Hot Chocolate Pudding Cake

For the past week, I've been trying to find words where there are none. I can't help but feel a crushing heartbreak for families, children, and a community I'd never heard of before last Friday. The holidays are a season of reflection and gratitude, and I am so very grateful for the life I am able to live.

I'm thankful I could take this picture. That Santa belly is all him by the way. It's probably from the bits of cookies and whatnot I sneak him. 

This pudding cake started out as a pan of cookie bars. We're making lemonade out of lemons here. Or cake out of cookies. Same thing. You'll need: flour, baking soda, salt, espresso powder, marshmallows, brown sugar, cocoa powder, butter, vanilla extract, sugar, and eggs.

Dry ingredients (flour, soda, salt, espresso) make it into a medium bowl.

Butter and sugars start out in a large bowl. Cream them until light and fluffy.

Add the eggs one at a time and mix until fully incorporated.

Now, you could sift the cocoa powder into the bowl. Or you could sprinkle a little in, mix, sprinkle a little more in...you get the picture.

Serious chocolate action. It's time for the vanilla.

Add half the flour mixture and mix until just incorporated. Then add the rest and mix until barely incorporated.

Stir in the marshmallows. They're what make this hot chocolate-y.

You don't have to line the baking pan with parchment paper. I did that when I thought these would turn out more like bars. Just grease the pan like you would normally and spread the batter evenly.

Mostly the marshmallows will melt into the batter, making it super-gooey. But you'll see little bits that get toasted, kind of like it's been over a campfire. The edges get crispy and brownie-like, while the middle is fudgier. Much more my speed. Y'know ice cream probably wouldn't be a bad idea here.

I watched White Christmas two nights ago. One particular song struck a chord with me. When I'm worried and I can't sleep, I count my blessings instead of sheep. It's a sentiment that means more now than ever.

Hot Chocolate Pudding Cake (makes one 9x9 cake)

2 1/4 c all-purpose flour
1/2 tbs instant espresso powder
1 tsp salt
1 tsp baking soda
1 c unsalted butter, softened
1 c granulated sugar
1 c brown sugar
2 eggs
1 tbs vanilla extract
1/2 c unsweetened cocoa powder
1 1/2 heaping cups miniature marshmallows

• Preheat oven to 375º. Grease a 9x9 pan with nonstick spray.
• In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, espresso, salt, and baking soda. 
• In a large bowl, cream together butter and both sugars until fluffy. Add eggs one at a time, mixing until just incorporated. Stir in vanilla extract. Slowly sprinkle in cocoa powder and mix until smooth. 
• Add half the flour mixture and mix until just incorporated. Add the remaining half and stir until just incorporated. Stir in miniature marshmallows.
• Spread batter evenly in prepared pan. Bake 35-40 minutes or until edges are crispy and middle has set but is still gooey. Let cool in the pan.

Blueberry Coffee Cake

 I have a weakness. Weaknesses, plural, if we're being truthful. They include butter and brown sugar but are not limited to those. I'm not immune to flattery because I can be just the tiniest bit vain. But mostly it's the butter and sugar. See, it's that transitional time of year. When summer is lingering and fighting turning into fall. We've had days of rain now, which I'm welcoming with open arms. We've needed it. But sometimes rain just seems to make the days hotter. Instead of relieving the heat it just traps it, and it's like living in a giant sauna. Not this time. Yesterday, we had a cool breeze. In the afternoon. Y'all, I'm not sure the Lowcountry has ever seen a cool breeze on an August afternoon. It just isn't done.

Blueberry Poundcake

True story: I did not understand the Ryan Gosling obsession until I watched Crazy, Stupid, Love. That's probably because I was born without the gene that makes me obsess over The Notebook. In truth, I prefer the book to the movie because I think the ending is more poignant. Regardless, I look at pictures of Ryan Gosling from 2004...and I'm so not interested. Seven or eight years later and now we're talkin'. I think it's because he looks older and therefore more...sophisticated? Put-together? Eh, suffice it to say I'm much more willing to watch one of his movies now. Oh and Crazy, Stupid, Love won me over for reasons having absolutely nothing to do with him and everything to do with Emma Stone, Steve Carrell, and the girl who played the babysitter.

