Molten Chocolate Cake

For Pierce's birthday he asked for Chocolate Lava Cake or Molton Chocolate cake. I have made these before but I always struggle trying to find the recipe that I like - so I'm posting what I made this time. I think Pierce liked them. I liked them too- but I don't know if the rest of the family does- they are a little too gooey they thought. But this recipe I  made makes 6 - which is the perfect number for our family and the other recipes only make 4.

1 and 1/2 sticks butter
9 oz semi sweet or bittersweet chocolate. I used a 4 oz Baker's Semi-sweet chocolate bar, a 3.17 oz Ghiradelli dark chocolate bar (either 72 % or 86% cacao - I don't remember which) and then 2 oz of nestle semisweet chocolate chips.
3 eggs
3 egg yolks
3/8 c sugar (6 Tbsp)
pinch of salt
3 Tbsp flour

Preheat the oven to 450°. Butter and flour six ramekins and put them on a baking sheet. In a Pyrex bowl set over a pan of simmering water, melt the butter and chocolate. In another bowl, beat the eggs with the egg yolks, sugar and salt at high speed until thickened and pale. When the chocolate is smooth, quickly mix it and the flour into the egg mixture. Spoon the batter evenly into the ramekins and bake for 12 minutes, or until the sides of the cakes are firm but the centers are soft. Let the cakes cool in the ramekins for 1 minute, then cover each with an inverted dessert plate. Carefully turn each one over, let stand for 10 seconds and then unmold. Serve immediately with a scoop of vanilla ice cream and garnish with raspberries.

Breakfast Pizza

Last week, Pierce turned 17! He planned to have his D and D crew hang out in the evening as they usually do on Friday nights. What we didn't realize is that 3 of them were spending the night. He says he told us about it and even his sister remembered he was doing it- but I guess we missed it somehow! So I had 4 hungry teenage boys to feed in the morning and had to come up with something to make. I remembered I had made this breakfast pizza once before and decided to try it again.

20 oz shredded hash browns
1 onion, chopped fine
1/4 to 1/2 red bell pepper, chopped
2 tbsp butter
12 eggs
10-12 slices bacon
4 oz diced ham (half a package)
shredded cheddar cheese - about 2 cups
salt and pepper for seasoning

Spray a 14 inch pizza pan with cooking spray. Melt the butter in a pan and add onion. Cook until soft. Mix cooked onions into shredded hash browns and spread onto a pizza pan. Season with salt and pepper. Bake at 425˚F for 20-25 minutes. Meanwhile, scramble the eggs and cook the bacon. When crust is done, remove from oven and sprinkle with scrambled eggs. Crumble the bacon and sprinkle over the pizza. Add ham and red bell pepper and any other toppings you want. (My family won't do mushrooms, but I thought they sounded good here.) Top with shredded cheese. Bake for an additional 20 to 25 minutes.

While the crust is baking, fry the bacon and cook the scrambled eggs.

Remove the crust from the oven and sprinkle with the scrambled eggs.
Next, crumble the bacon and sprinkle it over the eggs.
Follow the bacon with the diced ham and any other toppings your family loves such as onions, peppers or mushrooms.
Top it all with shredded cheese.
Return the breakfast pizza to the oven and bake for an additional 20-25 minutes.