Double Chocolate Chip Cookies

As I ponder the grammar of the recipe's title, I had other notions about this recipe; which, if you look around on the Net seems to be someone's copycat rendition of a Subway's chocolate chip cookie of the same name. These are much smaller than what you can get at a Subway's and probably not much cheaper by ingredients either. These are soft and sweet and would pair well with ice cream or a glass of cold milk.

TheFoodening Blog: Double Chocolate Chip Cookies

Makes: 3 dozen

Ingredients

2 c all purpose flour
2/3 c unsweetened cocoa powder
1/3 c unbleached granulated sugar
1 c brown sugar, packed
1 c unsalted butter, softened
2 eggs, room temperature
2 tsp vanilla extract
6 oz (by weight) white chocolate chips
6 oz (by weight) semi-sweet chocolate chips
1 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp sea salt

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 F

1. In a small bowl, beat together butter and vanilla extract. Mix in eggs, one at a time.

2. In a separate, larger bowl: sift together flour, granulated sugar, brown sugar, cocoa powder, baking soda and salt.

3. Stir in butter mixture into dry mixture. 

4. Fold in white and semi-sweet chocolate chips.

5. Drop by rounded tablespoons onto a Silpat-lined or parchment-covered baking tray.

6. Bake for 10 minutes. Cool on rack. Unleash your inner cookie monster.

Chocolate-covered Toffee

This recipe came together much easier than I thought it would. It's best if this is shared with a group of people rather than noshing on it yourself. It is a sugar, fat, and calorie-dense food item that I plated as one of the appetizers for this year's Stragglers Thanksgiving. The calorie penalty shouldn't be too bad split among 20+ guests. 

There are two stages to this. First, make the toffee. The second stage involves melting dark, semisweet or milk chocolate chips on the toffee while it is still hot. Better start with your chocolate chips at room temperature. 

Chocolate Covered Toffee

Ingredients

1 c unsalted butter, cut into chunks (melts faster)
1 c organic granulated sugar
1/4 c filtered water
1/2 tsp sea salt
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 c semi-sweet chocolate chips

Directions

1. Butter a 13" x 9" glass baking dish and set aside. This is so that the toffee comes out smoothly.

2. In a heavy-bottomed pot, attach a candy thermometer to the side of the pot and bring the butter, sugar, water, and salt to a rolling boil. This should take just under 10 minutes to bring the mixture to a boil. Stir occasionally. When the thermometer reads 300 degrees F, remove it from the heat and stir in the vanilla extract.

Total cooking time is roughly 18-20 minutes.

3. Pour the hot toffee into the prepared pan. Tilt the sides of the pan to evenly distribute the toffee. Sprinkle the chocolate chips over the top and let this sit for about 5 minutes so that the chips melt from the residual heat. Using an off-set spatula, spread the chocolate over the toffee.

When the toffee cools, it'll set. You can hasten its cooling but setting the entire pan in the fridge to cool. To remove, invert the pan onto a cutting board or parchment paper-lined cutting board. Use a sharp knife to cut into bite-sized pieces.

Gluten-Free Chocolate Chip Cranberry Cookies

After having made a failed batch of protein powder to presumably make chocolate covered protein bars, I have perhaps stumbled across one of the most delicious tasting cookies I have made so far. Though, the amount of sugar in the recipe is a bit much. I could certainly cut it down.

This is what went into the protein powder:

wet ingredients

1/4 c homemade sugar cane syrup, heated to 220 F and cooled
2 tbsp organic peanut butter
1/2 c homemade pear sauce
1 tsp vanilla extract

dry ingredients

3/4 dark chocolate chips
2/3 c dried cranberries
2 c old fashioned organic oatmeal, pulsed briefly in a food prep
4 tbsp organic chia seed, pulsed briefly in a food prep
2 tbsp organic flax seeds, pulsed briefly in a food prep
2/3 c organic coconut flour


And, to help bring it together as a "dough", I added:

1 egg
1 stick unsalted butter, melted
1/4 c organic granulated sugar (omit next time)
1/2 c brown sugar

Directions

Mix together until all the ingredients stick together. Spooned onto a baking sheet lined with a silicon mat. Gently press down onto each cookie. These don't spread out, so a dozen can be baked on a single sheet at a time.

Bake at 375 degrees F for 10 minutes.

Makes 2 dozen tablespoon-sized cookies.

