Sometimes portion control is the easiest path to moderation, so today I'm sharing a single serving chocolate cake. Because everyone deserves a little cake sometimes!
I've been going grey since my early 20's. I think at around 22 I found my first grey hair and though they slowly trickled in, in the last few years they've really exploded. I coloured my hair for a few years and I always felt like a million bucks in the weeks immediately after, but then the grey roots would start coming in and I'd feel gross about it.
Last year I finally found an amazing hairdresser here in Stockholm and I asked him how I could deal with the grey gracefully. He put his hand on my shoulder and said, "well, for one, you could just go grey," and I looked up at his own stylish grey hair and thought, maaaaaybe. He eased me into it by doing a couple of rounds of partial colour that covered only about half of the grey, so when I started growing it out the grey came in gently, and very naturally. No scary grey roots.
And you know what? I actually like it. Most of the front of my hair is grey, but practically none of the back is. It's mostly coming in two Cruella DeVille streaks just above my temples, and I get compliments on it all the time. People actually ask me if it's natural.
Today is my birthday. I'm 36, or as I've been saying, thirty-f*cking-six.
Some years I have a mental birthday and I start saying I'm the next age months before my actual birthday, but 36, it kind of snuck up on me. It's not that I'm afraid of being 36, I just don't know what to do with it. I've always preferred the odd-numbered years, and 35 was a pretty good one. I finished my masters. I re-launched this blog. I started a business. But 36? I don't know. The even-numbered years weird me out.
So anyways, I'm thirty-f*cking-six, and I'm rocking the grey hair. Let's have some cake.
Y'all know, if you hang out here often, that I preach the good word of moderation. And sometimes the key to moderation is portion control. I believe in cake. I believe in real cake with butter and sugar and flour and lots and lots of chocolate. I made this cake for a friend's milestone birthday last week, and you wouldn't believe how many times I was asked whether it was healthy, you know, cause it was made by a nutritionist. No. No it was not. It was real cake, in all it's refined sugared and saturated fatted peanut buttery glory. And that, that was not a cake I'd care to be home alone with. No sir, that's trouble waiting to happen.
But this? This warm, gooey-centered, deliciously chocolatey cake? Sign me up. It's cake through and through, but it's just little. There's butter and sugar and chocolate and flour, but there's only one, and when it's done it's done. It doesn't get much better than that.
In this particular cake I used whole wheat pastry flour and coconut sugar (I brought some back from Indonesia) but I've made this cake a zillion times and I've used everything from all-purpose to buckwheat flour and everything from granulated sugar to brown sugar to sucanat and it turns out every single time. The thing is to use good quality chocolate and the best egg you can get your hands on because those really make the cake. And real butter, please, though I'm sure you could sub coconut oil also. The cake pictured here has my preferred level of gooiness, which is not a lot. If you want a gooier cake simply pull it out of the oven a bit sooner. For a firmer cake go a bit longer. However you make it, whichever sugar and flour combo you choose, however gooey you like your center, just make sure you really, really enjoy it. Cake is make to be enjoyed, after all.
Cake. You're eating cake. It's glorious and it's chocolate and maybe you made it with whole wheat four and coconut flour, but at the end of the day it's still cake. Enjoy it. Savour every bite. Own your decision to eat cake. Eat it mindfully. Then maybe a green smoothie?
Two years ago: Home Made Bagels
single serving chocolate cake
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon butter
- 45 g good quality dark chocolate I use 70%, chopped
- 1 large egg
- 1 tablespoon coconut sugar*
- pinch of salt
- 1 teaspoon whole wheat pastry flour**
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 375°F /190°C.
- Butter and flour a small ramekin.
- Place the butter and dark chocolate in a microwave-proof bowl and microwave in short bursts to melt. (Alternately you can do this over a double boiler, but I find that creates extra bowls I don't want to deal with.) Stir to combine.
- Add the sugar to the melted chocolate mixture and whisk to incorporate.
- Add the egg to the melted chocolate mixture and whisk to combine well.
- Add the pinch of salt and flour and stir until just combined.
- Pour the batter into the prepared ramekin and place in the oven.
- Bake for 8-12 minutes, depending on how gooey you want your cake to be. The less time in the oven, the more gooey the cake will be.
- Remove from the oven and allow to cook for about 2 minutes.
