I have some seriously awesome friends here in Bozeman. Well, everywhere, actually — but today I’m feeling especially grateful for the Bozemanites. Cheesy-happy post, commence:
Yesterday four of my girlfriends here in town took me on a special “Celebrate Mary’s Engagement” day to Yellowstone: it was a phenomenal day! We started with breakfast burritos at my house (not provided by me), drove to the park and set out on a cross-country ski adventure. It was my first time classic skiing — and was really fun! I’ll probably need to get my own pair of classic skis now… Umm, wedding registry?
After a few hours of beautiful skiing, we headed towards the boiling river, stopping to eat lunch along the way. If you’ve never been to the boiling river, or heard of it… Google it. It’s fantastic. Basically, a 140 degree F river flows into the Yellowstone River (which is currently quite icy), and the junction of the two create a lovely pool to hang out in! Some parts are not as fun, as you have scalding water hitting you one second, followed by freezing water… but as you make your way down, it mixes together nicely and is perfect to sit in — especially after a long ski!
The day was a great one: I came back exhausted, freckled, and overjoyed with life as a whole. We laughed, talked about a whole range of things — from silly, to serious, to thoughtful, to curious — and just truly enjoyed each other’s company in nature. We live in a pretty awesome place!
Now, apart from loving life, these molten chocolate cakes are pretty high on my list of “awesome” right now. I rarely order dessert at restaurants, but if I do, chances are it is a molten chocolate cake. This one has some spice thrown in, which is a perfect match with the hot-gooey nature of the dish.
I thought this would be a good one to share for Valentine’s day — since I made mine in cute little heart-shaped ramekins! Not only that, but they’re really (absurdly) easy to make, but have a pretty good WOW factor. Guys — try this Thursday night, and you’ll have your lady super impressed!
- 4 ounces semi-sweet baking chocolate
- ½ cup butter
- 1 Tbsp bourbon (optional)
- 1 tsp vanilla
- 1 cup powdered sugar
- 2 eggs
- 1 egg yolk
- 6 Tbsp flour
- ¼ tsp cinnamon
- ¼ tsp ground ginger
- ¼ tsp chili powder
- ⅛ tsp salt
- Preheat the oven to 425 F.
- Melt the butter and chocolate together until the butter is completely melted. Remove from heat and whisk until the chocolate is completely melted and the mixture is smooth.
- Whisk in the whiskey, vanilla, and powdered sugar.
- Whisk in the eggs and egg yolk until completely smooth.
- Add the remaining ingredients and stir to incorporate.
- Divide between six 4-oz buttered ramekins. Place the ramekins on a baking sheet and cook for 10-12 minutes - the edges should be set but the center will still be soft (although not wet). Remove from the oven, let cool 1 minute before gently loosening edges with a knife and inverting the cakes onto individual plates. Top with powdered sugar.
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[…] I have a lot of normal recipes to share with you (like grains and veggies), but I also have so many sweet things stocked up that I couldn’t keep these cookies to myself anymore. They were delicious, and a less-fancy alternative to yesterday’s spiced chocolate molten cakes. […]