chocolate craving

I present this recipe to reveal my thought process when faced with typical cravings and minimal pantry.



UBER-QUICK CHOCOLATE CAKE
::2 eggs
::1/2 c sugar
::salt
::1/4 c really soft butter
::1/2 c flour
::1/8 c cocoa
::1 t baking soda
::cinnamon
::1/8 c hot, strong coffee

-Pretty much mix wet, mix dry, mix everything and 375 for 15-20.

It's a really simple, moist, fluffy, eatable cake that satisfies my urge for chocolate and my need to bake. What really made this cake great:

SESAME GINGER CHOCOLATE SAUCE!!

I made this up real quick a few weeks ago for a pot-luck to drizzle on Swedish pancakes. Nobody made pancakes. I take spoonfuls in passing, but I was eager to use it with another foodstuff.
I don't remember anything close to a recipe. I know it involved these ingredients:
::butter
::cocoa powder
::fresh ginger
::sesame oil
::salt
::sugar



A complex, deep flavor. I was satisfied using my quick cake as a vessel for mass-consumption of this.

Ginger Honey Sesame Bread

I was hungry and unmotivated to trek to the grocer at 9pm. Luckily, with my recent acquisition of baking soda, I can satisfy my snacking needs with simple, homemade quick-breads. Also, limited by a small amount of butter, I decided to add sesame oil to dough, and then why not ginger?

served warm with drizzled honey:

...also: darker than expected.

GINGER HONEY SESAME BREAD
::2 T butter (softened)
::1/4 c sesame oil
::1/4 c sugar
::1/4 c honey
::2 eggs
::1 T ginger (freshly grated/minced/pulverized)
::1 c flour
::1/4 c oats
::2 t baking soda
::salt
::cinnamon
-cream together butter, sesame oil, sugar, and honey.
-incorporate eggs and ginger.
-mix flour, oats, baking soda, salt, and cinnamon.
-combine dry and wet ingredients
-pour into sesameOiled baking pan
-bake at 350 for about 40 minutes.

I am really happy with these results. The ginger is strong, but gives way to the pleasant sesame and honey. A brilliant aftertaste. I would consider adding sesame seeds to the mix or as a topping. Maybe cashews.

Ginger Chocolate Chip Ice Cream

In honor of my OldMan, known to buy anything ginger. He's visiting on Sunday and I know he's been looking forward to some homemade happiness. This was my first venture into ginger ice cream. I used some strong ginger stuff from Trader Joe that I usually use with toast. Though I'll definitely add more next time, it's a good start.

GINGER CHOCOLATE CHIP ICE CREAM
::3 T traderJoe's Spreadable Ginger
::3 oz chopped dark chocolate (the darker the better)
::2 c ice cream base

-Chill ginger and whisk into ice cream base.
-Put in ice cream machine
-Vary-chop (=non uniform, for lots of different textures) the chocolate. Heating the chocolate a few seconds in the microwave helps knife flow (thanks for the tip Stacerella of chickybandita.com)
-Add chocolate about 2/3 way into churning.

As I said earlier, more ginger (probably about 4-5 Tbs. But it's still great. It's like eating chocolate covered crystallized ginger. Nice.

I haven't given myself camera access recently, but some photos will emerge...eventually. sorry about that