Molten Chocolate Cakes

This recipe title should really be called Easy and Scrumptious Molten Chocolate Cakes because that's what they are. This is a super fast dessert - in fact it can be totally ready and served 30 minutes after you assemble your ingredients! That's freaky fast! And it's freaky delicious, and impressive - a great dessert for when you have company. The best part? You probably have all the ingredients in your cupboards at this very minute. The next best part? Besides the ramekins you'll bake the cakes in, this gets one pan dirty - one pan! I will be forever indebted to my friend Katie who shared the recipe with me!

Start by melting the chocolate and butter in a medium saucepan over low heat, stirring constantly.



I always like to have the butter mostly melted before I add the chocolate - that way the chocolate won't burn to the pan. I used chocolate chips - you can use a higher quality chocolate if you want, but I had chips on hand and the result was very good.

Once the chocolate is completely melted, remove from the heat and add the powdered sugar.



Whisk well to get out all the lumps, then add the eggs and the egg yolks.



Whisk that up good, then add the flour.



You've got it - whisk it up good. Then pour into four greased ramekins. I like to place them on a baking sheet first so they're easy to handle going in and out of the oven.



Bake for 14 minutes, then remove from the oven and let them sit for one minute.



Carefully run a knife around the edge of the cakes,



then invert onto the individual serving plates.



Serve with ice cream or whipped cream, and be sure to make these sound a lot more difficult when you're showered with compliments!



Need more chocolate? Head on over to a Themed Baker's Sunday, Would you Like Chocolate with that? Find more goodness at the Ultimate Recipe Swap , Cooking Thursdays, Friday Food, Food on Fridays, Foodie Friday and Make a Food "e" Friend Monday.

Molten Chocolate Cakes

4 oz. semisweet chocolates (can use chocolate chips)
1/2 cup butter
1 cup powdered sugar
2 eggs
2 egg yolks
6 Tbsp. flour

In a medium saucepan, melt chocolate and butter over low heat, stirring constantly. Whisk in powdered sugar, eggs, egg yolks and flour. Whisk well to incorporate all ingredients.

Pour into 4 greased ramekins. Bake at 425 for 14 minutes. Remove from oven and let sit for 1 minute, then carefully run knife around the cake edges and invert the ramekins onto individual plates. Serve with ice cream or whipped cream. Refrigerate leftovers.

Springtime Shells

This delightful dish comes to us from the Pioneer Woman. I've drooled over her site for quite some time, but this is the first recipe I've made. If this is any indication, the rest are worth trying as well!

I love that this dish incorporates lots of spring vegetables and includes a cheesy sauce.

Start by putting a large pot of water on to boil, then adding the pasta when the water is boiling. Cook the pasta to very al dente - you want it still to have a bit of bite because it will cook more in the oven later.

Meanwhile, prepare all the vegetables - cut the zucchini into quarters lengthwise and then into chunks crosswise.



Snap off the tough part of the asparagus and cut into 1 1/2 inch pieces.



Cut the broccoli florets into bite sized chunks and slice the green onions, then melt the butter along with the olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat.



When it's all melted, add the minced garlic and the green onion.



Add the asparagus and cook and stir for 4-5 minutes.



Season to taste with salt, then add the broccoli and cook for another minute.



Add the zucchini and cook for one to two more minutes,



then add the frozen peas and mix well just so they begin to thaw a bit. Set the vegetables aside.

In a small bowl, combine the ricotta and eggs and mix well. Salt and pepper to taste. When the pasta is done, drain it, rinse it and drain it again. Layer half the pasta in a 9x13 or 2-3 quart baking dish, and top with half the ricotta mixture.



Spread out the ricotta cheese, then top with 1/3 of the parmesan



and half of the vegetables.



Top with the rest of the pasta, the remaining ricotta, another 1/3 of the parmesan, and the rest of the vegetables. Finally, top with the remaining 1/3 of the parmesan,



and drizzle some olive oil over the top.



Bake for about 25 minutes or until hot throughout.



