Monday, November 30, 2009

Hand over the chocolate and no one gets hurt

Since my daily activities have pretty much been reduced to nesting, cooking, freezing said cooking, and eating said cooking along the way*, I thought I'd return to my early blog roots and do a good, old-fashioned food post.

(*Yeah, yeah, I'm also "working from home," but you can probably tell by the quotation marks how that is going.)

I have never understood the obsession with chocolate. Not the pre-period cravings that I've heard about, not the "death by chocolate" desserts, not the dark v. milk debate. I mean, chocolate's nice and all, and I won't turn away the occasional Snickers or scoop of ice cream, but it's never really done it for me. I've always been more of a second-helping-of-carbs-in-lieu-of-dessert type gal.

Until recently. I don't know what has come over me (well, I guess I do, but anyway), but I am all about the sweets. ESPECIALLY chocolate. There's a See's Candies right downstairs from my office, and every day for the last few weeks I've been nipping down there after lunch to buy a couple of milk chocolate caramels, plus of course the free sample(s) they give you along the way. I never pass up dessert when out to dinner. It's gotten a little disgusting. I feel like I'm always scrounging for chocolate like a pig snorting for truffles. It doesn't help that I'm starting to resemble a pig, either.

But, to continue the unfortunate pig metaphor, sometimes I choose to revel in my slop. As was the case this weekend, when I used the excuse of Thanksgiving + another chocolate-loving family member to create the most resplendent (yet simple) pure chocolate dessert masterpiece, courtesy of Smitten Kitchen. I command every chocolate lover out there to click through to the recipe and bake this cake IMMEDIATELY.

I wish I had taken a picture, but I was too distracted by the glossy, beautiful deep brown frosting cascading over the sides of the cake. Oh, and the moist, fluffy insides....I am drooling at the memory. And it really wasn't that hard to make....and trust me, I can count on one hand the number of things I know how to bake (including items that come from a Duncan Hines box and/or a premade cookie dough log).

The chocolate-loving family member loved the cake, and graciously agreed to take the leftovers so that I wouldn't put myself into a chocolate coma. Instead, I now must contemplate where the closest See's Candies is to my house. Or it's going to be a very long afternoon of "working from home."

Happy belated Thanksgiving, everyone!

5 comments:

A said...

haha! Looks yummy! Ill have to try that soon!

Michele said...

what is it about pg and choc? I nearly put myself in an orea -and- choc milk coma with these guys!

K said...

Mmmmm....chocolate. But it has to be dark, bittersweet for me. No Snickers, thanks. And could you grab some In N Out burgers and have a few for me while you're at it? Been craving those. Better yet, would ya ship me some overnight?

Emily said...

Happy Thanksgiving, Barefoot! I have been kind of sweets averse this pg, they give me heartburn in a major way, but that cake looks amazing!!
Not long now...

Anonymous said...

That cake looks divine! Now I just need to find someone to make it for, so I don't eat the entire thing myself. I've always had a chocolate addiction and I love your comment about the pig snorting for truffles. I sometimes feel like a crack addict when I'm rooting throught he cupboards for chocolate. I will even resort to eating hot cocoa mix. Having a See's within walking distance of home or work would be a serious problem for me!