Flag Cake (Or Just a Damn Good Sheet Cake with Fruit)

 So...I know this looks a little late. The Fourth of July is over...by a week. Let's be real though, this wasn't getting to you in time to make it last week anyway. The thing is, you don't have to arrange the fruit in a flag shape. It just looks really cool when it is.

This cake, y'all, is bangin'. Moist, striking a balance between fluffy and dense. Like not an angel food cake but not a poundcake either. And my most favorite thing about a sheet cake- you don't have to take it out of the pan. Just cool it on a rack and frost that baby right in the pan. Boom.

Kahlùa Pudding Cake

My sister's birthday was this week. Since I'm such a good sister, I made her a cake. I also babysat G-man so that she and Rich could have a nice dinner. I've been wanting to make this pudding cake for weeks now, and I figured I should make it for my sister and Rich because it's pretty much guaranteed to get eaten. Rich would eat this for breakfast if he could get away with it.

My sister said that since it's her birthday cake she can eat it out of the pan with a fork if she wants. Rock on, man. It's a seriously rich dessert that is only enhanced by a dollop of very lightly sweetened whipped cream.

Vanilla Rum Cake(s)

I've eaten an ungodly amount of spinach in the last six or so days.  For breakfast mostly (one day it was lunch), I've had a green smoothie.  That means blending up a few handfuls of baby spinach leaves, almond milk or OJ, Greek yogurt, and an assortment of fruits.  The beautiful thing is that it tastes nothing like spinach.  It really just takes on the flavor of the almond milk and the fruit.  But it's not cake.  I can't have all this health going around me and no indulgences.  That's called balance, y'all.  Or at least, that's my interpretation of it.

Deep Dish Chocolate Chip Cookie Cake

Y'all, this is my 100th post!  I figured I should make something a little special, and it should probably be a cake.  Let's also factor in that Will's birthday was Saturday, and he wanted a cookie cake.  So we've got us a deep dish chocolate chip cookie cake.  Holy.  Moly.

Oh and can we talk about how today is the first day of spring, and we've already had days in the upper 80's?!  Y'all, that's hot.  And it's only gonna get hotter.  So if you need a slice of cookie cake and a cold glass of milk on a screened-in porch with a fan, I totally understand.

Back to Basics: Vanilla Poundcake Cupcakes

Sometimes you have to make something familiar and simple.  My mom's birthday was last weekend, so I took her request for the cake she wanted.  She wanted these vanilla poundcake cupcakes with vanilla buttercream.  My mom is the opposite of fussy, especially when it comes to food.  The simpler the better.  There's a beauty in the pure vanilla flavor these cupcakes possess.  Vanilla is not, I repeat, not boring.  I think you just have to appreciate that it's uncomplicated.  It's homey.  It's simply delicious.

Duke's Chocolate Cake

 Do you want the chocolate-iest chocolate cake you've ever had?  Then forget about the fact that this has mayonnaise if you're one of those unfortunate people who doesn't like mayo.  I've never suffered from this problem, but I hear it can be a doozy for those who do.

What the mayonnaise does is make this incredibly moist and rich, replacing the eggs and oil normally found in chocolate cake.  Of course, you know my mayonnaise preference.  Duke's all the way!  Actually, that's how I came to find this recipe.  Someone found my humble little blog by searching for "Duke's mayonnaise cake."  Naturally this piqued my curiosity.  A cake made with mayo?  Duke's no less?  I mean, I haven't heard of a Hellman's cake for sure.  God bless America, I had to try it.

A Birthday Cake

My grandmother turned 75 Tuesday!  Because everyone needs a birthday cake, I offered to make one.  And cake is something that always tastes better with a little extra love mixed in it.

