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Warm and Gooey Butter Cake….yummmmm! 1024 768 Mari Bickmore

Warm and Gooey Butter Cake….yummmmm!

Omigosh!  We are having a glorious few days of 60- to 70-degree weather in January!  Last year was my first year here and we had an unrelenting winter.  Not only was it unrelentingly cold and miserable, it butter cake 5lasted forever.  Today was around 70 degrees and I did my errands in sandals just to make the most of it.  I think after this I will go out on the porch and read while there is still sunlight.

In a little over a week we are going to Vegas…hubbie work…me play.  I am hoping the weather there will be great too, because I think we will be back into winter here.  Not only great weather, but every year I look forward to two things:  Shopping and Fine Dining!  This year I had finally talked the hubs into taking me to L’Atelier de Joel Robuchon, but I waited too late.  No reservations left.  The next two choices were also booked.  SAD!  There are soooo many great places to eat there that, of course, we still ended up getting reservations for fabulous food.   Last year when we were there, we ate at Mastro’s Ocean Club, one of my favorite meals while we were there.  Every course was great.  If you go, save room for dessert.  My favorites were the chocolate pudding cake and their signature dessert, which is a warm butter cake.  Since I have been subjected to looking for places to eat in Vegas, I developed a yen for the dessert we had at Mastro’s.  We don’t have a location here, so I decided to try it for myself.  I think this is really close.  I used the gluten-free flour that I love (link on the side) and am always worried that the recipe will fail, but it never does.  You really cannot tell the difference from this gluten-free flour and all-purpose flour.  I made it for a couple of ladies, and it was a hit!  Yummmmmm !  I think these would make an excellent Valentine’s Day treat, especially with red berries.

INGREDIENTS

  • Cake Batter
    2 cups (4 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature
    4 ounces cream cheese, room temperature
    2 cups granulated sugar or Baker’s sugar
    2 large eggs, room temperature
    1/2 teaspoon sea salt
    1 1/2 cups gluten-free flour (or all-purpose flour)
    1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract

Cream Cheese Layer

  • 4 ounces cream cheese, room temperature
    1 egg, room temperature
    1/3 cup granulated sugar
    1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

PREPARATION

1.  Preheat oven to 325.

2.  Spray five 500 mL (5-1/2 inch diameter) ramekins with baking spray.  (this is the size they use where I had it.  You could also use mini springform pans, or if you want smaller cakes you could use 8 ounce ramekins).

3.  Prepare the cake batter

In a stand mixer cream butter, cream cheese, and sugar for 1-2 minutes. Add eggs one at a time and beat on low for 20 seconds after each addition. Whisk flour and salt, then add to creamed mixture. Beat on low until just incorporated, making sure not to over beat.

4.  Prepare the cream cheese layer

In a small bowl whip together cream cheese and granulated sugar until creamed, add egg and vanilla extract.

5.  Pour cake batter evenly divided into prepared pans and then top with a layer of the cream cheese mixture.butter cake 11

6.  Bake for 60 – 75 minutes, or until tops are golden brown and a toothpick comes out clean when inserted into the center of the cakes.  Do not overcook though.

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I let them sit for about 10 minutes, as I was serving them right then.  I then used a knife to slightly loosen around the edges.  Then take a plate or saucer, center on the ramekin and invert.  The cakes came easily out of the pans.  You can make the cakes a day ahead. When ready to serve microwave until hot approx 30-40 seconds on 80% power.  If you like, you can use a kitchen blow torch to brûlée the top and sides of the cake to caramelize the sugar crystals.  Mastro’s drizzles with a raspberry coulis and a scoop of vanilla ice cream (and a bowl of whipped cream on the side), garnished with berries.  I made a simple strawberry puree and also some stabilized whipped cream.

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I’m Just a Strawberry Fool 1024 798 Mari Bickmore

I’m Just a Strawberry Fool

In case you haven’t looked your calendar, Valentine’s Day is coming up.  I will be out of town for the holiday, so I am going to focus on lovely things to cook for Valentine’s Day until I leave.  strawberry fool 2That means I get to eat those lovely things until then also!  Please don’t read my New Year’s Resolutions.  Hey, I’ve been doing pretty good.  I will just use good portion control…or at least I will try.

