"In This House We Have Chocolate Cake for Breakfast"--"Single Girl Melty Chocolate Cake" for Food 'n Flix April: Practical Magic

"In this house we have chocolate cake for breakfast. We never bother with silly things like bedtimes or brushing our teeth," so says Aunt Francis Owens as she and her sister, Jet welcome their young orphan nieces Sally and Gillian into their home. Practical Magic, starring Sandra Bullock, Nicole Kidman, Stockard Channing, and Dianne Wiest, is this month's Food 'n Flix pick, hosted by Glennis at Can't Believe We Ate... 

Practical Magic, the film adaptation of the novel by Alic Hoffman is the story of the Owens family, witches under a "love curse," from their ancestor Maria. When an Owens woman falls in love with a man, he is cursed with an untimely death. Sally and Gillian, now grown and suffering the effects of the curse in different ways, must work together to fight it and find love and happiness. I read the book and saw the movie several years ago. I wouldn't say it is a top favorite, but I love all the actresses, along with Aidan Quinn and Goran Višnjić, a couple of the token men in the film, so it was fun to watch it again. Although not what I would call a firm "foodie film," there is a fair amount of food and drink inspiration sprinkled throughout the movie.

 
I am not going to lie, you have probably already suspected that I procrastinated to the very last possible minute to re-watch this film and make a dish inspired by it. In fact, I forgot to order the movie on Netflix and did a last minute search for it on cable last night, lucky to find it running at 4:30 AM. (Thank you Encore Love Channel!) I DVR'd it and sat down this morning to watch, thinking I could find my inspiration, head to the store and knock something out. A few minutes into the film, the chocolate cake for breakfast line came up and I was sold.

Now, I certainly didn't need a big chocolate cake and I remembered the recipe for Single Girl Melty Chocolate Cake from the Joy the Baker Cookbook, I reviewed a while back. I put the movie on pause, took 15 minutes to whip up a melty little plate of heaven and ate my breakfast of champions while watching the movie. How's that for true inspiration!?!

 
Single Girl Melty Chocolate Cake
Adapted from the Joy the Baker Cookbook
(Serves 1)

1 Tbsp unsalted butter

1/4 cup semisweet chocolate chips (I used the vegan mini chips I had on hand) 
1 large egg
4 tsp granulated sugar
pinchof salt
1 tsp all-purpose flour

Place a rack in the center of the oven and preheat to 375 degrees F. Place a cookie sheet in the oven as the oven heats. Generously butter and flour a one-cup ramekin and set aside. 

Melt chocolate and butter together. (You can use a double boiler or I just used the microwave).  In a small bowl, whisk together the egg and sugar. Pour in the melted chocolate mixture and whisk together until well combined. Add the salt and flour and stir until just combined.
 
Pour batter into prepared ramekin and place in oven on top of cookie sheet. Bake for 7-10 minutes. The less time in the oven, the more gooey the cake will be. (I did mine about 11 minutes and it was plenty gooey, but watch carefully.) 

Remove from oven and allow to cool for 2 minutes. Using potholders, carefully invert cake onto a plate and dig in. Cake will be gooey and melty and slightly underdone. Eat immediately. (Like you could wait!) ;-)

Notes/Results: I am a little bit sorry I decided to try this recipe. A delicious chocolate cake should not be this quick and easy to make! ;-) This is gooey and hits the spot and at least there is built-in portion control. Using the microwave for melting and mixing things in a couple of glass measuring cups, this was in the oven in about 5 minutes, ready to eat in less than 20 minutes--perfect for when you need chocolate relief fast. I dusted my cake with powdered sugar and served it with a couple mini-scoops of chocolate chip ice cream. I certainly am not advocating chocolate cake for breakfast every day, but it this case, it was a nice Saturday morning treat! I will make this cake again. (Probably too much!) 

Thanks to Glennis for picking this fun film and helping me eat cake for breakfast! The deadline for this month's Food 'n Flix entries is tomorrow, Sunday, April 28th, and Glennis will be rounding up the entries on her blog shortly after. If you missed this round and love food and movies, join us next month for the French film, Delicatessen, hosted by The Law Student's Cookbook.