- Using oven mitts, carefully invert the cake onto a plate. The cake should be warm, and gooey, very slightly underdone.
- Have at it!
Notes
**I've used all purpose flour, whole wheat pastry flour, and buckwheat flour all with good results.
-This cake is intended for immediate consumption
-If you remove it from the oven and its's a little too gooey for your tastes but you've already removed it from the ramekin, simply pop it in the microwave for 30-60 seconds.
-You can probably entirely cook this cake in the microwave, but I've never tried it.
ATasteOfMadness
Love single serving everything. My birthday was also on the 26th!! I should have seen this earlier! Happy belated birthday!
Katie Trant
Hey, happy birthday to you too! I hope your day was filled with fun and cake.
Fiona
Happy f*king birthday! This cake rocks - I'm going to try it with spelt flour... 🙂
Katie Trant
Thanks Fiona! I do believe I've tried it with spelt flour before and been quite happy with the results. Let me know how it turns out!
kellie@foodtoglow
I feel terrible I missed this earlier and didn't realise it was your birthday!! Argh!! Happy belated birthday. And as someone who can't face making a whole cake with just two of us in the house, I am SO making this. Probably today! I hope you had a wonderful birthday. As for your hair, I am glad you are embracing your grey.It is such a strong, confident look that you will pull off with aplomb. I am one of those people other people hate as I am almost 51 and have no grey hair. It is genetic - nothing to do with me. But I know when it comes it will be a horrible meh colour as I am so fair. I would love to rock some streaks or a whole head of silver. I think you dark-haired folk look great when the grey comes. Us blondes however....
Katie Trant
Thanks Kellie! I think many blondes are actually a touch grey but you don't see it because your hair is so light. When you've got practically black hair like I do, the tiniest shred of silver stands out. At nearly 65 my mom has way less grey than I do, but my dad has been totally white for ages now. I definitely know where it comes from!
Kathryn
I am also a fan of the odd number birthdays - I have no idea why but being 31 (as I am) is far better than being 30 in my eyes, grey hair and all. Love the idea of a single serving chocolate cake particularly when it's so easy to pull together. So much better than raiding the fridge trying to find something to satisfy.
Katie Trant
Right? And being 33 is better than 32, trust me. So I suppose I'm looking forward to 37!
Susan | Simple Healthy Kitchen
Happy Birthday! and what a great idea...love this!
Katie Trant
Thanks Susan!
Sandra
Happy Birthday Katie 🙂 I think a personal cake is a fabulous idea....and it removes the ability to cut into a second piece even after finishing a very large first piece. Keep rocking your 30s 🙂
Katie Trant
Trust me, I can't be left alone with a large cake! Single serving is the way to go!
Rebecca @ it's a nourishing thing
Happy Birthday Katie!! I'm sure thirty-f-ing-six will be fabulous! I'll be trying one of these cakes later tonight for sure.
Katie Trant
Thanks Rebecca! Hope you enjoyed your cake!
Ashley | Spoonful of Flavor
This is perfect for when I get a chocolate craving! I love that it is one serving because they I don't have to share 😉
Katie Trant
I know, right? Nothing's worse than having to share your cake!
Ceri@naturalkitchenadventures
Love this and Happy Birthday! its looks v similar to my larger cake, but love that this is in a singular serving and that the recipe is so versatile. Great for when you want cake, but not a whole one! I've been saying for weeks I'm 33 but actually won't be for another 2 months, its totally about mental preparation for the next phase. 36 I reckon is a good year 🙂
Katie Trant
Thanks Ceri! See, I'd totally have a mental birthday to an odd-numbered year, but the even ones I don't like as much. But horray for single serving cake anyways!
Mary
Aw wow, thanks for this post. I am 28 and have been greying since I was 18 - I've been watching with mild curiousity as they multiply and now have some fairly pronounced streaking going on! I don't mind it, find it kind of fascinating, and am way too lazy to dye my hair (and the upkeep - ugh). So nice to hear a similar story as a lot of people seem to find this approach of 'let it be' unfathomable. And that cake looks delicious!
Katie Trant
Right, the upkeep is crazy! And expensive! That's what really drove me to stop dying.
Jess
What a sweet tasty idea - I'd prefer homemade baked goods over most other treats, but it's definitely such a temptation to have a whole batch of something sitting around!
