Fondant au chocolat

Just down the hill from us is an outpost of La Boulange, a local string of Frenchie-type bakeries with delicious pastries, tartines, and the omnipresent macarons. We usually pop in there on Saturday mornings while out with Soph and pick up a quarter loaf of their multigrain, a couple of almond croissants, or, on occasion, a bite-sized fondant au chocolat.

I was pleased to come across the recipe for these little gems in the local paper, which, while largely deemed in this household the most embarrassing "news" paper on the planet (a frequent theme for  front-page stories is then-and-now pictures of celebrities) does have a decent food section (though not in comparison The New York Times or Los Angeles Times, but I should just let it be, shouldn't I.)

These dense little guys are just what you need to propel you through a sleepy afternoon, or to finish off a lovely dinner. They're baked in muffin tins but the batter doesn't fill them up entirely, so what you end up with are smallish little cakes, kinda sunken and gooey in the middle.

And what goes perfectly with a mouthful of chocolate? A tiny cup of espresso, ideally made in this ridiculously cute contraption I just purchased.

 

Yes, people, that is a miniature two-cup stovetop espresso maker. Get yourself one. 

Some things are even more important than food

Like making sure everyone has the same rights. Let's hope the Supreme Court doesn't let us down this week.

Blood orange olive oil cake

I have made this cake (recipe here) exactly once and have become completely obsessed with it. No joke. I made it Sunday, finished it Wednesday, and have been waiting what I estimate the appropriate amount of time is before I can make it again (I think one week, so three days to go).

You could use regular oranges of course. I'm not sure it would make that much of a difference. What is important is having decent olive oil, because it calls for quite a bit--2/3 of a cup. Sounds like a lot, and it is, but on the bright side, the cake is butter-free. So, if you're reading things like this these days, which advocate the olive oil-based Mediterranean diet, you can feel reasonably good about this as a dessert choice...minus the fact that it calls for a cup of sugar, which I must concede is quite a lot for a single layer cake.

I baked the cake in 9-inch springform rather than a loaf pan (I don't care for cakes shaped like bricks--so homely!) and it baked for 38 minutes and came out perfectly. Tweak your baking time according to the pan shape/size. I also skipped the blood orange compote, although not because it didn't sound delicious. I just ran out of blood oranges. This cake would also be nice with a little citrus glaze, but it's not necessary. (Neither was the whipped cream I whipped up while alone with the cake one afternoon, but it just seemed like the thing to do. Is whipped cream for one the ultimate luxury or the hallmark of depression?)

In addition to being dead simple to make and incredibly delicious, this cake also scored in the longevity department, staying totally moist (sorry to use the most abhorred word in the English language but there really isn't a synonym for it) for FOUR DAYS. All things considered, this cake is perfect.