcha genoise cake is filled with a whipped white chocolate filling and topped with a matcha white chocolate ganache.

Hello there The Cooking Actress readers!! I'm Zainab from Blahnik Baker and I am so so excited to be here today. I'm a HUGE fan of Kayle and read her blog religiously as all of you do I'm sure. The lady just creates one bombshell recipe after another and I can't stay away. I'm pretty sure her cookies have crack in them because I can never say no to trying one of her recipes. I mean come on? Nutella stuffed brown butter chocolate chip cookies? Heaven!! Brown butter toffee chocolate chip cookies? Well that's just pure bliss. As you can tell she got me hooked on brown butter and I'm eternally grateful for that.
 
Anyway, enough drooling over the recipe index, which I’m pretty sure, you are well acquainted with. When Kayle asked her blogging friends to help her while she gets settled at home in Ohio, I was instantly excited she invited me to hang out on her fabulous blog but I also panicked as I started thinking what should I share? I was intimidated at first but then I did what I love doing the most and baked a cake! Who doesn't love a slice of cake, right?

This matcha cake is not an ordinary cake though. It's a genoise cake, which is the softest and fluffiest form of cake you can possibly have. And surprisingly, it's also very easy to make. I infused the cake with one of my favorite things- tea. Green tea to be particular. If you have not had matcha before, it's a great green tea and the flavor is wonderful for baking. It's deep bold flavor is enriched in this cake and is a perfect combo for white chocolate.

 I hope you guys enjoyed this recipe. Thank you very much for having me today! I had a great time taking over for Kayle for a day :)

S'mores Cupcakes

I'm a pretty good big sister.

Baby (and by baby I mean 22 years old) brother has a birthday and what do I do? I ask him repeatedly what he wants me to make him, waiting through his "I don't knows" until he finally helps me decide on: s'mores cupcakes.

Which he ate 5 of within a 2 hour period.

Now, I'm not gonna lie to you: I've been dreaming up my idea of the perfect s'mores cupcake and this is not it. I had neither the ingredients nor equipment (read: KA stand mixer) to pull that off at this point, so I sort of mushed together a few recipes and ideas to come up with these. And, even though they're not perfect, they're pretty danged awesome.

Oh and you wanna know something funny? This is only the 2nd cupcake recipe I've made. Ever. And the last time I made cupcakes (these AMAZING dark chocolate peanut butter cupcakes-which I actually like even better than these) was 2 years ago. I KNOW. What kind of sweet-toothed food blogger am I?? It's because of my relationship with cookies. I just....given the choice...am pretty much gonna pick cookies every time. Sorry cupcakes, you're great every once in awhile, but I just can't quit cookies!

Oh and...the actual cake part of these cupcakes? Vegan. Totally didn't intend that but there ya go. Now...the cupcakes themselves as a whole aren't vegan because of the little graham cracker crust and the marshmallows but I'm sure you can easily make some tweaks or substitutions to vegan-ify the whole thing. Just a fun fact.

Now let's take stock:

• Broke me out of my 2 year long cupcake dry spell? check
• Buttery graham cracker crust on bottom of the cupcake? check
• Dark, moist (and vegan) chocolate cake? check
• Toasty marshmallow goodness up top (which is super quick and easy and means you don't have to dirty dishes by making frosting)?? checkity check check!

They're messy and fun and tasty and make you so happy that it's summer. Just like a regular s'more. :D

Sour Cream Chocolate Coffee Crisp Bundt Cake-Guest Post with Gotta Get Baked

Yay! Yayyy! *claps* Today we have one of my sweetest, dearest bloggy friends: Nancy from gotta get baked! Nancy is hilarious, candid, kind, and GIRL CAN BAKE! The food on her site...it never fails to amaze and enhunger me (yes. I made that word up. Wanna fight about it?) So I am THRILLED that she was lovely enough to get her cute little Canadian butt on this piece of the internet and share this chocolicious recipe with all of us!

Hi everyone, I’m Nancy of gotta get baked. I don’t know how I met Kayle but I’m so glad I did. We’ve been following each other’s blogs and chatting online for about a year and a half now and I’m so honoured to call this amazing lady a friend. Now, if you’re a regular reader of The Cooking Actress, I don’t really have to sing her praises cause you already know how awesome she is but I’m going to anyways. Kayle is incredible sweet, lovely, funny, warm, thoughtful and talented. I look forward to her Something Saturdays posts every week because of the warm, genuine way that Kayle writes: it feels like I’m just catching up with a good girlfriend over coffee. I laughed while watching Kayle on Rock Star Café, which is an awesome series (I highly recommend you watch it if you haven’t already). And this lady is the queen of cookies. And browned butter. I started using browned butter after reading Kayle’s how-to guide on making it and I haven’t looked back. My life was changed for the better, people!

All of you know by now that Kayle left New York, which has been her home for the past 5 ½ years, and she’s settling into her new life in Ohio. When she reached out to her blogging friends for help during this busy, stressful period, I was more than happy to volunteer.

