Did you know that 78% of American families are cooking 5 or more times a week?

by Mandy Metzger June 06, 2017 21 Comments

Did you know that 78% of American families are cooking 5 or more times a week?  For a “cook real food at home” enthusiast like me this is so encouraging! I hear so much about families eating out more and more, or that traditional cooking at home families are dying out. So no true!!
We eat out once a week, depending on what’s going on in our lives. The rest is completely at home, and 90% or more is made from scratch. This lifestyle sounds like a lot of work to some, but it’s really simple! I strategize by cooking a few things ahead of time on Sunday afternoons. Grilled chicken, brown rice and hard boiled eggs are just a few that get made once a week to save time during the week. To read more about meal planning, check out this blog post.
Coconut oil is a great way to prep cake pans. I’ve learned the beautiful art of cooking with real, whole ingredients and allowing for time in my day to do so. Part of what had to happen is I needed to slow down on the “rush” mentality. The idea that we need everything now- and can’t wait more than 5 minutes for our meals to be ready to eat. I now enjoy the methodical time it takes to create an amazing dish, and how simple it can be in the process. I’m convinced that anyone can cook – and I’m not just talking about chicken nuggets and tater tots.
These little chocolate cakes are the perfect example. I made these a few times to get the ingredients and baking time just right, but I enjoyed the whole process! My kids had no complaints about the multiple batches either.
Warm chocolate pudding cakes are a great for a coffee date or a decadent dessert. They are gluten free too! The presentation is so fun to see. I made them in 2 different pans. One is a ramekin, which is a small little oven safe dish. When you flip the cakes out of the ramekins, the pudding on the bottom stays in liquid form and pours perfectly oven the cake. I found a great price on a set of ramekins here. I also used a pan of mine that makes little cakes in batches of 6. They look like mini bundt cakes, but without the hole in the middle. When making the recipe in this pan, the pudding layer cooked through, giving a 2tone affect when the cake is flipped over. Here’s the pan I use for the mini fluted cakes. 
Warm Chocolate Pudding Cake Yield: 8 mini cakes 
Ingredients 
Pudding 
• 1/2 cup pomegranate jelly 
• 1/2 cup heavy cream 
• 3 oz dark chocolate 
Chocolate Cake 
• 1/2 cup boiling water 
• 1/3 cup cocoa powder, unsweetened 
• 1/4 cup heavy cream 
• 1/2 tsp vanilla 
• 1/3 cup pomegranate jelly 
• 1/2 cup brown rice flour 
• 1/2 cup cassava flour 
• 3/4 tsp baking soda 
• 1/4 tsp salt 
• 1 stick butter, softened 
• 2/3 cup coconut sugar 
• 2 eggs 
Instructions:
1. Preheat the oven to 350°. Spray the mini cake pans or ramekins with coconut spray. 
For the pudding 
1. In a medium saucepan, heat the pudding ingredients until all one consistency. This takes about 3 minutes. 
2. Remove from heat and pour off in the bottom of the pans. 
For the cake 
1. In a large bowl combine all ingredients. Use a spatula or hand mixer to blend well. 
2. Scoop the batter into the cake pans on top of the pudding. 
3. Bake for 18-20 minutes. 
4. Check the center of the cakes for doneness. Don't worry if there is liquid on the sides, that's the pudding. 
5. Allow to cool for 30 minutes before flipping onto your desired serving plate.

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