Lauren's Birthday Cake

This cake is a standard at our house. When you just feel like making something easy and delish this is the cake for you. It's always a big hit and it has so many possibilities. Sometimes we do layers of ganache, this time I did ganache and raspberry jam. You can definitely do lemon curd layers, whipped cream and fruit, a mousse, yadda yadda...

Here's the recipe for the cake and ganache, and here is the lemon curd recipe should you choose to go that route.

Lauren's Brownie Cookies

My best friend Lauren loves brownie cookies, so one night a few weeks ago for The Bachelor Tells All I made these cookies for her.

Makes about 18 cookies

Ingredients:

1 1/3 cups (233g) dark chocolate, 70% cocoa solids or more, chopped
2 tablespoons (28g) unsalted butter, room temperature
2 eggs
2/3 cup (134g) sugar – I used vanilla infused sugar
½ teaspoon vanilla extract
¼ cup (35g) all purpose flour
¼ teaspoon baking powder
1 cup (175g) dark chocolate chunks or chips

Method:

Preheat the oven to 350ºF; line two large baking sheets with baking paper.

Melt the 1 1/3 cups chocolate with the butter in a small saucepan over low heat – stir constantly until smooth. Set aside to cool for 5 minutes. Mix eggs, vanilla and sugar in a medium bowl. Combine thoroughly. Set aside.
Sift flour and baking powder together in a small bowl.
Add melted chocolate mixture to the egg mixture and slowly add your dry ingredients. When stirred, add the cup of chocolate chunks/chips and stir.

Scoop 1 ½ tablespoons of dough onto prepared sheets. Bake for 10-12 minutes or until they are firm on the outside (dough loses its sheen). Leave to cool completely on sheets.

Photo Credit: Technicolor Kitchen