Ice. Tomorrow.

Chip away at the last of the winter ice on your sidewalk. Or at least stock up ya freezer. New #lhoriginal drink recipe coming up tomorrow, and trust me, you don’t want to miss it. Goodbye winter doldrums forever.

L

Favorite Shots: Cut Crystal

I can’t get enough of how rich and clear this photo is. It’s like I’m drinking colors with my eyes.

L

Pipe Dream #155: To Doctor It Up – Chocolate Frangelico Lava Cakes

I tried really hard with these. Company’s coming, and I wanted to do something nice. Plus, I had a bottle of Frangelico burning a figurative hole in my figurative pocket where I keep Frangelico.

This recipe is a wonderful example of a life lesson that is not commonly taught in elementary school: Sometimes, our best effort is actually not good enough. And that is ok.

I looked at probably dozens of recipes, finally settling on a Food Network recipe that I altered. Overthinking is clearly not a problem.

And then, after all that thinking, I overbaked them, which is the complete opposite of the point of a gooey, luscious lava cake.

And lava cakes, on their best day, really are fab, so you should try these sometime, at least in a restaurant.

In order to compensate for what turned out to be a somewhat dense but flavor-light cake, I doctored it up with fat, nuts, and sugar.

So what might have been a total disappointment, ended up being all right Plus, we were having frangelico drinks, too, so that might have helped matters.

No worries,

L

Chocolate Frangelico Lava Cakes

Adapted from foodnetwork.com

4 ounces good quality semisweet chocolate (not chocolate chips, mind)

4 tablespoons (1/2 stick) butter

2 cups powdered sugar

4 eggs

1 tablespoon Frangelico

Whipped cream, chocolate sauce, powdered sugar, toasted hazelnuts, etc. for serving (optional)

To toast hazelnuts (if using), throw them in a pan over medium high heat, stirring frequently until the dark skins loosen. Let cool on a paper towel, then rub the skins away, and give the naked nuts a rough chop. Set aside.

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Generously spray eight small ramekins with nonstick spray, and place on a baking sheet.

Heat the chopped chocolate and butter in a large glass bowl resting over a pan of boiling water until butter is melted. Whisk until the chocolate is completely melted, then whisk in the sugar. Blend in the eggs, one at a time, whisking well after each addition. Stir in the Frangelico and then the flour.

Divide batter evenly among the prepared ramekins, about 2/3 full, or a bit more. Bake 12 to 14 minutes or until sides are firm but centers are soft. Let stand 1 minute.

Invert cakes onto dessert dishes and top with a little more Frangelico, whipped cream, powdered sugar, chopped hazelnuts and chocolate syrup. Serve immediately.

Pipe Dream #132: – Strawberry Lemonade Cupcakes

These were an inspired idea. The execution was not as inspired as the thought itself, but isn’t that just how things go sometimes? Yes. Even the ISFJ’s among us can wreck a perfectly good plan now and again.

The original recipe that caught my attention was this one, a lemonade layer cake that added lemonade mix to the dry ingredients. Genius, right? Especially during summer, when my body craves lemonade daily (and also cake, but that is a different tale). Given my extreme fear of producing a cake that is dry and (heaven forbid) angel food cake-like, I decided to take this strawberry cupcake recipe that you’ve seen before and just add a packet of lemonade mix to it.

Great, except it didn’t taste that great, and wonder of wonders, my buttercream split in the 95 degree heat. I had to add loads of powdered sugar to make it even set up a little. I won’t even tell you about the time I spent pressing hot washcloths to the side of the bowl in a lazy efficient attempt to de-frag it.

Sorry this recipe was a bit of a fail. Next time, I’m just going to add fresh lemon zest and call it a day. In other news, aren’t the cupcake liners cute? They were a gift from a friend, which makes them all the specialer.
Less hot,

L

Strawberry Lemonade Cupcakes

Follow this recipe, but add one packet of Crystal Light Lemonade mix. The big one, that makes 4 quarts. It really wasn’t an awful cupcake, so if it sounds good, try it, but I was nonplussed. Don’t overbeat the frosting, for real.