Guest Author - Deborah Markus

It was the middle of the day in the middle of the week. A very hectic day and week. I was on a deadline. I was up to my ears in writing, editing, and proofreading that desperately needed doing. And my apartment was filthy. (I work at home, so that last one really is relevant.)

I needed a pick-me-up. I needed soothing. I needed chocolate. Not just a bar -- something soft and sweet and gooey.

But all of last week's birthday cake was gone. So were the brownies from the week before.

It was lunchtime already. I didn't have time to start baking something -- the place was a mess, anyway, and that was just what I needed, one more thing to clean up. I didn't have time or money to make myself presentable, go out, find a bakery or coffee house, and get something yummy. I needed something NOW.

My cupboard seemed to have nothing to offer but raw ingredients. I was just about to turn away dejectedly when I noticed a gift from the good people at King Arthur Flour: a canister of chocolate lava cake mix.

I remembered reading the label when it arrived in the mail, and approving of the fact that you could make a batch of six little lava cakes with it, or just two if that was all you wanted. My ten-year-old son was home, watching me expectantly. Two cakes would be perfect.

I've been very happy with all the King Arthur Flour products I've used. (Full disclosure: they sent me a lovely gift box of mixes, but that was a one-off. I've been buying their flour for years, because I picked some up once out of curiosity and the texture had me hooked.)

I love to bake, but on top of homeschooling my son (and teaching some other children in our local community), I've recently begun editing a magazine. It's fun, and I love being able to make some money working at home -- but cooking everything from scratch isn't the same option it used to be.

But just because I might need convenience foods now and then doesn't mean I want our food to taste -- you know. Convenient. I still want the good stuff. So I appreciate first-rate mixes like King Arthur Flour's.

Speaking of convenience, what I especially liked about the lava cake mix was that, unlike conventional cake or brownies (even from a mix), I wouldn't have to wait for it to cool off to eat it. I could throw a couple in the oven to bake while we had lunch, and dessert would be ready by the time we wanted it. Lovely.

The mix calls for eggs and melted butter, as well as some water. You should also have custard cups or ramekins to bake the lava cakes in. You don't need to know how to bake, and you don't need to have any special equipment -- just a bowl and an oven.

The cakes were perfect -- not killingly sweet, but having a rich yet delicate chocolate flavor. And sure enough, there in the middle was the signature flow of chocolate goo that gives them their name. I guess I knew (or could have figured out) that the "lava" was just hot cake batter that didn't bake all the way through -- but it still felt pretty magical to be able to make it happen in my own kitchen.