Crockpot Dark Chocolate Brownies

This recipe is a little bit more hands-on and labor intensive than baking up a batch of the same in an oven. With just over two and a half hours of "baking" to go, the kitchen smells really good right now.. like freshly baked brownies. The brownies cook most of the time with the heat of the ceramic base of the slow cooker and also by steam. The final half hour is done with the lid off the cooker. Hopefully it'll be ready in time for tonight's "slow cooked foods potluck".

Ingredients

1 1/4 c all-purpose flour

1/4 c organic sweet ground cocoa

1/2 c organic granulated sugar

3/4 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp kosher salt

1/2 c (1 stick) unsalted butter, cut into tablespoon chunks

9 oz dark chocolate, chopped into 1/2" chunks

3 eggs, lightly beaten

Directions

1. In a heatproof bowl, microwave butter and dark chocolate together in 30-second intervals, stirring each time until the chocolate is melted. About 1.5 minutes.

2. In a small bowl, lightly beat eggs together with sugar.

3. In a larger mixing bowl, whisk together dry ingredients. Add melted butter/chocolate mixture. Stir to combine. Add egg mixture and stir to combine.

4. Lightly butter the center of some parchment paper and place in the bottom of the slow cooker. Add the brownie mixture and use a spatula to smooth the top.

5. Cover and set cooker on "low" for 4 hours. Cook with lid on for 3.5 hours, and then with the lid off for another half hour.

6.  Remove brownies from crockpot and let cool on a wire rack for at least an hour before cutting into.

Chocolate Zucchini Bread

I can't say that zucchini is one of my favored vegetables, but it certainly tastes a whole lot better when it gets deep fried or baked up into a dessert bread.

Looks like I didn't write this one up, even though there is still half of loaf of this bread in the fridge. If only I had a crew of foodie subjects to feed these kitchen creations to. /sigh/ Local, good help is hard to find. Anyhow, here is the recipe.

Ingredients

1 1/2 c raw zucchini, grated

1 c all purpose flour

1/2 c olive oil

1/2 c organic granulated sugar

1/2 c light brown sugar

1/2 c Ghirardelli sweet ground chocolate and cocoa

2 large eggs

1 tsp vanilla extract

3/4 tsp baking soda

1/4 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp kosher salt

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

1. Prepare a loaf pan by buttering it all, especially the corners and ridges, if using a Silpat loaf pan.

2. In a large bowl, mix together dry and wet ingredients.

3. Fill loaf pan with batter and bake for an hour, or use the toothpick method at 50 minutes to check if it is done.

Haute spicy chocolate chip cookies

For the most part, this takes the simple dough ratio for chocolate chip cookies and adds more spices to it. By itself, cinnamon and chocolate chips don't taste that great together. But with a hint of cayenne pepper, the subtle element of heat is added to an otherwise benign sweet snack.

Ingredients

2 c. unbleached all-purpose flour
2 c. semi-sweet chocolate chips
1 c. unsalted butter, cold and cut into pieces
1 c. brown sugar, packed
1/2 c. organic granulated sugar
2 large eggs
1-2 tsp vanilla extract
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp ground cayenne pepper
1/4 tsp sea salt

Directions

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.

1. In a food prep, blend together flour, brown sugar, granulated sugar, baking soda, salt and spices. Add eggs and pulse until combined. Add butter and pulse until dough comes together.

2. Empty food prep into a large mixing bowl and fold in chocolate chips.

3. Drop by rounded teaspoons onto a parchment-lined baking sheet.

4. Bake for 10 minutes. Cool on wire racks.

Flourless Chocolate Brownies

These brownies were surprisingly moist and very tasty, despite lacking wheat flour. This recipe is adapted from the Whole Foods recipe archive. I have never known chocolate chips to contain grain-based gluten (seeing how it is a dairy product) which makes me a bit puzzled about how Whole Foods lists its ingredients. It's a lot like seeing "gluten free" prominently displayed on a can of tomatoes, for example. Ridiculous. This type of buzz word packaging does little to promote the health benefits of the actual food item. Anyhow, on to the recipe.

These are also called black bean brownies. I suspect that a variant could also be made using red lentils. There are two methods. One is to use canned black beans; and the other method is to prepare dry black beans for this recipe. Neither method uses additional salt, but if you use the latter method, you could add a pinch of salt to balance out the sweetness. Before you consider looking at ratio tables for dry beans to cooked beans, keep in mind that beans have different sizes and weighs, and thus different cooking times.

For black beans, use 2/3 cup dry black beans to make an equivalent of one 15 oz can of cooked beans. While I have both dry and canned black beans, I am using the can method for this recipe. My particular can o' beans came with salt so I didn't add any salt to the recipe.