Get more ideas at Mouthwatering Mondays, the Krazy Kitchen, Tempt my Tummy Tuesday, Tasty Tuesday , Tuesdays at the Table and Fabulous Food Friday.

Springtime Shells

16 oz. medium shell pasta
1 lb. asparagus, cut into 1 1/2 Inch Pieces
1/2 lb. broccoli, cut into small florets
1/2 pounds zucchini (about 1 medium), diced
1/2 cup frozen pea
3 green onions sliced
3 cloves garlic, minced
4 Tbsp. butter
2 Tbsp. olive oil
20 oz. ricotta cheese
1/2 tsp. salt
2 eggs
1 1/2 cups parmesan cheese

Cook pasta until it still has quite a bit of bite. Drain and rinse, then drain again.

Meanwhile, melt butter and olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat, then add the garlic. Add the asparagus to the pan and cook for five minutes. Salt to taste, then add the broccoli and cook for one minute, then the zucchini. Cook for one or two more minutes; add the frozen peas, then turn off the heat. Stir well then set aside.

In a small bowl, mix the ricotta, eggs, salt, and pepper to taste until well combined.

Grease a 9×13-inch baking dish. Add half the pasta, then spread half of the ricotta mixture over the surface. Sprinkle 1/3 of the parmesan over the ricotta, then half of the vegetables. Repeat with the rest of the pasta, the rest of the ricotta, and another 1/3 of the parmesan. End with the rest of the vegetables and the rest of the parmesan.

Drizzle with a couple of teaspoons olive oil, then bake for 25 minutes at 350 degrees or until hot. Serves 8.

Apple Bread

Here's another great quick bread - I will never tire of making these - that is easy to whip up and doesn't even require a mixer! The most time consuming part is peeling and chopping the apples. After that, it's a breeze! It has a nice streusel topping and not much fat but plenty of moistness from applesauce and juice.

Start by combining the flour, sugar, baking powder, soda, salt and cinnamon in a large mixing bowl.



In a smaller bowl, combine the eggs, oil



applesauce, vanilla and apple juice and whisk well. Add the wet ingredients to the dry,



and stir just until the dry ingredients are completely moistened. Fold in the apples.



Pour the batter into two greased loaf pans.

For the streusel, combine the flour, sugar and nuts in a small bowl and add the butter.



Cut in the butter til crumbly with your fingers or a pastry blender



and then sprinkle the streusel over the batter in the pans.



Bake for 40-55 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. (The time will vary depending on if you use a 9" loaf pan - less time - or a 8" loaf pan - more time.)

Cool the bread in the pans on wire racks for 10 minutes.



Then remove carefully from the pans - this will be a bit tricky as some of the streusel may fall off. But that's ok, just place it back on the bread.



This makes two loaves, so you can freeze one or give one to a friend!

Apple Bread

3 cups flour
1 1/2 cups sugar
1 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. cinnamon
2 eggs
1/2 cup applesauce
3 Tbsp. apple juice
1/3 cup canola oil
1 tsp. vanilla
3 cups chopped, peeled tart apples

Streusel:
1/2 cup flour
1/2 cup sugar
2 Tbsp. chopped nuts
1/3 cup cold butter, chopped

In a large bowl, combine the flour, sugar, baking powder, salt, baking soda and cinnamon. In a small bowl, whisk together the eggs, applesauce, juice, oil and vanilla.

Stir the applesauce mixture into the flour mixture just until all dry ingredients are moistened. Fold in the apples. Pour into two loaf pans coated with nonstick cooking spray.

For the streusel, combine the flour, sugar and nuts in a small bowl. Cut in the butter with a pastry blender or your fingers until crumbly. Sprinkle over batter.

Bake at 350 for 40-55 minutes (40 for 9" pans, longer for 8" pans) or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Cool for 10 minutes in pans before removing to a wire rack to cool completely.

Makes 2 loaves; 12 slices each.

Black Bottom Banana Cream Pie

I love easy, quick desserts, especially with the help of boxed convenience products. But sometimes, I just am in the mood to make something that takes a little more time, that involves the serene "stirring constantly" and is well worth the effort - this pie is like that. It's not difficult, but it's homemade (except for the crust in my case!) and it needs time to set/chill, so there is some delayed gratification built in!