On a positive note, I am feeling much better!  Still watching the Australian Open, but not just lazing on the couch.  Nadal is winning, so is Sharapova.  Federer is out.  Not that you’re interested.

I am stressed out though.  I have to do a presentation on Career Day at a middle school this coming Tuesday for Interior Design.  I really do  not like doing those types of things, and for the life of me can’t remember why I agreed to do this.  Four sessions, 25 minutes each.  Any volunteers?

Back to VD treats!  What’s not to like when it has strawberries and cream?  Especially when it’s so QUICK AND EASY!  Don’t even have to bake it.  Please don’t leave off the crushed ladyfingers, they add that crunchy texture that plays off the cream.  I think it would be lovely served in stems, like a martini glass.  I had children to serve, so it didn’t seem like a smart thing to do at the time.  Truly, this is delish and yummy, and so easy to boot.

Strawberry Fool

Ingredients

  • 2 cups chopped, hulled fresh strawberries (about 8 oz.) plus 6 whole berries for garnish
  • 1 tablespoon sugar
  • 2 cups chilled heavy whipping cream
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla
  • 1/2 cup  Strawberry preserves
  •  3 crisp ladyfingers (savoiardi, crushed

Preparation

1.  Place chopped strawberries in a small bowl. Sprinkle sugar over and let sit, stirring occasionally, until juices are released and sugar is dissolved.

2.  Beat cream and vanilla in a large bowl until soft peaks form.

3.  Add  preserves; fold to blend.

4.  Add berries with juices; fold almost to blend.

5.  Divide among bowls. Sprinkle crushed ladyfingers over.strawberry fool 3

Garnish with whole berries or save a few larger chopped ones out for garnish.

Inspiration for this came from a recipe from Bon Appetit that I had saved for some time and just decided to play with.

Luscious Chocolate Truffle Cookies (Addiction Warning) 1024 768 Mari Bickmore

Luscious Chocolate Truffle Cookies (Addiction Warning)

P1030200I don’t care if Christmas is portrayed with lots of snow and people in beanies, coats and scarves, there is something to be said for escaping that and having lots of sun and walks on the beach. Just sayin.’ Christmas lights on palm trees are growing on me. If you like hustle and bustle during the Holidays (holy days for those of you who don’t say Merry Christmas), then SoCal is your place. Try to time your outings so as not to be stuck in traffic for too awfully long. That one can be a bit tricky, though.

I am so happy to be here with all of my children at one time and my two grandchildren too! It is a blessing. It is a lot of cooking too! My plan for Christmas Day is to give everyone a recipe ro prepare. That way no one is stuck cooking all day long, and the day before and the day before that. Namely me. It kind of sucks not to be in my own kitchen right now. I know where everything is and what I have. We are in a rental house and, of course, it does not have everything I need or can find. But we will make it work.

The other day my son brought home some fabulous Chocolate Truffle Cookies from Mrs. Beasley’s in Beverly Hills. Some vendor had given tons of them to the company where he works. I had to figure out how to make them. This recipe is certainly not exact, but at this point I am not sure which I like better. I will have to make them again and buy some more Mrs. Beasley’s and try them side by side. It’s dirty work, but someone has to do it!  They are luscious, scrumptious, melt in your mouth cookies.   Nobody can eat just one.

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Chocolate Truffle Cookies

Ingredients
1 1/4 cups butter, room temperature
2 cups confectioners sugar
1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 cup sour cream or plain yogurt
1 tsp vanilla extract
2-1/4 cups all purpose flour (or gluten-free)

UPDATE:  I tried them (inadvertently I might add) with half gluten free flour and the cookie did not hold it’s form correctly, so I do not recommend it
2 cups semi-sweet chocolate chips

1/4 cup cocoa powder (for rolling)
1/3 cup confectioners’ sugar (for rolling)

Directions
1. Preheat oven to 325 F
2, Line baking sheets with parchment paper.
3. Cream together butter and sugar in a mixing bowl, adding sugar in slowly.
4. Sift in cocoa powder and salt and mix well on slow.
5. Beat in sour cream (or yogurt) and vanilla extract.
6. Blend in flour on low until no streaks of flour remain.
7. Stir in chocolate chips.
8. Refrigerate the dough for 30-60 minutes.
9. Make 1-inch balls with the cookie dough and the roll in the cocoa powder and place on baking sheet.

