What's Baking Round-Up...Baked with ♥

As you may (or not) recall, this month, I was the host for our monthly What's Baking group.  Because it's February, I opted to go with a "love" theme....as in, Baked with Love!

The theme, itself, was quite open for interpretation as long as the recipe was something that would hold up well in a Valentine's menu.  To my pleasant surprise, many people went outside the realm of baking "themed" treats for the holiday and chose recipes that reminded them of their loved ones.  I am so glad that there were so many different ideas brought to the table this month and am thrilled to show y'all the variation of directions that everyone went in with this particular challenge!

So, without further ado, here are the entries for this month (in no particular order)....

Stuffed Red Velvet Cupcakes with 

Cream Cheese Frosting

Source: Our Italian Kitchen


 Vanilla Cupcakes

 Source: Southern Charm Treats

Red Velvet Cupcakes

Source: Hezzi-D's Books and Cooks

Triple Chocolate Espresso Brownies

Source: Blissfully Delicious


Coconut Drop Cookies

Source: JBean Cuisine


Red Velvet Cheesecake Bites

 Source: Our Share of the Harvest 


Alice's Chocolate Chip Cookies

 Source: The Boys Made Me Do It


Flourless Chocolate Hazelnut Cookies

Source: Pursuing Domestic Goddess-ness


Vanilla/German Chocolate Cake Cupcakes
with Oreo Bottoms

Source: She Cooks and Bakes!


Mint Oreo Fudge

Source: I was Born To Cook


Mixed Berry Cobbler with Cornmeal Crust

Source: Adventures In My Kitchen

Strawberry Cupcakes

Source: The Tiny Tyrant's Kitchen

Cinnamon Rolls

 Source: The Mess Pot



Brownie Pudding

Source: Cloud 8 1/2




Triple Layer Oreo Cake

Source: Beantown Baker


 Chocolate Dipped Strawberry Cakeballs

 Source: The Jey of Cooking

Chocolate Strawberry Tartlets

Source: Brownies and Blondies


Molten Lava Cakes

Source: With a Cherry on Top



Snickerdoodles

Source: Carrie's Sweet Life

Be sure to stick around and see next month's challenge....Amanda, from Our Italian Kitchen, is the host for March!  The theme she has chosen is Bake From Your Nationality/Heritage, in honor of St. Patrick's Day!  I wonder what everyone will make?!

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What's Baking....Baked with Love

So for this month’s What’s Baking challenge, I was the hostess with the mostess and because it was February, the month of love, I chose a theme based around just that….LOVE! 

We all did something “Baked with Love” and I was hoping that it would be interpreted in a few  different ways – not only did I feel it would be great to center it around Valentine’s Day, but to also choose recipes that, perhaps, meant something to someone or was a reminder of someone special in their life!

I chose to go the first route and made something very appropriate for V-Day…something I love seeing on a Valentine’s menu and something, actually, that I’ve never made before: Lava Cakes!

Chris and I both love the chocolatey goodness  that these cakes hold…the ooey-gooey center is what makes them so darn special!  To my pleasant surprise, they were really easy (probably one of the easiest desserts I’ve ever tackled).  But being a newbie, something went wrong (maybe I didn’t cool them long enough), but they deflated once I removed them from the ramekins….hence, deflated looking cake in the picture!

But don’t let that stop you….the deflation these babies went under had absolutely no effect on the taste!  They were deee-licious!

Molten Lava Cakes

Ingredients

1/2 cup Unsalted Butter

Cocoa Powder

4 oz. Semi-Sweet Chocolate

2 Eggs

1/4 cup Sugar

Pinch of Salt

2 Tsp. Flour

Directions

Preheat oven to 425 degrees.  Butter the inside of two ramekins and dust the insides with cocoa powder (to prevent the cakes from sticking).

In a double-boiler or bowl sitting atop a pan of simmering water, melt the butter and chocolate over medium heat, stirring frequently; let cool.

In a large bowl, beat together the eggs, sugar and salt until the sugar dissolves (about 1 minute).  With the mixer on low, slowly add in the chocolate mixture until incorporated into the egg mixture.  Add in the flour and mix to combine.

Carefully divide the batter between the two ramekins and place on a baking sheet.  Bake for 8 minutes and remove.  Let cool slightly and gently slide a butter knife around the inside of the ramekin to remove the cake.  Serve with whipped cream, a dusting of powdered sugar or fresh fruit!

Yield: 2 Servings

Source: Adapted from Made in Melissa's Kitchen, originally from Allrecipes

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