Week #6 – Triple Chocolate Cookie Cake

This weekend I was too busy moving (which seems like a class theme!) to bake.  Not to mention too exhausted.  All of the packing, lifting, carrying, climbing up and down stairs, organizing, cleaning and awkward mattress-maneuvering removed 100% of the guilt when I tried this amazing cake.

Gooey Triple Chocolate Chip Cookie Cake

My mom bought this Triple Chocolate Cookie Cake from Costco and saved me a slice (isn’t she the best?). Yes, it was premade and store-bought, but it didn’t matter in the slightest.  I warmed it up in the microwave for a few seconds and it was warm and gooey and the center tasted kind of like raw cookie dough, which is one of the best possible tastes in my opinion. (And as I learned in her “Cupcake Confessions” blog post, a fellow class blogger agrees!)

Whoever thought of combining a pie crust with cookie dough, chocolate drizzle and three different types of chocolate chunks (including mini Hershey’s Kisses) is a genius.  But it also reminded me of something we talked about in class last week – The Long Tail.  It seems like the options used to be simple; chocolate chip cookies, brownies, yellow cake with chocolate frosting. But now with the Internet, the options are limitless.  The Long Tail talks about how the Internet is especially equipped to serve the populations that invest their time and money in the “tail,” the smaller, less popular, niche markets along the curve.  Baking websites and blogs combine traditional methods with new, unique ideas and time-saving techniques, use tools and ingredients you’ll likely use once and then retire to the back of your cabinet, and cover specific topics. There are blogs for gluten-free baking,  organic desserts, and even vegan cookies.  If you have a craving for something chocolaty/fruity/organic/healthy/crispy/caramel-filled/peanut buttery, odds are that someone else out there has that same craving, and has even started a blog all about it.  My baking blog is a little less focused, but I visit those more specialized blogs for recipe ideas, or just to look at their yummy desserts : )