I’ve been extremely lucky in that I’ve never had to move cities. I was born and raised in Vancouver, B.C. and I’ll likely live here my whole life (unless my dreams of moving to Paris or Hawaii come true!). My zodiac sign is Cancer, which means that I’m a homebody. I have deep attachments to my friends, family and city. And I’m super lazy, so all that packing, moving and unpacking is out of the question. I’ve only done it twice – once when I moved out of my parent’s home at the age of 28 (I know, old right?!) into my apartment with the then-Boyfriend, and second, just this past December, when I moved into the house I’m currently living in with the now-Husband (yes, both the same guy).

I’m definitely not lazy when it comes to baking and I wanted to make something that’s easy and simple but still stunning for Kayle. Enter a chocolate cake stuffed with chocolate and then topped with more chocolate. Because seriously, more is more, amirite?

The cake is super soft and moist from the sour cream (I’m a bit obsessed with sour cream cakes for that very reason) and if you’re a chocoholic, this will be right up your alley. I don’t think I could’ve crammed more chocolatey goodness in there!

I used Coffee Crisp chocolate bars in my recipe and now, in hindsight, I need to apologize to all my American peeps because much to my shock, horror and disbelief, Coffee Crisps aren’t sold in the US! Trust me when I say that they’re absolutely delicious but the recipe won’t suffer for the lack of it (I’m just sad that you won’t get to experience it). Start making some Canadian friends who will hopefully be kind enough to ship a few crates your way! Or substitute another chocolate bar that you love. Either way, it’s all good.

Flourless Chocolate Peanut Butter Cake

Remember how last week we talked about the new Dark Chocolate Dreams cookbook? Remember that yummy pie? Well, that was Michael's choice from the cookbook to make. THIS was mine.

Um....flourless chocolate cakes are freaking delicious. They're rich. They're dense. When warm they're a little molten, when chilled they are silky decadence. And this cake is all of that...plus PEANUT BUTTAHH.

This is totally not wedding diet approved.

I mean...there are 8 eggs in this recipe. And 2 sticks of butter. And a bunch of chocolate and peanut butter. But like....life isn't worth living without indulgences, right? RIGHT. Plus...this cake is seriously SO rich, and that even I (queen of "THERE'S NO SUCH THING AS TOO RICH") only need a small slice to get my fix. So hey, there's that! I'm super sorry that this recipe is too late for Valentine's Day, because it would've been perfect. But...um...you probably have a birthday or anniversary or something coming up, right?

If not...just serve it on a Tuesday. Because you deserve it.

Coffee Cake in a Mug

I'm a morning person. I'll admit it. I'm that girl. In high school, I used to do the morning announcements and drive everyone crazy with my overly awake and perky voice. Sorry guys but...once I'm awake, I'm AWAKE. Even so....I tend to find myself dragging my feet when it comes to actually doing stuff in the morning. Particularly making food. Because I'm tired and hungry and I just wish food would magically appear in front of me, no effort required.

Now, while I don't have the magical ability to summon up an instantaneous, effort free, breakfast....this recipe comes pretty close.

You pretty much just combine some ingredients in your favorite mug (yes...I made mine in a Disney princess mug and yes...I made Michael one in a Batman mug. I enjoy this about us. I think it's charming. sooo...yeah...) then you microwave for a few minutes and...that's it. You have coffee cake.

CUHRAAAZY.

Now, on the real real...not my favorite. It was fine just...I dunno...I felt like the cake was a bit bland tasting. Not enough cinnamoooon! It was good though, especially considering it took like 5 minutes to make. I just prefer real coffee cake. 

That said-Michael really enjoyed it and didn't see anything wrong with this simple little breakfast. And just imagine how much fun something like this would be if you have a bunch of girls waking up after a slumber party at your house! Or if you partied hard last night and need a quick easy breakfast. You know...just depends on your current life situation.

Or you could just be like me, a perky little Disney princess, waking up, singing with the birds, and then being like "ughhh but...doin' stuff?" and then remembering, "Oh hey! I can have a little coffee cake in my belly like..practically right now!" and then you run to the kitchen.

...and to be honest..if this is me we're talking about...and I'm running to the kitchen...

...I probably trip.

Guest Post at The Messy Baker-Nutella Molten Lava Cake

I know, everything is topsy turvy this week!! I'm currently extremely busy (oh hey dealing with going to Ohio for 2 weddings that were 2 weeks apart, and tons of work, and starting filming a short film tomorrow....*deep breath*), so please stay with me this week with only two posts (today's and Friday's). I know it'll be hard, but I believe we can work through this. :P

Anyway, today I am guest posting over at one of my bestest friends in bloggingdom: Jennie from The Messy Baker! Her and her hubby are having a vacation, so I, of course, leaped at the chance to help out. You guys should know by now how much I adore her. She's funny, and sweet, and fun, and seriously bakes up some AMAZING stuff, you guys! You should def. browse around her blog for awhile, there is so much yumminess to find!

For the guest post I am sharing a recipe for Nutella Molten Lava Cake. Oh yeah, I went there. And even better-I used homemade nutella. Seriously, such a delicious hazelnut/chocolate flavor and so warm and ooey and gooey and perfect (and you should also know how I feel about lava cakes)!!!

Head on over to The Messy Baker for the recipe!

(and I'll see you all again on Friday! smooches!)