cooking ala mel

healthy recipes and the occasional craft

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Hot Fudge Pudding Cake

Alex’s 21st birthday was last Thursday.  Because I knew he’d be going out with some of the guys on his actual birthday, I made him a birthday treat the night before.  I wanted to make some sort of boozy brownie recipe, but he said he wanted something that was custard-like or chocolate.  Having pinned this recipe on Pinterest a while ago, hot fudge pudding cake sounded like it would be the best of both worlds.

This cake is so quick to throw together, so it’s perfect for a special occasion that falls in the middle of the week, when you don’t have as much time.  Or for those nights you just want something extra chocolatey.  The method of making the “hot fudge pudding” part of the cake is something I’ve never seen before, and it was really fun to see how it turned out!

Banana Date Walnut Loaf (revisited)

This week has been such a blur, with school starting, adapting to a new routine, and then working the entire weekend (yuck).  If the whole semester ends up like this, I’m not sure how I’ll keep up, to be honest, haha!  Craziness.  Tomorrow, for Labor Day, I actually have the day off, so I am going to spend my day baking away (or watching Doctor Who – I’m trying it out, finally)!  Can’t wait.

Here is the second loaf that I made last weekend to share with my family – a banana date walnut loaf, formerly known as the banana date breakfast tea cake.  In my previous post of the recipe, I used agave nectar (which isn’t actually that great for you, but I’ll still use it in place of corn syrup – like for marshmallows!) and applesauce instead of butter (and you need some fat in your diet!).  This time around, I swapped out the agave nectar for Truvia, and used butter.  Of course.
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Double Chocolate Zucchini Loaf

Over the weekend, my cousin, Kim, got married.  Their wedding was in one of my favorite areas growing up – up in the mountains, where we would frequently go camping, and I would go skiing.  The wedding was probably the best I’ve been to – there aren’t many weddings where they play Jackson 5, Hanson, and the Spice Girls – I was so tired by the end of it from all the dancing!

What was really wonderful about the weekend was all the visiting with family I got to do.  Our family from Denmark came in for the wedding, so it was lovely to see them, although my visit with them was way too short since I had to leave to come back for school on Sunday (all the more reason for me to plan a trip to Denmark asap)!  I made two different loaves to share with family:  double chocolate zucchini and banana date walnut.  They were a hit, and I can’t wait to make them again (possibly try to make them gluten free?).  Here is the first of those loaves, the double chocolate zucchini.
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