Ingredients

One (15 oz) can organic black beans, drained and rinsed
3 large eggs
1/4 c. unsalted butter, melted
1/4 c. Ghirardelli sweet ground chocolate (cocoa powder)
2 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 c. organic granulated sugar
1/3 c. semi-sweet chocolate chips

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

1. Butter an 8" x 8" baking dish and set aside.

2. Pureé together in a food processor: black beans, eggs, cocoa powder, vanilla extract, sugar, and butter.

3. As the mixture is poured into the prepared baking dish, sprinkle in the chocolate chips.

4. Bake for 30 minutes or until the center has set. Let cool before cutting into squares. 

Kitchen tip: If your honey has crystallized in its jar, you can put the honey jar in the oven (when turned off and cooling). When the oven has cooled down, the honey will be liquefied again. Pretty neat, huh?

Related info:
Black beans, nutritional info
Whole Foods - About Black Beans

Chocolate Chip Scones

The sweetness of the semi-sweet chocolate chips just overpowers the overall flavor of this scone, and the addition of the sugar is a bit much. These aren't as rich tasting as when using heavy cream.

Ingredients

2 c. all-purpose unbleached flour
3/4 c. buttermilk (can also use cream, yogurt, or buttermilk substitute)
1/2 c. (1 stick) unsalted cold butter, cut into pieces
1/2 c. dried cranberries
1/2 c. semi-sweet chocolate chips
1/4 c. organic granulated sugar
1 1/4 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp sea salt

Directions

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.

1. In a food processor, combine one cup of the flour, baking soda, baking powder, sugar, salt, and butter. Pulse until it resembles fine crumbs.

2. In a large bowl, add the butter/flour mixture to the remaining cup of flour. Stir in chocolate chips and dried cranberries until combined.

3. Gradually add in buttermilk and fold into batter until just combined. You may not need the entire amount of buttermilk.

4. Drop by rounded scoops onto a parchment-lined baking sheet. These spread out and rise a bit, so space scones out at least 1" apart. Bake for 20 minutes until lightly golden brown.

5. Let cool on a wire rack.

Buttermilk substitute

up to 1 cup of whole milk
1 tbsp fresh lemon juice

Add the lemon juice to the milk and let stand for about 5 minutes. Use as you would buttermilk.

Kitchen Note: Chocolate

Chocolate, as we know it today, is being faced by two equally disturbing debates. The first, like crude oil, is the rise in the price of raw cacao because one man is bidding up commodity futures of chocolate. So far he owns more than $1 billion worth of cocoa futures on the open market with the intent on dominating the market.. as in hoarding all the future supply.


The second regards the proposed change in the FDA's definition of the identity of milk chocolate. Basically the recipe includes ingredients like sugar, cocoa powder, chocolate liquor, milk, cocoa butter, vanilla, etc. US dominates with the gold standard of chocolate with production, consumers, and distribution. It is why chocolatiers like See's Candies (who uses Guittard) can sell chocolate confections at a premium. But, some greedy, penny pinching bean-to-bar chocolate manufacturers who say they can't compete against Europe's deviation from the gold standard who want to reduce or eliminate the cocoa butter manufacturing requirement and replace it with say.. up to 95% of non-cocoa butter oils. The primary instigator in this lawsuit is Hersheys, who would benefit more hand-over-fist profit if the gold standard of chocolate were say muckied up this with vegetable fats. I wouldn't be surprised if Mars has also lobbied with Hersheys. Though, companies like E. Guittard and Scharffen Berger less likely to stray from how they make chocolate. What is unfortunate about chocolate manufacturing is when a company that started from a family-run business like Scharffen Berger ends up getting bought by a large conglomerate. Lately all the acquisitions in this market have been done by Kraft Foods (acquired Cadbury) and Hersheys (acquired Sharffen Berger, makes the chocolate for Cadbury, also makes the chocolate for Rolo). It's so sad because Sharffen Berger is really, really good eating and baking chocolate. Don't get me started on how inferior the Baker's Square chocolate is.

In comparison, European chocolate manufacturers only allow up to 5% non-cocoa butter fats in their chocolate confections.

Artificial shortages are possible, but an actual crop shortage would be diluted because it isn't just grown in Central and South America, but also in Malaysia and South Africa. The cacao bean harvest in Hawaii is insignifiant, but the climate is right. Then it depends on what people want to eat. Single origin or blended chocolates (E. Guittard uses single origin to make blended chocolates). On the whole, cocoa prices aren't a lot less than what they were at the same time last year, and manufactured chocolate doesn't have a very long shelf life.