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Cookies can be placed fairly close together as they don’t spread much. Do not put on greased cookie sheet as you do not want them to spread. You will not get the desired effect this way.
Bake for 10 minutes. Cookies will just barely be set. Let cool on baking sheet for 3-5 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.After about 30-45 minutes, roll them in the powdered sugar until completely coated. Then try not to eat them all at once.

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Mini Red Velvet Whoopie Pies (gluten free option 567 1024 Mari Bickmore

Mini Red Velvet Whoopie Pies (gluten free option

I would like to say that I have everything taken care of for Christmas…everything wrappedwhoopie 8 and Christmas cards sent, and menus made for everyday. However, that would not be true and the Christmas cards will probably get skipped this year, just like the last two years. I have great excuses….injuries, moves, really bad subcontractors. I feel bad about it. Maybe I will send out New Years cards. Maybe. I hope you have all your stuff done, though, and can just sit back and enjoy.
Tomorrow I will pull recipes for seven days while I am with all my children and grandchildren. I am so very thankful that I will be with all of my children for Christmas this year. I know that will not always happen.

A couple of nights ago I went to my first bunco group in years. I only knew two of the ladies. That was the reason I asked one of them to get a group together, so that I could meet some people in my new home. They seem like a great group of ladies and we should have some jolly fun. We all brought a little something to munch on. I tried to stay in a Christmas theme – red and white, plus a twist on a great Southern dessert (red velvet cake).  Yummy!

MINI RED VELVET WHOOPIE PIES

INGREDIENTS:

For the cookies:
2 cups gluten-free flour ( or all-purpose) I use Namaste and won’t vouch for any other brand turning out perfectly
2-1/2 Tbsp cocoa powder
1/2 tsp baking soda

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/2 cup unsalted butter, at room temperature
1-1/4 cup firmly packed, light brown sugar
1 egg
1 teaspoons vanilla extract
1/2 cup buttermilk

1 oz bottle red food coloring

For the filling:
4 ounces cream cheese, at room temperature
4 tablespoons unsalted butter, at room temperature
7 oz jar marshmallow cream

DIRECTIONS:

1. Position a rack in the center of the oven and preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper; set aside.

2. Whisk together the flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, and salt in a medium bowl; set aside.

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3. In a large bowl, beat together the butter and sugar on low speed until just combined. Increase the speed to medium and beat until fluffy and smooth, about 5 minutes.

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4. Add the egg and vanilla, beating well and then add the food coloring and mix well.

4. Mix half of the flour mixture and half of the buttermilk, beatt on low until just incorporated. Scrape down the sides of the bowl. Add the remaining flour mixture and remaining buttermilk and beat until completely combined.

5. Grease your hands with a bit of oil, form teaspoon-sized balls and gently flatten down to form a disk onto the prepared cookie sheets.  Try to be as uniform as you can so you will having matching cookies at the end.

whoopie 4These are not very forgiving, so the smoother the balls the smoother the cookie.spacing them at least 2 inches apart. Bake one sheet at a time for about 7-9 minutes each, or until the cakes spring back when pressed gently. Remove the baking sheet from the oven and let the cakes cool on the sheet for about 3-5 minutes before transferring them to a rack to cool completely.

While the cakes are cooling, prepare the filling…

1.  In a medium bowl, beat together the cream cheese and butter on medium speed.

2.  Add the marshmallow creme and fold into the creamed mixture.

3.  To assemble: Spread or pipe the creme filling onto the flat side of one cake using a knife of spoon, or you can use a pastry bag with a round tip (I used a #12 Wilton tip) to pipe the filling onto the cookie. Top it with another cake, flat-side down. Repeat with the rest of the cakes and filling.

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Simple Yet Elegant Pumpkin Pie Trifle 768 1024 Mari Bickmore

Simple Yet Elegant Pumpkin Pie Trifle

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I’m still on a cinnamon kick!  Trying to remain festive, whilst being without children at home!, so I wanted to make something to put me in the holiday mood.  A dessert that had pumpkin pie flavor but was a more elegant presentation, as I never think a pumpkin pie is very pretty.  This is what I came up with. It’s really simple and looks pretty good in small trifle dish.  Something you can serve to guests that tastes really good and looks good too.   I’m not very good with New Year’s Resolutions, but I hope that I will start working out in January to help me get past this baking kick that I’m on.  Maybe all my new recipes next year will be lite and healthy.  I’m not putting money on that, as I kind of have a love affair with cream and butter.  But who knows…stranger things have happened!

