Chocolate Molten Cake

Usually I can hold my own in the kitchen... but tonight's baking was rather much of a FAIL.  And yet, I don't know if I'm willing to accept all the responsibility for it being one of those "less than" kind of desserts.  I think the directions left a bit of key information out.

Last time we went grocery shopping, Derek picked up this cake mix declaring that the cupcakes "looked delicious" and they do!  And this time, unlike a previous incident with baking mixes, the frosting was included.  And it's the old-school frosting mix you beat with butter and a little bit of water not the pre-mixed canned stuff like you can buy now.

Do you remember when frosting came as a boxed mix?

Or does that just make me seem really old?

After we got home I was reading the instructions and happened to notice the recipe on the side of the box.  You know the suggestion they always include for something else you can make with the mix.

Uh huh... Chocolate Molten Cake.  Derek's favorite thing.  Favorite!  Like in the history of EVER.

And it didn't sound so hard to make.

So I opened my big mouth and said, "Look, we could do Molten Cake."  Well his face lit up and I knew my task was set.

According to the box, you mix up the frosting just like it tells you to on the back.  Easy peasy, no problem.  Then using the included pastry bag, you pipe out 24 quarter-sized disks onto a baking sheet and freeze them for at least 30 minutes.  What they don't tell you is that using their frosting you can easily do the 24 disks about the diameter of a quarter but they are each at least as thick as if you stacked enough quarters to have a couple of bucks.  I froze them for an hour and I really kind of think it should have been longer.

And since a baking sheet won't fit inside the freezer part of my smallish side-by-side I used one of those plastic mini-quiche trays that I kept to freeze yogurt treats (Peanut Butter Banana Pupsicles) for the dogs last summer.  Perfect shape and size!

And then this is where things went awry...

The directions simply say to mix up the cake batter, again just as directed on the box, and divide amongst 12 papered cups in a muffin pan.  They REALLY NEED TO SPECIFY that you should use a large-size muffin pan not the standard cupcake size.  By the time you put 2 frosting disks on top of each little pot of batter, the cups are too full and it overflows during the baking process.  And the 'lava' escapes so there's no squishy, liquidy, flowing yumminess just a sort of pile of gooey fudge/cake chunks.  They are a mess!

A tasty mess, for sure.  But a huge horrible mess!!  A mess on the scale that leaves me  really dreading clean up tomorrow...

It was so overflowed I struggled to get the pan out of the oven without wrecking my pretty granny square potholders.  (At least I was smart enough to put a baking sheet underneath and all those drips aren't coating the bottom of my oven!!)  Then I struggled again getting a cooled cake onto a plate and the paper cup removed.   The flavor is good.  And I really think the larger muffin tin will help keep things contained so the cakes bake right and the lava stays inside.  After I can purchase one of those pans I'll try it again, but for now I am terribly disappointed.

And shame on you Duncan Hines!!  The mess could have all been averted if you would have just told me I needed a piece of equipment I don't have.  Then I wouldn't have mentioned the molten cake being a possibility...  And I wouldn't have chocolate baked on like concrete to pry off the muffin tin and baking sheet that caught drips tomorrow.  Nor would I have a disappointed man who's looked forward all day to a Chocolate Molten Cake and all he gets is a messy pile of fudgy glop.

Cinnamon Rolls (no yeast dough!)

I tried a new recipe this morning.  The no yeast, and therefore no rising time, for the dough was intriguing when I came across it.  The bread part is a little different.  Not better or worse, really... just different than what you typically expect when you bite into a cinnamon roll.  (If I was really pressed to describe it, I guess I'd say it's somewhere between a baking powder biscuit and the more typical yeast bread in consistency... maybe leaning just a little more toward the biscuit side of things.)  But it is a lot less work to make them this way!  And it's good enough that I'll be using the recipe again!

Ingredients for Rolls:
2 1/2 cups all purpose flour (plus extra to roll out dough)
6 Tbl white granulated sugar
1 1/4 cup buttermilk (or add 1 tsp lemon juice or vinegar to milk)
5 Tbl melted butter (divided)
1 1/4 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt

Ingredients for Cinnamon Filling:
1/4 cup packed brown sugar
3 Tbl cinnamon
1/8 tsp salt
1/2 cup white granulated sugar
4 Tbl butter, softened

Ingredients for Icing:
1 cup powdered sugar
3 Tbl butter, softened
2 Tbl cream cheese, softened
1 tsp vanilla
2-3 tsp milk

How to make the rolls: 
Preheat the oven to 425 degrees. Take a round or square 9 inch pan and either spray and butter generously.  Depending on how thick you cut the rolls, you might need a second pan.  I did.

In a small bowl mix all the filling ingredients and set aside for later.

Now, to make the dough: mix the flour, white sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt together. Next slowly whisk in the buttermilk and 2 Tbl of the melted butter. Once it is mixed – the dough will look a bit sticky.

Take the dough and put it on a counter with some flour sprinkled out. Knead until it is smooth and then press dough out into a 9 by 12 inch rectangle. This doesn't have to be exact; just do it so that you have a good size piece of dough to work with.

Spread the cinnamon/sugar/butter mixture over the dough.  Be sure to get it clear to the edges.

Then take one end of the dough and start rolling it tightly. Once you have the dough rolled, cut the dough into evenly-sized pieces. Place them in the greased pan(s). Take the remaining melted butter (3 Tbl) and brush each roll with it. This will help make them look pretty.  Bake for 20-25 minutes until lightly golden.

How to Make the Icing:
Mix all ingredients except milk together in a small bowl until smooth.  Use the milk to thin to a pourable consistency.  This is a thicker icing and it will harden pretty quick. Let the rolls cool for a couple minutes then pour the icing evenly over the rolls.


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Note:  I originally found the recipe on the Facebook page Canning and Cooking at Home and made some modifications to make it both easier for me and a little more defined to my specific tastes. Above is the modified recipe.