Read more?

Cocoa commodity charts

Rocky Road Candy

Kudos to wherever I nabbed this recipe from. It is darn simple and a workplace pleaser.

Ingredients:

2 c. dark chocolate
2 c. milk chocolate
1 c. roasted almonds
8 oz. mini marshmallows

Directions:

1. Prepare an 8" x 8" baking pan by lining it with parchment paper.

2. Using a double boiler method, melt dark and milk chocolate together in a large heat-proof bowl.

3. Remove from heat and let cool (about 10 min). Stir in marshmallows and almonds.

4. Pour mixture into prepared pan. If you want a more flat surface on top, cover with parchment paper and smooth out the top so that it is even.

5. Refrigerate for at least 2-3 hours. Cut into 1" cubes and serve.

This version used E.Guittard chocolate wafers: 61% cacao semi-sweet and 72% cacao bittersweet.

Mmmm, tasty...

Talos con Chocolat

Otherwise known as Corn Tortillas with Melted Chocolate. This is one item I haven't seen offered at any Latin-American restaurants or ethnic supermarkets in California, or the continental US for that matter. This recipe is adapted from an article on Basque country foods Saveur Magazine, issue #102. What I was able to make in my kitchen came comparably close to Saveur's photo of the dish.

Here are my ingredient ratio tweaks:

1 cup masa harina
1/2 tsp sugar
3/4 cup water
2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
1.5 oz semisweet chocolate, roughly chopped

The original recipe features salt in the corn flour dough, but I added sugar because this is a dessert. Per masa harina cup, the amount of water that I use is more because I live in an arid part of southern California where even the ice cubes in my freezer tend to evaporate.

Directions:

1. Stir together masa harina, sugar and water; but gradually add the water, stirring with each 1/8 cup. It is possible that all the water might not be used so don't add it all at once. When the dough comes together, you should be able to work it by hand. It will have the texture of playdoh.

2. Roll the dough into a large ball and cut into quarters. For each quarter of dough, roll it into a ball and flatten it with the palm of your hand on a sheet of wax paper (if you use wax paper, you won't need an offset spatula to remove it; just peel off the wax paper and you're set). Press out the dough until it is roughly 5 or 6 inches in diameter. Repeat with another quarter dough piece.

3. Roughly chop semisweet chocolate and set aside.

The next step for the tortillas and chocolate have two possible methods, 4a and 4b. I used 4a, but 4b seems more practical and less messy to deal with.

4a. Heat skillet (for tortillas, I use a round 8-inch cast iron pan), then add the oil and let the oil heat up. Turn stove to "low" because you want to slowcook the tortilla so that it cooks entirely through from one side. Add one tortilla, put the chocolate on top of that, and the second tortilla on top of the chocolate. You can gently lift one edge of the bottom tortilla to check its brownedness, about 3-5 mins. Flip the tortilla sandwich and cook the other side of the tortilla. When that has browned, remove from heat and serve.

4b. Add oil to skillet over medium heat. Lay a tortilla in the skillet and cook, flipping once until lightly browned. About 3-4 minutes per side, depending on the thickness of the tortilla. Transfer tortilla to a plate and put some chopped chocolate along half of the tortilla. Fold in half and let the heat from the tortilla melt the chocolate. Repeat with the remaining tortillas and chocolate. Serve hot.

Photos:

Dark chocolate pistachio bark

So, last night I tried the JoC recipe for making dark chocolate truffles. Except, here's the thing. The book told me to chill the ganache for 3-4 hours then use a melon baller or pastry bag to pipe out the truffles. Uhh. After an hour in my fridge the ganache was rock hard and I couldn't even spoon it out.

Ingredients:

8 oz dark chocolate, chopped
1/2 c. heavy cream
1/4 c. - 1/2 c. lightly toasted pistachios, whole or chopped

JoC ganache directions:

1. In a small saucepan, scald the cream.
2. Put the chopped choclate in a heatproof bowl. Pour the cream onto the chocolate and stir until the chocolate has melted (glossy and shiny) and the cream is entirely encorporated.
3. Let cool to room temperature, then cover with plastic wrap.

I'd say that if you're going to make truffles, don't refrigerate the ganache. But, you won't be able to make truffles while the ganache is still liquidy. Yeah, I suppose I could always read what other people have done when making this confection but what'd be the point of experimenting? The universe would be a really boring place if everything came pre-explained.

