Chocolate Molten Lava Cake

Valentines Day is next week, and if you are like me you probably have dessert on your mind. Something chocolatey and scores well in the 'wow' and romantic category. So imagine a mint-chocolate river oozing from the cratered precipice of a piping hot buttery molten lava cake, creating a warm rolling lusciousness on your tongue. Sounds good doesn't it? And it is. This version of molten lava cake is unique and special for the mint fudge sauce that is spooned over providing a cool menthe contrast to a rich and creamy chocolate cake.

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Dark Chocolate Mousse

Plush and dark, chocolate mousse is a melding of contrasts, bringing together the decadent lusciousness of whipped cream and the overpowering austerity of bittersweet chocolate. The addition of strong coffee augments the irresistible earthy flavors of this chocolate mousse. If bittersweet dreams could be a good thing this would be it.

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Pursuit of the Perfect Traditional Pumpkin Bread

On a recent visit to a small farmer's market in town, my husband's eyes lit up to a glorious orange row of pumpkin breads, and instantly sweet memories of spiced aromas emanating from his mother's kitchen were inspired. Excitedly he picked up two loaves, hurried home, cut off a slice and with much anticipation he took a hefty bite. Memories of the warm, moist, pumpkiny, spicy bread were quickly siphoned as disappointment fell across his face. So dry was the bread that he wondered whether it was stale, and the pumpkin was so indiscernible that it could have passed as zucchini bread. 

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Meyer Lemon Olive Oil Cake with a Honey Lemon Syrup

Simple, bright, lemony and springy. This Meyer lemon olive oil cake was the dessert I chose to serve for our last day living in New York. As I sat in my living room watching sequence after sequence of lightening and thunderstorms almost supernatural pummeling through the landscape of the Northeast, I reflected on the last two years. With a warm cup of tea in my hand, a slice of this fabulously moist cake in the other, I curled up in the corner of my sofa staring at the skyscrapers across the way. I almost couldn't believe that it was over. No more of those piping hot chewy Manhattan bagels, no more walking to La Maison du Chocolat for a chocolate macaroon whenever it struck me, and no more waiting in line for 20 minutes for the check out stand at Whole Foods.

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New York-Style Crumb Cake Recipe

I've been in a cocoon for the past month taking care of our newly expanded family, and only recently have started to emerge. Guests have trickled in recently to meet the new baby. Among my favorite homemade items to welcome visitors is a New York-Style crumb cake. The crumb cake is deliciously moist, stacked high with sweet cinnamony crumbs and oh so delightful for almost any occasion.

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Dorie Greenspan's Chocolate Chip Cookie Recipe and 38 Weeks

36 Weeks and 5 days, New York's Upper East Side

I'm whipping up a batch of Dorie Greenspan's chocolate chip cookies today. Sometimes the best things in life are the classic comfort foods, and I count these soft gooey chocolatey cookies among them.

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Dorie Greenspan's Chocolate Chunkers Recipe & Cookiebar 2011

Dorie Greenspan's Chocolate Chunker's cookies have a knack for getting people into trouble. These cookies were inspired by a recipe that got Dorie fired from one of her first jobs out of pastry. You can read the story here. These are also the cookies that got me into a whole heap of trouble a couple of months ago when my doctor gave me a good chastising for gaining too much weight. Admittedly these cookies weren't the only culprits, between this, El's chocolate ganache cupcakes and flourless chocolate cakes, the scale was tilted towards trouble.

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Absolutely Sinful Flourless Chocolate Cake Recipe

Many years ago at an alley way entrance to the Irish Bank, a messy dive bar in the financial district of San Francisco, I laid eyes on a handsome gentleman. I still remember how gracefully the warm sunset cast an orange light onto his angelic brown locks, and the bright clarity of his hazel green eyes.

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El's Ultimate Dark Chocolate Cupcakes with Chocolate Ganache Frosting

What does the perfect chocolate cupcake taste like to you? My version of good chocolate is a divine symphony of dark moist chocolate cake topped with a lustrous, glossy, silky smooth icing, one that straddles the hemispheres of celestial lofty whipped cream and the full-bodied lushness of melted bittersweet chocolate.

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Dark Chocolate Almond Biscotti and a Baby Update

I've been inspired by the numerous holiday cookies that have appeared across the blogosphere. Recently I returned from a trip to San Francisco where I encountered a collection of creative gingerbread houses at the Palace Hotel.

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Classic Thanksgiving Pumpkin Pie Recipe

Pumpkin pie, it's the sweet ending to our family's celebration of gratitude that we look forward to all year long.  The warm spices are woven into a custard puree of sweet and creamy pumpkin, all of which is cradled in a delicate, flaky and buttery crust. I use a recipe that is perhaps not out of the ordinary, but I do take measures to ensure that the ingredients are top-notch, which is the difference that makes this pumpkin pie a classic. For example, the sugar pumpkin is freshly roasted, which yields a much more intense fresh naturally sweet flavor. The spices are freshly ground and grated whenever possible, and the butter - the main ingredient in the pie crust - must be of good quality.

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12 DAYS & SOFT AND CHEWY CHOCOLATE CHIP COOKIES

Have you ever felt hunger? I mean true hunger, the desperate type where it was the result of not having enough around? I'll share with you some personal insight, not mine but a close friend's. On very rare occasions he will open up and recount his painful memories of going to bed hungry. He would tell me, "It was only a matter of $3, if someone could have spared $3, I would have been able to get something to eat."

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LEMON VERBENA STRAWBERRY COBBLER

Strawberries season is just coming to an end in California, and the harvest this year is on track to hit a record volume. On my recent visit to San Francisco, I took advantage of the prolific season by making a favorite summer recipe: strawberry cobbler.

As many dessert lovers know, strawberry cobbler is a huge crowd pleaser that requires very little effort to prepare. After making this dessert for many years, I was surprised to hear of a potentially better version of this old classic: add a fresh herb - lemon verbena.

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BLUEBERRY COBBLER RECIPE

I've been taking lots of pictures of blueberries recently, especially given my recent visit to Phillips Farm, where I brought back a bucket full of super ripe and juicy blueberries. On the northeastern region of the United States, blueberry season runs through the entire month of July and the early weeks of August, enough time to fit in a couple of delectable dishes such as blueberry pie, cobbler or pancakes.

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