Get your Chocolate Fix

Once upon a time, there was a young woman that loved to sleep.

And so she slept through some of her classes in college. Sometimes, she slept during class on a pillow made from her hoodie.

So sometimes, she needed someone's notes to pass the midterm.

This someone is Nancy. In retrospect, I am completely embarrassed by how often napping forced me to ask Nancy yet again for her notes during our freshman year. Fortunately, Nancy has an excellent sense of humor, is extremely loving and patient, and is beautiful like a fairy princess, and therefore never gave me a hard time - although she enjoys teasing me about it now.

I modified my sleep habits but chose to keep hanging out with Nancy anyway, because she is awesome (duh). During the summer before our senior year, we were both living on campus, and one evening, we had a potluck dinner at her place. Nancy invited her old roommate, Kayla, who was also staying on campus for the summer. Upon meeting her, I thought Kayla was also beautiful like a fairy princess, wonderfully chatty, and full of sillies and sweets, and I decided that it would be lovely to befriend her as well. When Kayla mentioned that her birthday was coming up, I got all excited, because what a good excuse to bake AND bribe her to be my friend! But when I offered to make Kayla a golden butter cake with chocolate frosting, she said the words that still haunt me:

"Oh, I don't like chocolate."

I remember thinking Kayla must be THE weirdest person I have ever met. For the record, she's not.

(My sister is.)

So I baked a white cake with white frosting and strawberries instead while contemplating what it would be like to prefer candy corn, Peeps, and circus peanuts, now affectionately known as "Kayla candy", to chocolate. It was unfathomable to me.

Because I LOVE chocolate and need my fix every day. In my living room, I have a candy machine filled with M&Ms. My dining room has an bowl brimming with Hershey nuggets and miniature Kit Kat bars. I have a candy stash in my purse, in my backpack, at work . . . Even this excess of candy doesn't cut it sometimes, and then I bake for my chocolate fix - and it better be ready within an hour, or I will eat my apartment. My favorites are Chocolate Chip cake and Quadruple Chocolate brownies, both of which start with boxed mixes but are made infinitely better by adding other sources of deliciousness. That's a word, right?

Despite my fondess for chocolate, I've come to appreciate "Kayla candy." And Kayla . . . well, she still does not like chocolate. But she does like me, and we know that I am filled with milk chocolate-y goodness. And Nancy likes everything, including chocolate, Kayla, and me, but not banana bread, in case anyone is keeping score at home. I will be seeing both of these beautiful fairy princesses in a month in my favorite city, and I am so looking forward to a weekend filled with food, shopping, stories, and many, many laughs.

Chocolate Chip cake (adapted from Mix and Match Mama)

* Ingredients

-  1 box of yellow cake mix
I have made this cake with plain yellow and butter yellow mixes, and they are both yummy in my tummy.
- 1 small (3.4 oz) box of instant vanilla pudding.
- 1 small (3.4 oz) box of instant chocolate pudding
DO NOT buy the "cook and serve" versions of these puddings, because evidently, they don't work.
- ½ cup of vegetable oil
- 1¼ cup of water
- 4 eggs
- 1 cup of milk chocolate chips
Actually, more than a cup of chocolate chips. Because some will magically disappear into your mouth. Or is that just me?

* Steps

1. Preheat your oven to 350°F.

2. Combine the first 6 ingredients in a bowl. Use an electric mixer to blend everything together until smooth. Stir in chocolate chips.

3. Grease the JUNK out of a bundt pan with a baking spray with flour. Coat every inch of that baby. Then pour the batter into the pan.

4. Bake for approximately 50 minutes or until a toothpick inserted comes out mostly clean.

5. Allow the cake to cool in the pan for 10 minutes. Then flip it over onto a plate or serving dish. Mix and Match Mama suggests allowing it to cool completely before dusting it with powdered sugar, but I prefer eating a slice while it's still warm with some whipped topping and watching an episode of "Entourage." 

Quadruple Chocolate brownies

* Ingredients

- 1 pouch of Ghiradelli Triple Chocolate Brownie Mix

This is the best brownie mix - Ritu agrees. You can buy a box with 6 pouches at CostCo. Because CostCo is the BEST.
- 1/3 cup of water
- 1/3 cup of vegetable oil

- 2 eggs

The box says 1 egg. Ignore the box. Use 2 eggs.

- 1 bag (11.5 oz) of milk chocolate chips

Because clearly, triple chocolate isn't enough.

* Steps

1. Preheat your oven to 325°F.

2. Combine the first 4 ingredients in a bowl. You can use an electric mixer to blend everything together, but I use a rubber spatula and stir until smooth, because it soothes me. Stir in chocolate chips.

3. Grease an 8x8 pan with a baking spray with flour. Pour the prepared batter in the pan.

4. Bake for 35-40 minutes. The box says at least 45 minutes. The box is LYING to you. My bizarre method for testing if brownies are done is to jiggle the pan. If the batter jiggles, it's not done. If it does not jiggle, it's done. Very scientific.

5. Cool completely before cutting. Dust with powdered sugar before serving, and make sure you have milk, because damn, these are rich.

Enjoy!

Much love,
Kavi

Kavi