PUMPKIN PIE TRIFLE

You will need pumpkin pie mousse (below), whipped cream (recipe below), a box of gingersnaps (or homemade if you like – I used Nabisco Gingersnaps), and crushed Heath bars or bag of Heath English Toffee Bits.

Mousse

1 envelope unflavored gelatin powder

1 (15-oz.) can pumpkin (not pie filling)

1 cup Bakers sugar (or granulated sugar)

1½ cups well-chilled heavy cream

1-1/2 tsp cinnamon

½ tsp nutmeg

1.  Pour ¼ cup cold water in a small heat-proof bowl and sprinkle the gelatin over it and let sit for 10 minutes for the gelatin to soften.

pumpkin trifle 1

2.  In a large bowl, whisk together the pumpkin and sugar.

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3.  Put the bowl of softened gelatin over a pan of simmering water and cook until the gelatin is clear. (If you have a double boiler you can use that).

4.  When the gelatin is clear, immediately whisk the hot gelatin into the pumpkin mixture.

5.  Using an electric mixer fitted with a whisk attachment, whip the heavy cream until soft peaks form.

6.  Fold the whipped cream into the pumpkin/gelatin mixture and chill for about 3 hours or overnight.

Whipped cream

When you prepare your whipped cream like this it is stabilized, meaning it will last without melting for quite a while!

1 teaspoon unflavored gelatin

4 teaspoons cold water

1 cup heavy whipping cream

1/4 cup confectioner’s sugar

Instructions:

1.  In a small pan, combine gelatin and cold water; let stand until thick.

2.  Place over low heat, stirring constantly, just until the gelatin dissolves.

3.  Remove from heat; cool (do not allow it to set).

4.  Whip the cream with the confectioner’s sugar, until slightly thick and while slowly beating, add the gelatin to whipping cream.

5.  Whip at high speed until stiff.

Makes about 2 cups of whipped cream.

Gingersnaps:  Break several cookies into small, bite-sized pieces.

Heath bars:  Either crush three heath bars or use a bag of Heath English Toffee Bits which are already crushed.

Now all you do is layer the pumpkin, cookies, toffee bits, whipped cream, pumpkin, and top with whipped cream and toffee bits.

pumpkin trifle 9pumpkin trifle 11

My first prototype for this recipe I used spice bread that I had put pineapple in (below).  I diced the bread and used it in place of the cookies and put cinnamon ice cream with spiced pecans on top.  It wasn’t quite the pumpkin pie theme I was going for, but it was very good.  I think cinnamon ice cream would work very well on top of the above recipe as well!

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Tis the Season for Cinnamon and There’s Always Room for Ice Cream! 1024 768 Mari Bickmore

Tis the Season for Cinnamon and There’s Always Room for Ice Cream!

EASY! Cinnamon Ice Creamice cream 1

I was in the mall the other day and smelled cinnamon! I knew I didn’t need it, but I figured what the heck I would get a small Cinnabun.  I just knew that’s what that warm aroma had to be!  The food court was upstairs, so up the escalator I went in search of warm, gooey deliciousness.  Turns out there was no Cinnabun or anything else up there remotely cinnamon.  Now I truly believe it was some kind of plug-in Glade or something they were piping in.  There was just the spot in the middle of the mall, underneath the food court, that had that scent and nowhere else.  Just a little something to tickle your taste buds and send you up to the food court.  That was wrong, but it saved me a couple of thousand calories.

Cinnamon does zone in on the holidays; however, it also brings me back to younger years. I had some great friends who I hung out with in Houston back in the day.  We ate out a lot and listened to a lot live music (a lot of Shake Russell).  Oh, those were the days my friend.  One of the best ice cream places in Houston, in my humble opinion, was the Udder Delight, right next door to Marini’s Empanada House (also a fav) located in the lower end of Westheimer.  They made their own ice cream fresh, daily.  Boy does that bring back a floodgate of memories of a lot of good restaurants, or at least I remember them as being great!  But back to the ice cream…one of my favorite flavors at the Udder Delight was the cinnamon. As I was feeling a little nostalgic the other day, and it is near Christmas, I decided to try to replicate that ice cream.  If I do say so myself, I think it turned out darn close,  though a few years have gone by so I might be delusional. Maybe one of my old buddies will make this and let me know if I hit the mark.

