Sticky Chocolate Honey Cake

"Aw crap," I muttered. Batter was oozing out of the pan into the bottom of the oven. A vision of the dorm burning down before my eyes flashed by. Focus, focus. Pull the pan out of the oven, shut it off. Panic briefly. Call my mother for advice. Scowl. Taste the batter. Lord, that's good. 

Oy. 

Gah. This was supposed to be a beautiful birthday cake garnished with honey caviar. But I wasn't just going to give up! Thankfully there was a piece of foil in the bottom of the oven that caught most of the goo, and then I just...stuck the pan back in. 

 So obviously it's less like a cake and more like a...bog. Or something. But it was soooo moist. And the honey gave it a different, special sort of sweetness. I'm certain that if I hadn't er, filled the pan so high, it would have been beautiful. On a side note, this was my last post at school for this year, and I'm currently writing from my cozy bedroom. Dorm life cooking will resume in September, but for now, enjoy a summer of fancy home food! 

Oho, I cut it into a slice! It almost looks normal! 

Sticky Chocolate Honey Cake 

by Nigella Lawson 

4 ounces semisweet chocolate, broken into pieces

1 1/3 cups soft light brown sugar
2 sticks soft butter
1/2 cup honey
2 eggs
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon bicarbonate soda (baking soda)
1 tablespoon cocoa
1 cup boiling water

1/4 cup water
1/2 cup honey
6 ounces semisweet chocolate, finely chopped
1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons confectioners' sugar

Directions

Take whatever you need out of the refrigerator so that all ingredients can come to room temperature, and while that's happening, melt the chocolate from the cake part of the ingredients list in a good-sized bowl, either in the microwave or suspended over a pan of simmering water. Set aside to cool slightly.

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F, and butter and line a 9-inch tin.

Beat together the sugar and soft butter until airy and creamy, and then add the honey.

Add 1 of the eggs, beating it in with a tablespoon of the flour, and then the other egg with another tablespoon of flour. Fold in the melted chocolate, and then the rest of the flour and baking soda. Add the cocoa pushed through a strainer to ensure you have no lumps, and last of all, beat in the boiling water. Mix everything well to make a smooth batter and pour into the prepared tin. Cook for up to 1 1/2 hours, though check the cake after 45 minutes and if it is getting too dark, cover the top lightly with aluminum foil and keep checking every 15 minutes.

Let the cake cool completely in the tin on a rack.

To make the glaze, bring the water and honey to a boil in a saucepan, then turn off the heat and add the finely chopped chocolate, swirling it around to melt in the hot liquid. Leave it for a few minutes, then whisk together. Add the sugar through a sieve and whisk again until smooth.

Choose your plate or stand, and cut out 4 strips of baking paper and form a square outline on the plate. This is so that when you sit the cake on and ice it, the icing will not run out all over the plate. Set the thoroughly cooled cake on the prepared plate. Pour the glaze over the cold honey cake; it might dribble a bit down the edges, but don't worry too much about that (Or form a cake around the whole thing. That's cool too).

Yucky

Oh hi there. I've not been feeling very inspired lately. I don't have as much space or time or supplies to accomplish all the kitchen experimentation I've been craving. Especially since I just got 杉野英実(Hidemi Sugino)'s The Dessert Book in the mail from Japan. Swoon. 

I guess I got desperate? I wanted to make something weird and out there...and came out with salted truffle cookies. Which really isn't that weird and out there at all. But bleh! Yucky! Too much salt! What was I thinking? I'm upset with myself for wasting a bag of chocolate chips.

Look at those big salt crystals. What a fool I am. Moral of the story? It's okay to stick to the basics? Don't bake if you're in a weird mood (nah, weird moods are the best to bake in). Anyway, these cookies would be totally edible without the sea salt on top. They'd probably  be good, actually. So learn from my mistakes.

Oh, and I might try something new on this here blog in the near future. So be on the lookout for that ^__^

Salty Chocolate Cookies

adapted from Ghiradelli

• 1/4 cup all purpose flour
• 1/4 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 1/2 cup semisweet chocolate chips, for melting
• 2 tablespoon unsalted butter
• 2 eggs
• 1/2 granulated sugar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1/3 cup semisweet chocolate chips, for mixing into the prepared cookie dough
• 2 -3 tablespoons coarse sea salt (DON'T DO IT!!!)

In a heatproof bowl over a double boiler, melt chocolate and butter until smooth. Turn off the stove and let chocolate sit over warm water. Combine flour, baking powder and salt and mix to combine. In another bowl, mix together sugar and eggs, combine thoroughly with a whisk and slowly add the warm chocolate mixture. Stir to combine. Add vanilla extract and mix. Stir in flour mixture. Cool for a few minutes (if batter is warm, chocolate chips will melt). Stir in chocolate chips. Chill for 10-15 minutes.

Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees. Scoop rounded tablespoons of batter and place on baking tray. Sprinkle each cookie lightly with a pinch of sea salt (NOOO!). Bake at 350 degrees for approximately 7-8 minutes until the outside looks slightly cracked. Be very careful not to over bake cookies because they will continue to bake as they cool once removed from the oven. Cookies should be soft and gooey in the center.

Baking Fail.

Well, it was about time I made something awful. Haha, you can't win every time, it's a fact of life. And it gives you good stories to tell, yes? 

 

I stole these from the dining hall.

I've been itching to bake for days now, but I have no eggs or butter (going to the store tomorrow, thank goodness). So I was browsing the internets, looking for a way to cook mochi, when I stumbled upon this youtube channel called The Daily English Show. I'm pretty sure it's geared towards Japanese people trying to learn English. The host has an awesome New Zealand accent. Check it out. Anyway. One of their videos was this recipe for something called Choco Rice Nom Nom Slice.

 

After I finished giggling, I decided to attempt to make them, since hey, they contained no eggs or butter. And um....they were not good. Maybe I did something wrong, but they were quite dry. So dry. I was disappointed to let down the people eagerly awaiting baked goods, but for me, the process is more satisfying than the eating. I'm cooking with friends later in the week, and one of these was requested. So I'll redeem myself. 

I'm not going to post the recipe initially, since it wasn't very good, but if you want to try it for yourself, leave me a comment and I'll add it on here. Also, if you know of any good butter and eggless recipes, let me know!