Molten chocolate cake? I think not.

Have you ever had a really great molten chocolate cake? If you have, then you know that it is typically a moist, individually-portioned cake that is deliberately underbaked so that the middle gets hot and gooey but doesn't set. Thus, when you cut into it, the "molten" chocolate in the center oozes out, mixing with the cake into a rich, tasty feast.

When I ordered a molten chocolate cake at Bugaboo Creek Steak House, I didn't expect it to be great, but I did expect it to be decent. Unfortunately, the dessert failed to live up to even this modest expectation. Rather than a rich cake with a gooey center, I received a dry cake with little taste, topped with hot fudge sauce and accompanied by a scoop of ice cream with fake vanilla flavor. The fudge sauce actually wasn't bad, and if there had been more of it, it might have better masked the lousy cake, but there wasn't enough sauce to get a decent sauce-to-cake ratio in each bite.

This is the third time I've had a disappointing dessert at Bugaboo Creek, so it's probably the last time. If it weren't conveniently located halfway between our house and that of our friends with small children, I'm not even sure I'd go back.

Nearly perfect apple crisp

When autumn comes around, one of my favorite activities is to pick (or sometimes just buy) a bunch of local apples and turn them into dessert. And, while I appreciate a broad range of apple desserts, one of my favorites is apple crisp.

This fall, I discovered an apple crisp recipe by Ina Garten (the Barefoot Contessa). I made it twice, the first time pretty much following the recipe exactly except for a slight increase in apples to accommodate a different size pan. The topping was outstanding, but the filling was a bit mushy and too citrusy. The second time, I reduced the citrus and used half Granny Smith apples and half Gala, decreasing the sugar slightly due to the sweetness of the Galas. This improved the flavor of the filling, and though it was one of the best apple crisps I've ever eaten, the filling was still too soft. The next time, I'll try baking at a higher temperature for less time and/or cutting the baking time and broiling the top, to try to keep the apples a bit more together while still browning the crisp.

For those that want to try the recipe, the changes I made were as follows:

• Use half tart, crisp apples (e.g., Granny Smith) and half sweet, crisp apples (e.g., Gala)
• Use only the zest of half an orange (no lemon zest)
• Use only 1 Tbsp. lemon juice (no orange juice)
• Decrease sugar to 3/8 cup
• Decrease nutmeg to 1/2 teaspoon (mainly this is because I don't care for nutmeg)
• Bake in 13x9 rectangular baking dish
  

A tasty cell phone

As a tech geek, I read a lot about the latest smart phones, like the iPhone and the new Verizon Droid. I guess I'm a bit slow, though, as it took me until this week to realize that Google's Android operating system, which powers several smart phones (including the Droid), names each version of the OS after various desserts: cupcake, donut, and éclair so far. Kudos to the Android team for choosing such a delectable naming scheme.

Meanwhile, it's Halloween and the final day of National Dessert Month, so I'm looking forward to an evening of handing out candy (perhaps sneaking all the a few candy corns for myself) and baking apple crisp.

Aida's cinnamon roll bread pudding

With some leftover Martin's potato rolls and some fresh-from-the-orchard apples, I decided to make some bread pudding this weekend. I'd tried Aida Mollenkamp's cinnamon roll bread pudding recipe once before, and while not perfect, I thought I might be able to tweak it to my satisfaction. I eliminated the nuts, decreased the amount of amaretto, and added some sliced apples. I also found that the pudding was set firm (probably more firm than many people would like) before it started to brown (after around 55 minutes of baking), so I took it out at that point.

The verdict? My wife and I felt that the amaretto flavor, while no longer overpowering like the first time I made it, was unnecessary, and that the texture didn't come out quite right. Next time, I think I'll have to try a different recipe. If you have any suggestions, please let me know in the comments.

National Dessert Day

No one seems to know why, but today is apparently National Dessert Day this month is National Dessert Month and the 14th is National Dessert Day. I guess this means I'll have to eat a different dessert each day for the whole month. Sigh. I hate when that happens.