Let's say that you managed to not follow the JoC instuctions through the refrigeration stage and you have a bowl of warm ganache.

Chocolate bark directions:

Line a baking sheet with parchment (or silpat, if you prefer) and pour the ganache onto the parchment. If you don't have an off-set spatula, use the back of a spoon to smooth out the surface so that the chocolate is evenly distributed.

Next, add your whole or chopped nuts. I used pistachios because I had them on hand and you really don't see chocolate pistachio bark at the store. Just about any type of nut can be used, raw or lightly toasted.

Now you can refrigerate the chocolate bark so that it sets in a few hours. The confection is done once the parchment paper peels off cleanly from the bark. Chop it into squares, trianges, or other shapes, or break it apart roughly.

In the ganache step 1, if you wanted add a unique flavor to the chocolate, you can add spices to this step. Just strain out the hard bits before you add the cream to the chopped chocolate.

Dark chocolate brownies

Probably the most expensive ingredient for this dessert is the butter or the chocolate that's used; but it's still a fairly inexpensive dessert to make for work--depending on the quality of ingredients. Of the three times I've made chocolate brownies in my lifetime, this is the first batch that didn't come out badly; and by badly, I mean to say nearly inedible.

I made a few edits to the original recipe, but not many. Instead of 1 1/2 cups of sugar, I used 1 cup; and instead of 6 oz of butter, I used 4 oz (1 stick). The order of operations is the same.

Ingredients

6 oz dark chocolate, chopped
1 stick of unsalted butter, sliced into 1 tbsp chunks
3 eggs
1 c. flour
1 c. sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract

This batch makes very short brownies if baked in a 9 x 13 baking dish. Instead of relying on the lightly buttered and floured baking dish method, I used silicone-treated parchment paper. No mess there and when the brownies cool, they remove easily without the bottoms sticking to the pan or the paper.

Directions

1. In a separate bowl, whisk eggs and vanilla extract together. Set aside.
2. Using a double boiler method, whisk together the chocolate and butter until the chocolate is melted and glossy.
3. Turn off the heat, but leave the mixing bowl where it is (assuming you used the double boiler method to melt the chocolate). Whisk in the sugar, a little at a time until it is all incorporated.
4. Whisk in the egg mixture, a little at a time so it doesn't curdle or get scrambled.
5. Sift and whisk in the flour until it's blended in.
6. Pour the chocolate mixture into a prepared 9 x 13 baking pan.
7. Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes or until a toothpick tester comes out clean from the center.
8. Cut into bars when completely cooled.

This is one of the reasons why my co-workers aren't losing weight with their diets. :)

Chocolate stout cupcakes

Sure, I probably could have asked friends for guidance on stout since I don't drink beer or any of its derivatives, but then my head would have been swimming with the intricacies of the types of stout and what they taste like. Fortunately, Trader Joe's made it easy and I went for the only stout that said, "buy me." The chocolate stout. Contrary to Wikipedia's definition of chocolate stout merely being named that way for the rich dark brown color of the brew, the Young's Double Chocolate Stout I used contains dark chocolate and chocolate malt.

The cupcakes taste fine although they do have a slight alcoholic twist. I have a lot of cream cheese sour cream frosting leftover. Maybe I'll use the other half of the bottle to make a chocolate stout cake, but I probably don't have enough stout if the recipe calls for more than a cup.

Ingredients/Directions:

(bowl #1) Whisk together:
1 cup chocolate stout
1 cup milk*
3/4 c. organic sour cream
1/2 c. extra virgin olive oil
3 eggs (add one at a time)

(bowl #2) Sift together:
2 1/2 c. unbleached white flour
2 tsp baking soda
1 1/2 c. organic cane sugar
3/4 c. cocoa powder

(bowl #3) The frosting (blend until smooth):
8 oz cream cheese, room temperature
1 1/4 c. sour cream
1 tbsp vanilla extract
Enough powdered sugar for sweetness

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. If you're going to use those paper cupcake liners, use two instead of one.

Recipe edits: The original recipe called for 2 cups sugar, but I dropped it by 1/2 a cup because the cocoa I used was Ghirardelli's sweet ground cocoa powder. I didn't have milk, so I used 1/2 cup heavy cream plus 1/2 cup soy milk. On the frosting, I didn't measure the powdered sugar. I may have used three handfuls. What can I say.. I was baking after slogging through a 12-hour workday. I just wanted to eat something sweet and chocolatey for dinner.

