Kahlua Lava Cakes

Valentine's Day is approaching and these mini lava cakes are simple and decadent...Sure to melt your honey's heart and set the right mood for the night!  *Wink*

I've wanted to make lava cakes for a while, something simple and small.  I think decadent and super rich chocolate has its place.  I wanted to create something small, luscious and just the right amount of chocolate to compliment the subtle Kahlua flavor.  Rockin' it next to some vanilla bean ice cream was also a must.  

And, I'll be honest, I'm not a huge chocolate fan...Not even a great dark chocolate fan.  Except with coconut, of course.  I know...what happened to me at birth?  Aren't all girls supposed to be in love with chocolate?  

I also wanted to use heart shaped sprinkles and VDay seems to be the only holiday that I can use heart sprinkles.  I got my sprinkles at Target...And, in true Target fashion these sprinkles were a deal...Let me show you why...

See?! Why on earth would they combine blue teal hearts with red, pink and white hearts I ask you?  Good thing I had some time on my hands (home sick with bronchitis), plus I'm truly anal retentive when it comes to sprinkles.  Yeah, you know me so well by now...  :)

I can guarantee that these little lovelies are super easy, super full-proof and super delish.  I'm not a chocolate fan, right?  Well, these have just the right amount of "chocolaty-ness" for both the chocolate and the less-than-over-the-top chocolate lovers in your life.  

A nice glass of champagne should seal this deal.  *Wink*

I'm sharing this in the coffee liqueur challenge over at Baking With Spirit!  


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Kahlua Caramel Mocha Cupcakes

“If you can't fly then run, if you can't run then walk, if you can't walk then crawl, but whatever you do you have to keep moving forward.” 
― Martin Luther King Jr.

Happy Martin Luther King, Jr. Day, dear readers! Hopefully you got to enjoy a day off. I know I really needed today off work - not that it was a restful, relaxing day - oh nooo no no. I had delusions of grandeur for my three day weekend, and was going to accomplish all kinds of great things. My house was going to be soooo clean, replete with freshly sealed and painted baseboards, and I wasn’t going to have a scrap of dirty laundry nor a dirty dish lying around. I was going to give myself a perfect manicure, after painting the baseboards, of course, create a new recipe I’ve been thinking about, and even squeeze in some time with girl friends.

Ohh yeah, I was delusional. I ended up relating very strongly to the MLK, Jr. quote, above.

Actually, I didn’t do too badly. Although I didn’t so much as touch those baseboards, nor did I work on developing that recipe, I did get a WHOLE lot done – including a LOT of things that weren’t even on my to do list. In all honesty, that’s about par for the course, for me. I obsessively make “to do” lists that even Martha Stewart couldn’t get through in one day – but it pushes me to keep moving forward, and sometimes that’s enough.

Ok, in ALL honesty, I’m totally putting those extra things that I got done on my to do list, so that I’ll have the satisfaction of crossing them off. Yesssss.

Bella helped with the laundry.

So, I just got back from a long run with my dog, which was preceded by a trip to the grocery store (which is one of the most exhausting and hated things in my life – that’s why I’m so keen on substitutions when I bake). I also went to the vet for the second time this weekend to get different medication for my new cat – oh yeah, I’ve been administering meds to a cat all weekend. If you’ve ever done that, you know that I feel super accomplished just from that. It’s a really, really good thing the cat is so cute. It makes up for the blood loss, a little bit.   

Selleck. As in Tom Selleck.

Anyway, I finally got a chance to sit down and enjoy my coffee that I’ve been carrying around from place to place all day (thank you, Starbucks insulated mug for keeping it warm!). And you know what? I do NOT feel like baking anything today. Plus, by the time I’m done it will be almost dark, and OMG bad evening lighting/yellow nocturnal pictures/lions and tigers and bears, oh my! But, my delightful Starbucks coffee reminded me of an already complete, already photographed project that I’ve been meaning to post, and there’s no time like the present! As MLK, Jr. said, keep moving forward.

                 

I made these awhile back for a friend and co-worker of mine who is always going the extra mile to do things for others, so I wanted to do a little something and bring in a treat for her birthday. She used to be a Starbucks barista, so I thought these would be fun. Well, it ended up being a keep moving forward kind of recipe.

Orange Dreamsicle Cupcakes

I think orange is an under-appreciated flavor. It seems like candy dishes always run out of the "popular" flavors, like cherry, chocolate, and lime - leaving a surplus of rejected orange candies languishing at the bottom of the dish. I'm always happy to snatch them up for myself. I like to root for the underdog. And I really, really love orange-flavored everything.

These cupcakes were partially inspired by Icing on the Cupcake's orange cupcakes - which I love - and partially inspired by childhood memories of savoring orange dreamsicles on hot summer days, and swigging orange-flavored Triaminic. Wait, what??!