Too Cute Tuesday involves fun friends, a cheap craft, and a cool cocktail. To get involved, check us out on Facebook or contact Nicole.

Something about this rainy gross weather in Maine has made me pretty ravenous. Good thing was this was the week for lava cakes at Too Cute Tuesday.

My friend Kate had sent me a link to what I thought were lava cakes until yesterday when I realized they were whiskey cupcakes. This is what happens when I don’t read carefully. Sorry Kate, we’ll definitely make them another time but I had been advertising lava cakes on the Too Cute Tuesday Facebook page for two weeks, so I sort of had to do them! Good news is I was able to cover my gaff by finding a recipe for lava cakes on Foodista.

Dorrie took our little fun cakes out of the oven... and we were surprised that it actually worked!

The effort was coordinated over email today. Everyone was so contributory. “I have a port that was made for chocolate!” Jen said. “How about Frangelico for the cocktail?” Sue added. How about those being great fillings for our lava cakes in addition to being good things to drink?!

3-4 oz chocolate chips
3/4 of a stick of butter (for chocolate), rest of butter for ramekin greasing
4 eggs, 2 whole eggs and 2 yolks
2/3 c. flour
1.5 c. confectioners sugar
pinch of salt
various liquors (for filling)
bowl and whisk (or mixer if lazy)
bain-marie to melt chocolate and butter (or microwave if lazy)

Are these for our craft-related cocktail or for the fillings of our cakes? How about both!

Cocktail of the Night: Frangelico and milk, served on ice.

1. Gather in kitchen. Preheat oven to 450 and chat about the day for a few minutes. Let’s bake!

2. Divide tasks: Sue melts the chocolate chips and butter in microwave, beginning with 30 second blasts and switching to 10 second blasts near the end so as not to burn, then sets aside. Dorrie gets the mixer stuff started (flour, eggs, salt, sugar), beating until mixture is light yellow. Jen separates the eggs. Izzy greases the ramekins. Nicole pours the cocktails. Wow, this is quick when you have a team.

Yes that is a lava cake with actual ooze coming out. Be impressed, we were.

3. Pour chocolate mixture into light yellow mixture, all while mixing. Pour into ramekins. Create a hole in the center of each ramekin (it’ll stay with the hole because the mixture is fairly thick) and stick in the freezer, since we don’t have time for things to get cold in the fridge. Count on Too Cute Tuesday to take the easy (some would say lazy) way out.

4. While things chill, go in living room and look at potential bridesmaid dresses for Sue. After five minutes, be able to spot the color ‘patina’ in a sea of 5 pixel wide swatches. Feel both proud and sad.

5. Take ramekins out of fridge. In the holes, pour various liquors. (We liked how the port that Jen brought came out best but we also made some with Baileys and Frangelico). Stick in oven for 13 minutes. Watch rerun of The Office while waiting.

6. From opposite room, hear impressed sounding “Ohh!”s as the oven door is opened. Why us everyone so surprised when these things actually work, anyway?

7. Eat chocolate lava cakes. Aren’t we deliciously crafty?