Chocolate Chunk Cookies

I hate nuts in cookies. Nuts just don't belong in cookies, breads, or cakes. If I really wanted texture, I'd add more chocolate or oatmeal. I found that slaying a block of chocolate with a hammer and 1" blade chisel was very therapeutic during this recipe adventure.

In this batch, three types of chocolate were used: Ghirardelli dark chocolate, organic unsweetened cocoa, and a dark European chocolate.

1/2 c. unsalted butter (2 sticks, softened)
1 c. light brown sugar
1/4 c. organic cane sugar
1 large egg
2 tsp vanilla extract
2 c. unbleached white flour
1/4 c. organic cocoa powder
1/4 tsp salt1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp nutmeg
1 1/2 c. dark chocolate, chopped

Preheat oven oven to 375 degrees.

Bowl #1: Sift flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, salt, and nutmeg together.

Bowl #2: Cream butter, sugars together. Add eggs and vanilla extract. Mix well.Mix dry with wet, until just combined. Stir in chocolate chunks.

Line baking pan with parchment paper and drop by rounded teaspoonfuls about an inch apart.

Bake for 8-10 minutes. Cool cookies on a wire rack.

Chocolate Bundt Cake

I'd taken a few liberties with the basic bundt cake recipe for lack of ingredients in my pantry. I didn't have heavy cream nor buttermilk, so substitutions were used to some degree of success. This produces a dense, yet moist chocolate cake. I used Dutch-processed (contains alkali) cocoa; it doesn't make much of a difference in taste.

2 1/4 c. unbleached white flour
1 1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp nutmeg (optional)
1/2 tsp allspice (optional)
3/4 c. unsweetened cocoa
1 tsp instant coffee (or decaf)
3/4 c. hot water
1 1/2 c. organic cane sugar
1/3 c. extra virgin olive oil
2 large egg whites1 large egg
2 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 cup soft tofu (optional, or use 1/2 c. buttermilk)

1. Preheat oven to 350°. Grease 12-cup Bundt pan.

2. Mixing bowl #1: sift together flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt, nutmeg, and allspice

3. In a 2-cup measuring cup: whisk together cocoa, instant coffee, and hot water until blended; set aside.

4. Mixing bowl #2: Blend on low speed--sugar, oil, egg whites, and whole egg. Increase speed to high; beat until creamy, about 2 minutes. Reduce speed to low; beat in cocoa mixture, chocolate, and vanilla. Add flour mixture alternately with buttermilk, beginning and ending with flour mixture. Beat just until combined, scraping bowl occasionally with rubber spatula.

5. Pour batter into prepared pan. Bake 45-60 minutes, or until toothpick inserted in center of cake comes out clean. Cool in pan on wire rack 10 minutes. Loosen cake from side of pan; invert onto wire rack. Cool completely.

6. Serve with chocolate rum sauce.

Chocolate Pudding

1 c. heavy cream
1 c. whole milk
1 egg, lightly beaten
1/4 c. sugar
2 tbsp. unsweetened cocoa powder
2 tbsp. cornstarch
1/8 tsp. salt
2 tbsp. unsalted butter
3 oz. semi-sweet chocolate, finely chopped

1. In a medium saucepan, whisk cream, milk, and egg.

2. In a medium bowl: whisk sugar, cocoa, cornstarch, and salt. Add to saucepan mixture.

3. Bring to a boil over med-high heat, whisking constantly.

4. Strain the pudding in a glass baking dish. Stir in butter and chocolate until melted.

5. Refrigerate for 30 minutes or until chilled.

Note: The color will be off from what you're used to. It is ok. This is how it is supposed to look like without any of those unnatural artificial colors. Also, if you don't want a "skin" to form on top of the pudding, you may place parchment paper on top of the pudding as it chills.

Chocolate Rum Sauce

2 tbsp butter can accommodate up to 8 oz dark chocolate and 3/4 c. of any liquid; the sugar added is merely for sweetness and most chocolate sauce recipes will call for 2 tbsp, regardless if dark or bittersweet chocolate is used. 1/4 c. half 'n' half1 tbsp organic cane sugar 2 tbsp unsalted butter 4 oz dark chocolate, chopped 1/4 c. dark rum 1. In a heavy saucepan, bring half 'n' half, sugar, and butter to a boil. 2. Add chopped chocolate and whisk until smooth. 3. Remove from heat, and when entirely melted, whisk in rum. 4. Pour over dessert, serve, or whatever.