So I was craving some chocolate post-dinner tonight and decided to give a Lava Cake a try. Not only did this end up being one of the best chocolate desserts I have ever had...but it's also gluten free!

8 small ramekins
Butter to grease ramekins
8 parchment circles to fit in the bottom of the ramekin
2 tbsp cocoa powder
1/2 tsp cup butter
10 oz semisweet chocolate (finely chopped)
1.5 cups sugar
3 tbsp arrowroot power
3 whole eggs @ room temp.
4 egg yolks @ room temp.
2 tsp vanilla (or any other flavouring you want)
1/4 cup icing sugar, sifted

Preheat over to 400F. Grease up and place a parchment paper circle in the bottom of each ramekins then dust with cocoa powder. In a double boiler (or I just used a saucepan over low heat and was very careful) melt chocolate and butter. In another bowl, mix together sugar and arrowroot powder. Pour chocolate and butter mix into sugar mixture and stir. In (yet another) bowl, whip together eggs and any flavourings you are using for about 5 minutes or until they are light and fluffy. Stir into chocolate mix. Pour 1/2 cup of batter into each ramekin and bake for 15 minutes or until the top is cracked.
Pull out of oven and let them sit for 3 minutes. Run a knife around the edge of each ramekin and tip over onto a plate. Dust with icing sugar, garnish with fruit or any other yumminess. Or do like I did...don't even both to tip it out and just eat it out of the ramekin.

Adapted from "Whitewater Cooks with Friends" by Shelley Adams...pretty much the best series of cookbooks on the planet. If you don't have one of her 3 cookbooks, do your belly a favour and go by one, stat.

Crust:
3/4 cup graham cracker crumbs
1/8 cup sugar
1/4 cup butter, melted
Filling:
2 packages cream cheese (softened)
3/4 cup sugar
2 eggs
1 tbsp lemon juice
2 tsp grated lemon peel
1 tsp vanilla extract
Topping:
1 cup sour cream
1/4 cup sugar
1 tsp grated lemon peel
1/2 tsp vanilla extract

Set your oven to 350F. In a bowl combine the crust ingredients and press into a 8" springform pan. In another bowl, beat cream cheese and sugar until smooth. Add the eggs and beat on low until just combined. Add the lemon juice, peel and vanilla and mix just a little. Pour into the crust and bake for 55 min or until the centre looks almost set. Remove from oven and let it sit for 5 minutes.

Mix topping ingredients together and spread over the top of the cheesecake. Return to the oven for another 5 minutes, remove from oven and let it cool. Best if you can refrigerate it overnight and then let it warm up to room temperature again before serving.

I topped off the cheesecake with some blueberries and icing sugar to give it a wintery look but it's amazing as is or with any other berry toppings too!

A lovely dessert with fresh, vibrant flavours and a smooth, velvety texture.   Don’t be intimidated by the recipe – this is definitely both manageable and worth the effort!  To make it easy on yourself, measure everything out before-hand.

Robyn cooked us an amazing dinner last night: herbed polenta with balsamic mushrooms, caramelized onions, slow roasted tomatoes and roasted garlic.  I made this for dessert, and we all loved it – it’s fresh and light enough to follow a rich or heavy meal.

Ingredients:
3/4 cup plus 4 tbsp sugar
6 tablespoons (3/4 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature
1 tbsp grated lemon peel
3 large eggs, separated
1/3  cup all purpose flour
1/3 cup fresh lemon juice
1 1/2 cups milk (do not use low-fat or nonfat)

Optional topping ingredients:
1-2 cups whipping cream
½ cup-1 cup raspberries or blueberries
¼ cup water

Preparation:
Preheat oven to 350°F. Butter 6-8 ramekins. Place dishes in metal cake pan. Using electric mixer, beat 3/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons sugar, 6 tablespoons butter and lemon peel in medium bowl until well blended. Add egg yolks 1 at a time, beating well after each addition. Beat in flour, then lemon juice. Gradually mix in milk (mixture will be thin and may look curdled).

Using clean dry beaters, beat egg whites in large bowl until soft peaks form. Add remaining 2 tablespoons sugar and beat until stiff but not dry. Fold whites into yolk mixture in 3 additions (mixture will be runny).

Divide pudding-cake mixture among prepared soufflé dishes. Pour enough hot water into cake pan to come halfway up sides of dishes.

Bake pudding cakes until puffed and firm to touch, about 40 minutes. Transfer dishes to plates.

While the cakes are baking, prepare the topping: To make the berry puree, simmer berries with a little water in a saucepot until it reduces, then strain through a fine sieve.  Let cool.  Whip the cream, and then swirl the puree into the whipped cream (just a few strokes with your spoon will do – don’t overmix).

Adapted from Bon Appetit
-Theresa

I saw this recipe in a magazine, and had to give it a try!  Instead of using a regular cake pan as suggested, I used ‘brownie’ tins which are kind of like muffin tins, but instead of round cups they have rectangles… perfect for those of us that aren’t the best at cutting pieces evenly!  Special thanks to AT for the new brownies tins!  Using the brownie tins means a little extra work (you have to press the crust into individual cutout) but it pays off in the end – each bar tipped out easily and was perfectly formed!
- Theresa

Base:
2 cups chocolate wafer crumbs
½ cup butter, melted
Brownie:
2 eggs
1 can (300 ml) sweetened condensed milk
1 ½ cups dried cranberries
4 oz (115 g) bittersweet chocolate, chopped
2 oz (55 g) white chocolate, chopped
½ cup chopped hazelnuts

Base: In bowl, stir chocolate wafer crumbs with butter until moistened; press into 13”x9” parchment paper-lined or greased cake pan.  (Or, you can use brownie tins as I did).  Bake in 350˚F oven until firm, about 10 minutes.  Let cool on rack.

Meanwhile, in bowl, beat eggs with condensed milk; stir in cranberries, bittersweet and white chocolates, and hazelnuts.  Spread over base.

Bake in 350˚F until set in centre, about 20 minutes (or 15 if using brownie tins).  Let cool on rack.  Cut into bars.

Recipe from Canadian Living Holiday Favourites Cookbook Edition 2011

Crust:
1 cup vanilla wafer crumbs (we crushed up Nila wafers)
1/2 cup ground pecans
1/2 cup butter, melted
Stir all these together and press the crust into a 8-10" springform pan

Cheesecake:
2 pkgs cream cheese
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
3 large eggs
1/4 cup whipping cream
1/4 cup flour
1/2 tsp pumpkin spice (or cinnamon)
1 tsp vanilla
1 cup canned pumpkin

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Mix cream cheese until smooth in a food processor until smooth. Add brown sugar and mix well. Add eggs one at a time, blending well between each one. Add flour, salt, pumpkin spice, vanilla and pumpkin. Blend until smooth.
Pour over the crust. Bake for 1 hr and let it cool completely.

Make the Prairie Woman's Caramel Sauce (below) and a recipe for the Cinnamon-Spiked Whipping Cream.

1/4 cup butter that is just out of the fridge.
1/4 cup whipping cream
1/2 cup brown sugar

Place ingredients in a pot. Heat on medium-low until it starts to boil, stirring the whole time. Remove from heat and serve over anything worthy of caramel. This is a deadly recipe and will definitely make close friends!