Katie Trant
I know, right? As we speak there's a chocolate pound cake sitting on the counter (the husband made it for my birthday) which I'll slice and send into the freezer, but still so much temptation! I love the single servings for when you want something indulgent, and that's that.
Caroline @ Shrinking Single
Happy Birthday! That cake looks like just what you should be eating on your birthday.
Ah the tricky hair colour question. I have been having my mousey brown hair coloured blonde for as long as I can remember. No idea what my natural colour is and no desire to find out!
Katie Trant
All birthdays deserve cake! And this one is just little, so the perfect treat to make and eat. My hair is pretty much it's natural colour, and being so dark all that grey really stands out. No more fussy root maintenance for me!
Linda @ Veganosity
First off, Happy thirty-f*cking-sixth Birthday!!! PLEASE girl, I just turned 51, you're a baby in my eyes. 🙂
Second, the cake looks amazing, but I know myself, I'd be back in the kitchen making single serving number two within ten minutes of finishing off single serving number one.
Katie Trant
Thanks Linda! It's not that I think 36 is so old, I just don't like the even numbers. Looking forward to 37, which I'm sure will be a smashing year! You'd think that you'd be back making a second cake, and trust me, I've found myself considering that before, too, but one really is enough to satisfy so it's unlikely that you will!
Alissa
Happy Birthday!!! I'm tempted to let my gray grow out too, but my dyed hair color is so different from my natural color that it would probably look ridiculous until it all grew out! Someday maybe I'll just chop it all off so it won't take so long to grow out. I love the idea of a single serving cake - definitely saving this for my next birthday...or just next time my sweet tooth attacks. 🙂
Katie Trant
Get your hairdresser to work with you on a graduated grow out! It's scary at first, but honestly so much better than all that dang root maintenance with dark hair. This little cake is perfect for those sweet tooth attacks, especially because it does take some time to make, which invokes mindfulness. I love that!
Leanne
This cake looks amazing, but I think most importantly-- Happy Birthday!! I LOVE that you're embracing your grey, I have always loved and had much respect for the women who let their hair go grey as it will. To me it looks beautiful and strong and confident and like you have way too much going on and going for you to trifle with the dyeing/root upkeep/etc (a terrific pain if ever there was one!). Here's to thirty-f*cking-six and your awesome Cruella deVille do!
Katie Trant
Thanks Leanne! The thing with having such dark hair is that those grey roots really stand out, and I didn't want to end up being one of those old ladies with black hair and the white skunk streak down the middle. So eff it! Probably easier to stop now than 10 years from now, right? And oh the money it saves!
Deena kakaya
Happy birthday my friend, I really enjoyed this post.
I turned thirty-f'ing five a few days ago and can relate to much of your post. I believe in real cake too and yours looks like such a treat, warm and comforting, just as it should be x
Katie Trant
Happy birthday to you, Deena! I loved being 35, it's just the even numbers that weird me out. Not sure why!
Heather
Brilliant! Especially for those times you know you will eat your way through fridge and cupboard in search of something to satisfy a craving. This way you go through a soothing baking process, smell the treat cooking in the oven, savour it and then you're done. Or make two for a dessert for two and no leftovers to pick at.
Katie Trant
I do love the mindfulness of whipping this little cake together, and yes, the absence of leftovers is perfect. It's just the right amount.
Julia
Once I turned 25 and realized back fat was here to stay, it dawned on me I needed to employ a little portion control in my life. LOVE that you scaled down one of my favorite desserts and love even more that you used coconut sugar! Bravo, m'dear!
Katie Trant
Oh to have that 25 (or 30) year old metabolism back again! Portion control is the name of the game (she says with a chocolate pound cake sitting on the counter) and this sweet little cake is a winner!
Anne Titcomb
Happy Birthday, Happy, Happy Birthday - this is your day to have a lot of fun!!! Love the cake. Enjoy
Lori
Happy Birthday! Thanks for the single serving cake recipe. I love single serving recipes! I have made a variation of this in the microwave. I think it took one minute to cook. I always used cocoa powder, though. I bet it's much yummier with the dark chocolate!
Have a great day!
Katie Trant
The dark chocolate certainly adds a nice richness to it, but cocoa powder would be great as well!
Katie Trant
Thanks Anne!