I have a small Cuisuinart counter-top ice cream maker.  After I made this ice cream, I ordered the larger, 2-quart  model…because if you are going to make ice cream, you may as well end up with enough to last awhile.  This recipe is so easy and turns out incredibly well.  I used organic cream and 1/2 and 1/2, but it won’t make a difference if you don’t.  It’s just the way we roll.

Ingredients

1 cup ½ and ½

2 cups heavy whipping  cream

1 cup Baker’s sugar (or white granulated sugar)

2 tsp cinnamon (You can adjust this to your taste)

1 tsp vanilla

1/8 tsp salt

Instructions

1.  In a medium bowl, mix together ½ and ½, sugar, cinnamon, vanilla and salt.ice cream mix

2.  Whisk well and then place in the freezer to chill for a couple of hours.

3.  Place this mixture into an ice cream maker and process until set; about 20 to 30 minutes.

4.  Scoop into a plastic or glass container that you have cooled in the freezer while the ice cream was processing, then freeze for a few more hours or until set.

ice cream to freezer

When I get the larger ice cream maker, I will update with new ingredient amounts.  You can subscribe to this blog just up there on the left!

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Best Chocolate Chip Cookies…Ever…Seriously 1024 768 Mari Bickmore

Best Chocolate Chip Cookies…Ever…Seriously

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I can’t believe it is December already!  I mean I just got used to using 2014 and soon it will be 2015.  The years have started on a downhill run and are just zipping by me. But it’s Christmastime!  well close.  Growing up, my mother’s favorite time of year was Christmas.  She put up like a million lights.  That might be somewhat of an exaggeration, but not  by much.  She made Christmas such a magical time for me as child, that nothing I do ever seems to quite live up to my own expectations.  This recipe certainly isn’t a “Christmas cookie”, but I needed to make cookies for a Church Christmas public open house and I wanted a great cookie.  If you want everyone to say your cookie is the best one at the party, this is the one. It is the  New York Times cookie with my slight variations.  I have made a lot of chocolate chip cookies in my life, and played with several recipes.  This is absolutely the best cookie I have ever made.  It does have the slight drawback that the dough has to chill at least 18 hours (they say 24, but I wonder if 12 wouldn’t do it).

It is best to always let your butter and eggs come to room temperature before starting your cookies.  Your butter is not going to blend and get light and fluffy if it is cold.  As always, the better ingredients you use, the better the end result.  I use better quality chocolate, like a Ghirardelli.  Remember, chocolate comes from a bean, so isn’t it technically a health food?

Fabulous Chocolate Chip Cookies

Ingredients

2 ½ sticks unsalted butter

1-1/4 cups light brown sugar

1 cup plus 2 tbs sugar

2 cups minus 2 tbs cake flour

1-2/3 cup bread flour

1-¼ tsp baking soda

1-½ tsp baking powder

1-½ tsp coarse salt

2 eggs

2 tsp vanlila

4 ounces unsweetened chocolate, grated

10 ounces bittersweet choc chips

sea salt

Instructions

1.  Preheat oven to 350 degrees

2.  Sift flours, baking soda, baking powder and salt into a bowl. Set aside.

3.  With an electric mixer, cream butter and sugars together until very light, about 5 minutes.

4.  Add eggs, one at a time, mixing well after each addition.

5.  Stir in the vanilla.

6.  Reduce speed to low, add dry ingredients, about 1/2 cup at a time, and then mix until just combined.

7.  Stir all chocolate into dough using a spoon.

At this juncture I took a fairly small bowl of dough out (for about a dozen cookies) and added about 1/2 cup of coconut into it.  I highly approve of the outcome.  Next time I am going to do that again but add some rolled oats (never use steel cut or instant oats when you do this).

8.  Press plastic wrap against dough, tucked in well to keep it from drying out, and refrigerate for 18 to 36 hours. Dough may be used in batches, and can be refrigerated for up to 72 hours.  I also put a moistened kitchen towel over the bowl.