In a nice display of fortuitous timing, my friend who works in the alumni office at Tufts invited me to an event tonight that will have desserts provided by the Danish Pastry House, which from my experience has delectable baked goods.

Blueberry muffins

For a co-worker's birthday, I made the Cook's Illustrated blueberry muffin recipe. The muffins looked beautiful and were very good, though still not quite as good as a great bakery muffin. The batter was a little less sweet than I'm used to, and the texture a bit more fluffy/creamy. I also made a note to add a few more blueberries next time--maybe a full pint instead of 1.5 cups. Still, they were quite good for homemade, and they were a big hit at the office.

Oreo and peppermint frappe

For those who aren't from the Boston area, I should mention that what the rest of the U.S. calls a milkshake, we call a frappe. (Here, a milkshake is milk and syrup, blended or shaken until frothy.)

Anyway, at the local ice cream shop, Colleen's, they have Brigham's ice cream (a local brand that's quite good for packaged ice cream). Two of my favorite flavors are Oreo and Peppermint Stick. Since chocolate and peppermint go together nicely, I decided one day to try the two flavors together in a frappe. Since then, if I'm at Colleen's and in the mood for a frappe, it's the one I always order. Rich, creamy, chocolaty-minty goodness that you can drink with a straw (though sometimes chunks of Oreo block it up). Summertime refreshment at its best.

Macapuno ensaymada

Today, I had a chance to taste a dessert from the Philippines, a sweet roll with coconut filling called macapuno ensaymada. It's a little hard to describe, but basically, imagine a sweet challah or other egg bread filled with pieces of coconut in some sort of gelatinous suspension. It tasted better than it sounds, although not as good as I'd hoped. I found the treat in a Filipino grocery store next door to a Filipino restaurant down in Braintree or Quincy. A Filipino friend took us down there on our way to Ikea.

Although it was interesting to try the macapuno, I was happier with the other item I purchased, Yan Yan, which I've had many times before and never tire of. Insert crunchy stick in creamy chocolate, remove, insert into mouth, enjoy.

Fried Ice Cream from the supermarket

Turkey Hill has another limited edition flavor to enjoy: Fried Ice Cream. It's cinnamon ice cream with a caramel-like swirl and pieces of "tostada." The tostada pieces are more chewy than crispy, but the overall effect works, creating something that both simulates the flavor of the Tex-Mex dessert and is just generally yummy.

Black-and-whites at Lyndell's

Lyndell's Bakery, a rare local "standard" bakery in nearby Somerville, has some of the best cupcakes and black-and-whites around. Their version of the black-and-white is basically a flattened cupcake with yellow cake and half white frosting, half chocolate. I actually prefer the variety that is all white, as I've always objected to mixing non-chocolate cake with chocolate frosting and vice versa. In any case, though, Lyndell's products are excellent. The frosting is satisfyingly sweet, without the over-rich fattiness found at some bakeries. The cake is moist but not too dense. And, unlike the cupcakes, the black-and-whites (and all-whites) are flat enough to fit in your mouth. :)

Southern Lemon Pie Ice Cream

Turkey Hill has a limited edition (unfortunately) flavor called Southern Lemon Pie Ice Cream: lemon ice cream plus shortbread pieces and marshmallow swirl (resembles meringue). I think lemon ice cream is an underrepresented flavor in the marketplace. Turkey Hill's lemon flavor is really tasty, and the other goodies add to the experience.

Banana nut bread

On Saturday, I made banana nut bread, following the recipe from Cook's Illustrated. I actually followed a variation for chocolate banana nut bread, with about 2.5 ounces of chocolate shavings in the batter and a bit less sugar to compensate, but I really didn't feel it added much. That said, it was a delicious banana bread. Moist and chewy, with a slightly crisp (but not dried-out) crust and lots of flavor.