I couldn't decide what to make until I was flipping through a cookbook and was hit with carrot cake.  I flipped a little more but couldn't shake the carrot cake.  Carrot cake?  For realz?  Yes.  I was compelled to make carrot cake, a dessert I've never ever made before and wasn't totally sure I liked.  For the record, I do like.  But don't feed me a raw carrot, I'm not a horse.  My carrots shall be cooked or baked.  I digress.  Wanna know what Sybil said when I told what kind of cake it was?  "Oh I love carrot cake!"  She loves it.  Winner.

Date Night

This weekend was all sorts of wacky and scrumptious, though not all at the same time.  Will and I had our big dinner at Saluda's Friday night, which we'll get to later.  When Will and I get together, we like to eat.  A lot.  It's one of our favorite activities.  That sounds rather gluttonous, doesn't it?  Perhaps I should say we enjoy the dinner experience with each other's company and good food.  Plus we have to make up for all those dates we don't get to go on.

We stayed with my sister a couple of nights this weekend and manage to see two small disasters while we were here.  Yesterday, the whole plumbing system decided to revolt and back up into the house.  Not fun.  Several towels were sacrificed before the plumber got here.  This morning, while I was relaxing in bed, I heard a crashing sound.  I thought the dogs had knocked something over but no.  The kitchen was intact.  Then I looked into the yard.  A tree fell on the fence.  What the what?  Rich has spent the afternoon repairing it.  Thankfully it doesn't look like it did major damage.  Just enough to be really inconvenient.

Saluda's is a casual upscale place (Don't you just love a good paradox?) that blends Lowcountry ingredients and style with more classic French and Italian techniques.  The decor is simple with white-clothed tables and antique-style chairs.  Forgive me if the lighting in my pictures isn't the best.  I didn't want to be that girl taking pictures in a dimly-lit restaurant with flash out the wazoo.  Can a wazoo flash?  I digress.

We started with what they called a sushi plate.

 

Tuna sashimi over soba noodles tossed with peanut sauce.  It was topped with a salmon crudo, which is sort of an Italian ceviche.  Basically raw fish, salmon in this instance, is dressed with olive oil, citrus, and salt.  This had black sea salt sprinkled over it.  I think that might be some kind of roe on top.  The chili sauce in the corner gave it a pleasant heat.  It was lovely way to start a meal.  Light and refreshing because heaven knows the rest of the meal wasn't.

I had the shrimp and grits because I've been fantasizing about them for weeks now.  For realz.  A bed of Adluh grits with Dubliner cheddar, roasted red peppers, pancetta, sauteed shrimp, a bourbon cream sauce, and as if that wasn't enough, a delicate fried green tomato perched atop.  The tomato had a nice tang (as good fried green 'maters should), which offset a little of the richness the overall dish had.  Adluh Flour is a local company that sells flour (duh), grits, and assorted mixes.  The grits come out luscious and creamy, and in this case the bourbon cream sauce didn't hurt one bit.  Nosiree.  Honestly, shrimp and grits is one of my favorite dishes, and I love when I find a good rendition of it.

Because I have a hard time resisting dessert, we ordered a slice of red velvet cake drizzled with a little caramel.  Will thought he'd just have a few bites, but we ended up finishing the whole thing.  It was moist with a good ratio of frosting to cake.  There's nothin' like a little cake to finish off a good meal.

I like getting dressed up and feelin' fancy, especially if it's a date with Will.  And especially if I get to eat food like that.  Any date night recommendations for the next time he and I see each other?

Not Your Granny's Pineapple Upside-Down Cake

Unless your granny likes a kick of rum and cardamom.  Seriously, it was cardamom craziness.

Does your granny use fresh pineapple?  Okay, I'll stop talking about your granny.  Because maybe she makes an out-of-this-world pineapple upside-down cake.

I'm fairly certain I've never had pineapple upside-down cake before this one.  Who knows why?  I love pineapple, and I love cake.  The best thing about this cake was definitely the fresh pineapple because we'd let one get really ripe on our counter.  After my mom cut it up I taste tested a piece.  For good measure of course.  Gaw, it was sweet and pineapple-y and yum.