Molten "Lava" Chocolate Cake

 

A favorite game of my granddaughter's is Lava Floor. It involves jumping from chair or cushion to another furniture without touching the floor. Lava and volcanos are a source of curiosity. So this Molten Chocolate Cake got good attention when I served it. It combines favorite flavors of chocolate and peanut butter and nuts in a warm gooey way. The bonus is it is easy and quick to make and adds a hint of celebration to the meal. 

There are two options for this recipe. I used the Peanut Butter version. For a Raspberry Molten Chocolate Cake, omit the peanut butter step and top with 1 cup of fresh raspberries just before baking. 

Chocolate Peanut Butter Molten Cake

 

½ cup all-purpose flour

2 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa

Pinch (less than ⅛ teaspoon baking soda)

½ teaspoon Kosher salt

½ teaspoon instant espresso granules

1 ¼ cups bittersweet chocolate chips

1 cup unsalted butter, cut into small pieces

4 large eggs

¾ cup granulated sugar

9 tablespoons creamy peanut butter

3 tablespoons chopped roasted salted peanuts

 

1. Preheat oven to 350 °. Coat an 8-inch square baking dish with baking spray. Sift together flour, cocoa, baking soda, salt, and expresso granules into a small mixing bowl. Set aside. 

2. Place chocolate chips and butter in a medium microwave safe bowl, and microwave in high in 30-second intervals, stirring after each interval, until fully melted, about 2 minutes total. Set aside. 

3. Beat eggs and sugar in a large bowl with an electric mixer on medium high speed until pale and doubled in volume, about 2 minutes. Beat in flour mixture on low speed until just combined, about 30 seconds. Gradually beat in melted chocolate mixture just until no streaks of chocolate remain, 30 seconds to 1 minutes. 

4. Pour half of batter into prepared baking dish. Dollop creamy peanut butter evenly over batter. Top with remaining batter. Sprinkle with chopped roasted salted peanuts. 

5. Bake in preheated oven until edges of cake start to pull away from sides of baking dish and center still jiggles slightly, 30-35 minutes. 

Serve immediately, with ice cream if desired. 

Blueberry Honey Muffins

Today was our County 4-H Day, a contest for 4-H members to present demonstrations, project talks, musical numbers, parliamentary procedure practices, and Favorite Food Contest. My granddaughter was busy with her demonstration of Blueberry Honey Muffins (and we now have a lot of muffins in the freezer from many practices!). She also used this recipe as her entry for the Favorite Food Contest. She did well on both and it looks like we'll be eating more muffins as she qualified to go to the Regional Contest in March. 

Here's her recipe and I hope you enjoy and like it as much as we do. It is an easy recipe, stirred together by hand. Also a favorite with our family as it uses honey, and her father is a beekeeper. 

Blueberry Honey Muffins

 

½ cup oil

¾ cup honey

2 large eggs

½ cup buttermilk

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

2 cups all-purpose flour

1 ½ teaspoon baking powder

¼ teaspoon baking soda

¼ teaspoon salt

1 cup blueberries

 

Combine the oil, honey and eggs. Whisk until smooth. 

Add buttermilk and vanilla extract. Whisk together.

Mix dry ingredients together and add to batter.

Mix with a rubber spatula until just a few streaks of flour remain. 

Fold in blueberries until no flour is visible. 

 

Bake at 425 ° for 5 minutes, lower temperature to 350 and bake for 

15 more minutes. 

 

Makes 12 muffins

Lots of practice!

Finished product

Training a little beekeeper

Kansas Day Sunflower Seed Cookies

A special holiday in Kansas this month is KANSAS DAY! I don't know that other states celebrate their statehood quite as much as Kansas does. Maybe it is because Kansas Day comes at the end of January when we've settled into a glum mood after a month of cold, muddy, icy, snowy days. Sometimes those days all happen in the same day. 

So this year a friend and I are planning a Kansas Day party. Complete with Kansas trivia facts, sunflower decorations, and special cookies. Here is the recipe for the Sunflower Seed cookies that have been my favorite for years. 

I keep sunflower seeds and wheat germ in the freezer to keep these ingredients fresh since I don't use them often. 

SUNFLOWER SEED COOKIES

 

1 cup butter (2 sticks)

1 ¼ cup brown sugar

2 eggs

2 tsp. almond extract

1 ⅓ cup flour

1 tsp. baking soda

3 cups oatmeal

¾ cup unsalted sunflower seeds (if using salted seeds, omit the 1 tsp. salt)

1 tsp. salt

½ cup wheat germ

 

Preheat oven to 375 °. Cream butter and brown sugar together. Beat in eggs and almond extract. Sift together flour, salt, and baking soda, and stir into creamed mixture. Fold in sunflower seeds and wheat germ, then oats. Drop scoops of dough 2 inches apart on ungreased baking sheets. Bake 9-10 minutes.