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Before you start reading, no, I'm not actually baking for The Bachelor himself, just the show. As some of you may know, I've gone down some rabbit holes as a result of Covid and the subsequent social distancing it has forced on all of us. Case-in-point, I had always been adamant about not watching shows from The Bachelor/Bachelorette franchise, but after getting my feet wet watching a similar show (Love is Blind), I decided to give it a try while I was home with not much else to do. And I'm not ashamed to say it is now a part of my weekly shows-not-to-miss. The dates they play seem like fun and its nice to live vicariously through the contestants when they're having fun, and though it sounds bad, also feels nice to occasionally get lost in their drama, instead of dwelling on your own.
So what does this have to do with baking? Well, I've always been big on baking and have used a lot of quarantine time to try making things I hadn't had the time for before now. Earlier in 2020, some friends of mine received the fruits—or sweets—of my labor. And since I'll likely be prepping food to watch during the show anyway (themed meals are kind of a hobby at this point), it only made sense to theme some of them to the show for an added touch of something different. The show usually has different dates going on in each episode whether it's something like group-date dodgeball or a one-on-one date with a single contestant at a carnival, so the hope is to make this a once-a-week blog segment in which I theme a dessert to each week of The Bachelor/Bachelorette and what is going on in each episode. And what better person to start this with than a Bach who runs a non-profit food tour company (ABC Food Tours—in case you want more info)?
Episode one is always the meet-and-greet between the bachelor/bachelorette and the new contestants. Everyone puts on their most flattering clothes and makes their grand entrances in a bid to spark that lasting first impression in the lead's mind—in this case, Matt James who was initially cast as a suitor on Claire Crawley's season before being offered a spot as the lead in his own instead. I'll probably spatter in some references and predictions as I go, but since episode one hasn't aired yet, I'll stick to the recipe.
I racked my brain for ideas related to his background or one of the girls entrances and came up with good ideas at best, but when trying to make a first impression, the goal is to stand out, right? So, with the help of my cousin, I landed on the perfect stand-out dessert, Molten Chocolate Cake. Gooey, chocolatey, and indulgent, if someone made this for me, there would probably be a second date, and there would definitely be no leftovers—in fact, there wasn't a crumb left on my plate (more on that later).
Using a recipe I found on Pinterest and hoping it came out right the first time (since it required using 6 eggs!), I got to work. The recipe only needs a few ingredients (sparse amount of flour, chocolate chips, eggs, powdered sugar and vanilla) and comes together easily enough. I was making it for family, so the fancy raspberry coulis I was planning to make got subbed and instead, I made the cakes themselves Red Velvet Molten Chocolate Cakes to make sure most would enjoy the flavors. Same beautiful hue, but everyone was still willing to try them. Win-win!
All-in-all, they came out great! The batter may seem a bit crumbly at the flour and sugar stage, but keep following through and you won't be disappointed. My advice to those trying these for the first time, despite instructions on whatever recipe you choose to use, would be to add them to the oven at different intervals to experiment with temperatures and timing on your oven. Getting these just right is not the easiest process (it took me about 3 tries before I got a perfect flowy cakes and not just regular cupcakes), but the effort and result is soooooo worth it.
I think the minimal flour, lends to their decadent chocolate flavor and rich texture. When cooked right, there is just the right amount of oozing chocolate "lava" flowing from the center to create an impressive effect and delicious result. I hope you're able to enjoy these as much as we did, and that they make the same lasting impression on your taste-testers! Maybe they should start giving out Molten Chocolate Cakes instead of roses...
For those of you watching, enjoy the season!
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