Better Than Sex Cake

I started making Better Than Sex Cake in high school. Back then I had a sweet tooth like no other but I also wanted to be healthy about it, so I made the Weight Watchers version for family/friends. I even made it in high school with two of my friends for our Conditioning class when we were given the assignment to create a healthy dish for the class potluck and recipe book. Needless to say, our teacher loved it and I do remember her joking, "Wow, this really is better than sex!"

Obviously, I was going to make dessert for Adam and I for Valentine's Day. I knew I wanted something chocolate and delicious. After coming across a Better Than Sex Cake post from a blog I follow, that sparked my memory about how delicious that cake is. Bam. Valentine's Day dessert.

The thing that is probably a bit different from this cake than most Better Than Sex Cakes is that I made the cake itself from scratch. I didn't want to use boxed cake. The less I have to turn to boxed cake, the better. Oh, and it is definitely not the Weight Watchers version of the cake.

What You Need

Cake
- 1/2 cup butter (1 stick)
- 1/4 cup semi sweet chocolate chips
- 1/2 cup cocoa powder
- 3/4 cup cake flower
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 3/4 teaspoon baking powder
- 2 eggs
- 3/4 cup sugar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 cup sour cream

Filling
- 11 oz. caramel sauce
- 14 oz. sweetened condensed milk

Topping
- Whipped cream
- Toffee bits


What You Do

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees and grease an 8X8 pan.

2. Over a double boiler, melt the butter (1/2cup), chocolate chips (1/4cup), and cocoa powder (1/2cup). Set aside to cool.

3. In a small bowl, combine the flour (3/4cup), baking soda (1/2tsp), and baking powder (3/4tsp). Set aside.

4. In a large bowl, combine the eggs (2), sugar (3/4cup), vanilla extract (1tsp), and salt (1/2tsp) until incorporated. Mix in the chocolate mixture to the wet ingredients. Add 1/3 of the flour mixture until combined, then mix in the sour cream (1/2cup). Add the remaining flour mixture until the batter is thick. Spread evenly in the greased 8X8 pan and bake for 20 minutes, or until a knife inserted comes out clean.

5. In a small saucepan over low heat, mix together the caramel sauce (11oz) and sweetened condensed milk (14oz) until well incorporated and just warm.

6. While the cake is still warm, go crazy and poke holes all over the cake and pour the caramel mixture all over it. **I didn't need all of the mixture, but almost all of it was used*

7. Let cake cool completely. When you're ready to serve, spread whipped cream all over the top of the cake. Cover with toffee bits.

Pix Patisserie

When looking for a totally awesome dessert restaurant in Portland, Pix Patisserie pops up on every list you come across. After visiting this bakery/bar last night, I could see why! The decor has a warm, French-chic feel to it with red damask walls, small and closely-placed tables, and two large pastry counters filled with French pastries and confections for customers to gawk at and order from.

From macarons to St. Honoré cake, there were so many delicious and beautiful-looking French desserts. Oh, and they have a HUGE drinks menu to accompany your treat! They even have decks of cards for people to play with, which Adam and I took full advantage of. Needless to say, I beat Adam 3 out of 5 games of Crazy 8's. ;)

Adam and I split a warm Queen of Sheba Truffle Cake (chocolate almond cake with molten chocolate in the center) with Tahitian Vanilla Bean ice cream. They definitely didn't skimp out on the almond/chocolate flavor and the ganache was a nice surprise in the middle. And you can never go wrong with warm cake and ice cream!

This place is a gem, and I can't wait to go back and try more of their desserts!

Dessert at Circa

Yesterday was my 24th birthday and part of the celebration included Adam taking me to Circa, a restaurant/lounge out in the Marina. Needless to say we had a great time, our whole meal was fantastic, and the dessert was out of this world!

I had the Black and White Bread Pudding, which included Jack Daniel's caramel sauce, vanilla gelato, and pecans. It all blended very well together and the bread pudding was incredibly moist! I was practically in heaven with every bite I took!  Oh and to top it off, it came out on fire! I think I was bouncing up and down like a little kid because it was so cool!

Adam also had a sinfully delicious dessert: Chocolate Liquid Cake with espresso ice cream and vanilla bean sauce. It practically melted in your mouth when you took a bite! Again, this dish blended very well together and there was a great balance of added crunch!

We left Circa feeling extremely full but very happy with our meal. Our desserts were the cherry on top!