9.  When ready to bake, preheat oven to 350º degrees. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.

Scoop dough with a 1-1/2 Tbsp cookied scooper (for larger cookies use a small ice cream scoop) onto the prepared cookie sheet, then sprinkle lightly with sea salt (optional) and bake until golden brown, but still soft, 10-12 minutes. Transfer sheet to a wire rack to cool.  I always use parchment paper on cookie sheets, it makes for quick and easy clean-up, but you can lightly grease cookie sheets also.

Really, you will love these.  I haven’t tried using my new gluten-free flour, but it has worked on everything else.  I will try it and post later how they turn out. I am concerned about it though, since using these two different types of flour makes the perfect consistency.  As always, I hope you love this recipe and, if you do, let me know!

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YUMMY, SPICY MOLTEN LAVA CAKES 1024 989 Mari Bickmore

YUMMY, SPICY MOLTEN LAVA CAKES

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Lava cakes are the ultimate comfort dessert. You just cannot beat warm, chocolate, gooey….all those textures. That being said, I like a little kick in the mix, so I played with it. I really didn’t need to eat these right now. I had foot surgery in late September and haven’ been so active, and well let’s just say I started my Holiday 5-pound weight gain already, and we are just coming into the Holidays. But then that’s why they call it comfort food. I will make some New Year’s resolutions later.

In any recipe I start by getting all my ingredients together, which makes it so much easier throughout the process. I highly recommend that…plus reading the recipe all the way through. You don’t want to get into a recipe and then find out that you have to marinate it for 24 hours…and you were going to serve it in four. But I digress, for this recipe I just found out, after the fact, some very interesting cinnamon info that you will definitely want to know. I will be throwing out all my old cinnamon and only buying Ceylon cinnamon from now on (link on the sidebar).

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These yummy cakes are sooooo easy and everyone will think you are a cooking genius, and don’t tell them any different. I used the 6-ounce glass ramekins that I had on hand, but I think they would look better in a souffle dish. However, the souffle’s I had were 4.5 ounce, so whatever. I made some whipped cream on the side, and my husband complained because we didn’t have vanilla ice cream. So no souffle’s and no ice cream but whatever you have is great, or even just some powdered sugar if you like…or nothing. It really could be all by itself and no one would care. Let me know if someone you serve it to doesn’t love it!

Ingredients

1/2 cup Dark chocolate chips (or 4 oz dark baking chocolate)
1/2 cup (1 stick) butter
1 Tbs. red wine (any type)
1 tsp. Pure Vanilla Extract
1 cup confectioners’ sugar, sifted (keeps you from having lumps when you stir in/measure prior to sifting)
2 eggs
1 egg yolk
6 Tbs. flour
1/2 tsp. ground Ceylon Cinnamon
1/4 tsp. ground ginger
1/4 tsp. cayenne
1/8 tsp. ground cloves (optional)

Preheat your oven to 425°F. Then butter (or using baking spray) four 6-oz. ramekins or soufflé dishes and place on a baking sheet.

In a large glass (or microwaveable bowl) place the chocolate and butter and cook on high 1 minute or until butter is melted. Stir with wire whisk until chocolate is completely melted. Stir in wine, vanilla and confectioners’ sugar until well blended. Stir in two eggs and one yolk. Stir in flour, cinnamon, ginger, cayenne, and cloves (optional). Pour batter evenly into ramekins.

Bake 13 to 15 minutes or until sides are firm but centers are soft. Do not overcook or you will not have “lava.” Let stand for 1 minute. Loosen the edges with a small knife by carefully inserting in an edge and working all the way around.
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Invert cakes onto serving plates. The easiest way to do this is to place the plate onto the top of the cake, centered, and then flip it over. It will drop onto the plate easily. Sprinkle with additional confectioners’ sugar, ice cream or whipped cream. Serve immediately.

Tips: Don’t substitute inferior ingredients, i.e. margarine for the butter. The better chocolate you use, the better the chocolate taste in the cake.
You can make the batter a day ahead, pour into ramekins, cover and refrigerate. Make sure that you leave them out long enough to be room temperature before you bake.
This was modified from the McCormick lava cake recipe.