Chocolate Plus Lava

Equals Cake! Or rather a chocolate lava cake.

Over the past few days I have tried out a few recipes that I have found on other blogs that I follow. As in Chocolate- Covered Katie, Sweet Tooth Runner, and Healthy Food for Living.

I, of course, added my touches to each recipe I tried, just to make it my own, which most bloggers encourage you to do because they want you to make it your to your taste. (Or at least I hope they all don't mind, sorry guys but you all inspired me!)

So this is what was on my mind to make. Chocolate lava cakes, single serving banana bread, and single serving oatmeal raisin cake. (The last one was my own recipe.) I saw the chocolate lava cake first on Sweet Tooth Runner's site. It is really Peanut Butter Chocolate Lava Cake, but the original blogger was Lauren from Healthy Food for Living.  Hers called for peanut flour, something I can not find (but do want to make a trip to the Trader Joe's in Princeton because it is larger than the one in Westfield and I hope they will carry it. Otherwise, does anyone know where I can get some?) so instead I used almond meal (which the Westfield TJ does carry). I wanted to make a single serving of banana bread so I could make myself banana bread french toast. So I took a recipe from Katie and made it. The oatmeal raisin cake I kind of used the idea from Katie with her baked banana oatmeal.

That is enough talking about all this food, let me show you it all...

Almond Chocolate Lava Cake for One

 1/4 cup almond meal

1 tablespoon coconut palm sugar
2 tablespoons cocoa powder (Hershey's Special Dark is always my choice, it have such a rich flavor)
1/8 teaspoon baking powder
pinch of salt
3 tablespoon almond milk
1 tablespoon unsweetened applesauce
1/4 teaspoon vanilla
warm apple butter

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Grease a 6 oz ramekin.

Whisk the dry ingredients together.

Combine all the liquid ingredients together.

Mix the two together and

spoon into the ramekin.

Bake 11 to 12 minutes. You want to let the top to be done, but the inside to still be uncooked. Hench the lave cake!

So good! Even with my almond meal change. It did make the cake a tad bit gritty, but still great in flavor. And I topped it with some more almond butter.

Banana Bread French Toast

for the bread:
1/4 cup whole wheat flour
pinch of salt
1/4 teaspoon baking powder
1 tablespoon flaxmeal
1 medium sized banana
1 tablespoon oil
1/4 teaspoon vanilla

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Grease a mini loaf pan.

Mash the banana, add the oil, vanilla, and flaxmeal.

Add in the flour, salt, and baking powder.

Mix and place in the pan. Bake 20 to 25 minutes.

For the batter:
1/2 cup almond milk
2 tablespoons whole wheat white flour
2 tablespoons nutritional yeast
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon (little more for my taste)
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon vanilla

Mix all together.

Soak the banana bread in the batter, flipping the bread over a few times.

Heat a pan that is lightly oiled. (I tried 1 teaspoon coconut oil, but that was too much I think because the batter was sticking to the pan, but then after the oil kind of got used up, the batter was finally browning. I think it is how you have to make pancakes, use only a little grease because you want it to brown.) Place the bread in the pan and cook on each side until browned and crispy. Maybe 5 minutes on each side.

Top with a little syrup and fresh blueberries. Check out that crispyness on the outside and the dense fudgeyness inside:

Oatmeal Raisin Mini Bundt Pan

1/4 cup raisins
2 tablespoons oats
2 tablespoon whole wheat flour
1/8 teaspoon baking powder
pinch of salt
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon flax seeds
1 tablespoon unsweetened applesauce
1 tablespoon water
1/4 teaspoon vanilla
1 tablespoon maple syrup

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease a mini bundt pan.

Combine all the dry ingredients together. Add in all the wet ingredients.

Combine, pour into pan. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes.

I topped it with almond butter, yummy!

And here is a dinner salad I wanted you all to try and make:

it had fresh avocados, grape tomatoes, purple and light yellow peppers, fresh lemon juice, roasted peppers, mushrooms, chick peas, corn, mango, black olives, green olives filled with pimentos, and lemon basil. Oh my gosh! Heaven on a plate. (the tomatoes are from my garden, the peppers are from the farmers market, and I roasted the peppers and shrooms with onion, coriander, cumin, s and p, and oregano; and the chick peas with smoked sweet paprika, the corn with just s and p.)

I swear the banana soft serve will be coming up!