Sweet And Crumby

Baking, a Love Story

Category Archives: Chocolate


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Why “Finals” Is the New F-Word and My Cheer ‘Em Up Chocolate Pancakes

Finals week.  Not many other two words could be uttered and elicit such a universally detested feeling, an audible groan and a few expletives shouted out.  I think I would rather say and hear the other f-word over and over again than have to deal with this f-word any more, and I am a fairly conservative girl mind you.

Either you remember your finals with disdain from back in the day, or you have kids who are suffering through them, or you are in the middle of those years right here and now when finals’ week is the abominable beast of your life. Continue reading →


by 38 Comments

Sometimes Perfection Just Needs to be Messed With:Chocolate Squared Banana Bread

One heaping cup of excellent quality unsweetened cocoa powder, three-fourths of a cup of bittersweet (70%) chocolate chips and two very ripe bananas.  Are you with me yet?  I should say so.

Truthfully, I am such a fan of my plain and simple chocolate chip banana bread recipe that I really never have seen the need to take it a step further and make it a double chocolate loaf.  I had the, “Why mess with perfection?,” mentality. Continue reading →


by 51 Comments

The Sordid Tale of My Infamous Cointreau Cake

This totally drunk out of its mind Devil’s Food Cointreau cake has a bit of a sordid past I’m afraid. My parents, although very conservative, seemed to veer from the straight and narrow path in regards to child-rearing on one particular issue; anything done in the name of good food was not only acceptable but revered.

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A Whopper of a Cake

I know, those of you who have been faithful followers since way back in the day (July) have seen it, been there, done that, but it seems I have alot of new followers and since I haven’t been baking this weekend, I will share this crazy delicious Devil’s Food cake with malted frosting.

This creamy, malted, chocolatey cake is as it implies…it is a whopper of a cake.

It’s everything a cake should be. First and foremost,
for it to be ALL THAT, it MUST BE chocolate

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Balsamic Dark Cherry Sauce Over Fallen Chocolate Cake

Have you ever…

Fallen crazily in love?

Fallen down, way down, with no glimpse of the sky?

Fallen, literally, into a mud puddle, or down a flight of stairs or simply between the cracks?…

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Thin Mint Obsessed? To. Die. For. Chocolate Mint Cupcakes

If you like Girl Scout Thin Mint cookies, then you have come to the right place. Or if you are simply a fan of the deepest, richest, chocolate cupcake with creamy mint frosting, then you are also in the right place.  On the other hand, if chocolate just does not rock your world, please feel free to move on.  I will contemplate whether you are allowed to return.  Kidding…just kidding.

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Flash Back to the Eighties Inside-Out Ding Dong Cake

Just for the record, I think this dark, devilish and creamy cake is what you might imagine a Ding Dong would be if you were in heaven; if it were actually made for YOU by Dorie Greenspan and if it were made with Chuao Chocolate and served to you within hours of it coming out of the oven.  That is how my family enjoyed this crazy, amazingly soft, chocolaty, cream-filled and frosted cake (minus the Dorie Greenspan part—ah well).

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Start Valentine’s Day on a High Note With Red Velvet Pancakes

Can you think of a better way to start your Valentine’s Day morning than with rich, soft, chocolaty Red Velvet Pancakes?!  I can’t either.  They even get served with a luscious, cream cheese dipping sauce.  Pretty sweet, right?— pun totally intended…that’s just how I roll.

Seriously, these are absolutely decadent and for the handful of readers I have from the Los Angeles area, they are a dead ringer for the ones served from L.A.’s famous Buttermilk food truck.  I have dreamt of these babies and craved them for days and now I can make them right in my own little kitchen…happy, happy me and now happy, happy you!

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Happy Chocolate Peanut Butter Birthday Cake!

I know, you have seen this magnificent cake before.  It is not new, nor terribly original in the blogosphere, but this Chocolate Peanut Butter Cake  is a magical cake so just in case there are a handful of you newbie blog readers out there, or if you have just come off a long trip from the NASA space station, here it is adapted from Smitten Kitchen, but with my own tweaks.

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Peanut Butter Swirl Brownies—My Kind of Comfort Food

I need comfort food.  Now. Tout de suite! What says comfort food better than the beautiful marriage of chocolate and peanut butter in a nice hefty, rich brownie?!

I just dropped my son off at the airport, and he is going to visit his cousins in another state.  He’s sixteen; he’s old enough to travel alone, but am I going to survive the agony of the next four hours waiting for his text to tell me that he has arrived safe and sound? Continue reading →