Start by preparing the crust - you can either make a single crust from scratch (this is on my list to learn to do!) or you can use Pillsbury like I do! Bake the crust (should be directions on the box) for 10-12 minutes until it starts to turn golden. Meanwhile, prepare the chocolate layer - the "black bottom"!

Combine the cornstarch, sugar, salt and cocoa in a small saucepan.



Gradually add the milk,



and cook two minutes over medium-low heat, stirring constantly with a whisk. Stir in the chopped chocolate,



and bring to a boil; then reduce heat to low and cook one minute. Stir constantly!



Spread the chocolate onto the bottom of the pie crust.



(I didn't use pie weights when I "blind baked" the crust. "Blind baking" is baking the pie crust with nothing in it, to prepare it for a chilled pie, like this one. If you have pie weights or dried beans, you should use them, then you won't get a lopsided crust like I did!)

Next, make the custard. Combine cornstarch, sugar,



salt, eggs



and whisk together in a medium saucepan. Add the milk



and the butter



and heat over medium until it comes to a boil, stirring constantly. Reduce heat to low and cook 30 seconds or until thick. It only took about 5 seconds after it boiled for mine to become thick.



Remove from the heat and add the vanilla.

Next, beat the cream cheese in a small mixing bowl until light, about 1 minute. Add 1/4 cup of the custard to the cream cheese



and beat just until well blended. Stir in the rest of the custard to the cream cheese mixture, and stir well to combine.

Arrange the banana slices on top of the chocolate layer. It's ok to double up some!



Spoon the custard over the banana slices



then cover with plastic wrap, pressing the wrap onto the surface of the custard.



Refrigerate for at least 4 hours. Remove the plastic wrap and top with the whipped topping.



Garnish with chocolate curls, or shaved chocolate, if you like. If you want to get really fancy, you could dip banana slices into melted chocolate for a garnish! (I'll have to try that next time!)


Look at those lovely layers!



Refrigerate the pie when you're not eating it...

Find more great recipes at Mouthwatering Mondays, Tasty Tuesday, Tuesdays at the Table and Tempt my Tummy Tuesday.


Black Bottom Banana Cream Pie

1 9-inch pastry crust
3 Tbsp. cornstarch, divided
2 Tbsp. sugar
2 Tbsp. cocoa
dash salt
1 1/3 cups milk, divided
1 oz. semisweet chocolate, chopped
1/2 cup sugar
1/4 tsp. salt
2 eggs
1 Tbsp. butter
2 tsp. vanilla
1/4 cup (2 oz.) low fat or fat free cream cheese, softened
2 cups sliced ripe banana (about 2 large)
1 1/2 cups whipped topping (can use light or fat free)

Prepare and bake the pastry crust.

For the chocolate layer, combine 1 Tbsp. cornstarch, 2 Tbsp. sugar, cocoa and dash of salt in a small saucepan; gradually add 1/3 cup milk, stirring with a whisk. Cook 2 minutes over medium-low heat. Stir in chocolate; bring to a boil over medium heat. Turn heat to low, cook 1 minute, stirring constantly. Spread chocolate mixture into the bottom of the prepared crust.

For custard, combine 2 Tbsp. cornstarch, 1 cup milk, 1/2 cup sugar, 1/4 tsp. salt, eggs and butter in a heavy saucepan over medium heat, stirring constantly with a whisk. Bring to a boil; reduce heat to low and cook 30 seconds or until thick. Remove from heat and add vanilla.

Beat cream cheese in a small mixing bowl until light. Add 1/4 cup of the hot custard to the cream cheese and beat just until blended. Stir in remaining custard.

Arrange banana slices on top of chocolate layer. Spoon custard over bananas. Press plastic wrap onto the surface of the custard and chill for at least 4 hours. Remove plastic wrap and spread whipped topping evenly over the custard. Garnish with chocolate curls or grated chocolate. Serves 8.