My only gripe is that, once I let it cool all day and wrapped it in plastic wrap, the crust lost its crispness. Maybe if I had wrapped it in aluminum foil or put it in a paper bag like a bakery bread, it would have maintained the consistency. It still tasted great this morning, though, and I think most people expect the outside of a banana bread to be soft, anyway.

Molten Chocolate at Finale

It's hard to believe I've had The Dessert Blog for so long and haven't yet mentioned Finale. For those not in the Boston area, Finale is a dessert restaurant with a few locations in and around the city. It's very high end, with $10 "plated desserts" and a large selection of dessert wines, dessert martinis, etc. There are also a few appetizers and such, in case you're too hungry for just a dessert, but really the focus is on the sweets.

Last night, I went there with my wife and a couple friends, and I ordered one of my favorites: Molten Chocolate. I've seen (and tasted) this basic idea of a chocolate cake with a warm liquid/gooey chocolate center in many restaurants, but this is by far the best version I've had. High quality chocolate, exactly the right consistency inside and out, a Valhrona chocolate sauce, and a small but high-quality scoop of gelato (coffee by default, but I substituted vanilla). Combine that with a nice glass of sherry, and you really have yourself a treat. A treat that costs $20+, mind you, but a treat nonetheless.

Cookies with creamy milk chocolate filling

A friend gave my wife a recipe that used to be printed on the back of Ghiradelli milk chocolate chip bags. My wife made the cookies with Nestle milk chocolate chips (the only milk chocolate ones we could find at the store), and we thought they were fabulous. Perhaps a little on the sweet side, so next time we might try semi-sweet chips for the cookies themselves and milk chocolate for the filling. We also thought about variations, like adding some peppermint extract or caramel to the filling.

Anyway, here's the recipe:

Five Star Ghiradelli Cookies With Creamy Milk Chocolate Filling

1 cup oats
1 1/4 cup all purpose flour
1 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, room temperature
1 cup brown sugar, packed
1/2 cup granulated sugar
2 large eggs
1 tsp. vanilla
1 bag (11.5 oz.) Ghiradelli Milk Chocolate Chips

Filling:

1 cup Ghiradelli Milk Chocolate Chips
1/4 cup heavy whipping cream

Cookies: Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Combine oats, flour, baking soda, and salt, set aside. In a large bowl, beat butter with sugars until well blended. Add eggs and vanilla, mixing on low speed until well combined. Mix dry mixture into creamed mixture. Stir in chocolate chips. Drop by slightly rounded teaspoons onto lightly greased baking sheet. [Editor's note: I recommend parchment paper instead of greasing.] Flatten slightly. Bake for 9-10 minutes. Cool for 2 minutes on baking sheet and then transfer to wire racks.

Filling: Place one cup chocolate chips in a small bowl and microwave on HIGH power for 1 minute. Remove and stir until chocolate is melted and smooth. If not melted, microwave on HIGH power for additional 30-second increments until smooth. Place 1/4 cup heavy whipping cream in small bowl and microwave on HIGH for 20 seconds. Gradually stir heavy whipping cream into chocolate until smooth. Spread filling on flat sides of half the cookies. Top with remaining cookies, flat sides against filling. Let cookies stand for 1-2 hours before eating. [Editor's note: If you can wait that long!] Makes about 24 filled cookies.

Snowflake pretzels

Someone at work brought in "Snowflake Pretzels" from Crate and Barrel. I can't find them on their website, but maybe they're available (probably only during the holidays) at stores.

They're white chocolate covered pretzels with white nonpareils on them. The pretzels are shaped like snowflakes. Yummy and festive!

Chex Mix for the sweet tooth

A few years ago, I was introduced to Honey Nut Chex Mix. Ever since, I've tried to avoid the sweet salty temptation, as I have a hard time stopping once I start chowing down. When my coworker discovered Chocolate Chex Mix - Turtle, I was really in trouble, as it is even sweeter and yummier than the Honey Nut flavor. There's just something about that sweet-n-salty, crisp-n-crunchy combination that I can't resist.