The Wrong Way

This weekend, I decided to make Hubby and our guests some delicious chocolate molten cakes for his birthday celebration. I found the perfect recipe here, and the photo left me drooling before I could even read the so-bad-but-oh-so-good ingredients:

New recipe with company over? No problem. I always head that mantra, but never felt it applied to me. So, throwing caution to the wind, I whipped up some batter and prepped a buttery pan, feeling confident in my pursuit of the golden molten. Hubby's favorite molten in town can be found at Hattie's. So naturally, as any slightly-competitive baker would also do, I wanted to replicate... and hopefully surpass the legendary greatness :)

However, that was because I'd never experienced quite a dilemma like yesterday's... Until yesterday, I had lucked out by following directions closely, and relying on my limited baking experience to help me salvage disaster.

I filled the tin with this beautiful chocolate/butter/sugar batter, and set my kitchen timer:




Well, the buzzer went off, the oven door opened, and then it hit me. How in the world was I going to remove the cakes-- intact -- onto 12 individual plates?

Yikes.

This is the catastrophe ladies must be talking about when they heed caution about trying new recipes for guests. I had done everything right--plenty of butter in the molds, plenty of baking time, plenty of rest time. Unfortunately, it was not enough. I had put all my eggs in one basket and there was just no way to salvage them in one piece. I flipped the pan over and attempted a classic mold-removal move. Tapping the bottoms of each mold with a knife, I was hoping that this small kick would send each cake perfectly onto the baking sheet. Instead of perfect cakes with a hidden molten chocolate center, I ended up with some plops of molten with no sign of a nice cakey shell... smeared across the baking sheet.

I had to act fast.

My quick fix? Tag-team with hubby using spatulas and spoons to scoop, transferring to bowls, not plates, and piling high with plenty of (homemade) whipped cream to conceal my hasty error.

So, because of this mishap, I want to share with you the right way. The Right Way involves baking in individual ramekins, as opposed to the jailhouse a muffin tin can become with an ooey-gooey cake inside (times 12).

So let's view some cute ramekins that will make your cake baking a much happier experience. The beauty of the ramekin is that it offers a simple one-step way to bake and serve individual desserts.

First, there is the classic white ramekin, which you can always find at WS:

I also love these "Baking Days" ramekins from Spode (they come in lots of other cute colors too!):


And, of course, these adorable Juliska Berry & Thread ramekins:


So whether you brave the muffin tin, or opt for a ramekin (my strong suggestion!), I hope you enjoy baking some delicious chocolate molten cake soon. Oven to table in a pinch, other excuses to use ramekins include but are not limited to: mac n' cheese, souffles, cobblers and more!

Is it really almost July?

You're Invited!

Now, to start this lovely weekend on the right foot...

let's all squeal together over this precious invitation from my friend CV:

Don't you love it!? We can thank Between the Sheets Co. for this adorable invite to a wonderfully blue-themed sip-and-see for baby Nicholas and his sweet momma.

Like what you see? CV will be back next week to share all the blue details of her baby soiree.

Get ready to be inspired!

Year-old Cake

Well, normally I wouldn't eat year old cake, but as time will tell, this was the weekend Hubby were scheduled to face the frozen truth. We went against our better consciences and sliced into the cake that graced our reception one year ago:

Here is what it looked like this year:

Still promising, I'd say! Now, drum roll, please...

...and...we're tasting...

Success!

To our astonishment, the cake had been perfectly preserved during the year. With each bite we looked at each other, wondering if we had a bad case of anniversary delusion. But alas, with each new bite, the truth was only more confirmed: our cake was just as delicious as it was on our wedding day back in 2008.

To this great news, we owe credit partially to my parents' freezer, but mostly to The Cake Guys, who graciously designed, baked and preserved our cake to give us not just one, but two (ok, three, four, five... I'm still devouring it nightly) perfect cakes to accompany our celebration of these unforgettable days.

Here is my highest recommendation of these wonderful fellows for any brides who have not yet made a decision about wedding cakes. If you want a cake that's equal parts pretty and yummy, then you'll love the cake guys. I'll admit that I even gave them every reason to be frustrated. Less than three weeks before our wedding, I fell in love with this cake from Martha Stewart Weddings:

I immediately emailed The Cake Guys, and lo and behold, they said, sure, no problem!  Turns out these proportions are not realistic for actual cake... it would collapse! So the Cake Guys in their genius-ness evened out the layers (they make multi-tiered cakes entirely out of... cake... a surprisingly rare procedure among wedding cake artists, I learned).

Not bad, eh?

I'm telling you, you'll love these guys! They even added script "L's" on the cameos for a cute personal touch. If you see a cake you like, ask your baker about it. It's worth it, believe me... think outside the box!

While we're at it, let's also not forget to share major props for amazing photography from Larry Sengbush and to-die-for flowers by the famous Junior at The Garden Gate. Possible wedding vendor posts to come... what do you think?