Vegan Chocolate Syrup Cake (The Perfect Grammy Night Dessert: Was that Johnny Depp singing with Norah Jones?)

My love of music runs far and it runs deep. My ipod is filled with a ridiculous assortment of music. Ridiculous. Last night was a ritual in our home: we watched the Grammys. No phones, no texts (I have never sent a text in my life)--but you get the idea. Last night's award show was probably one of the best I'd seen--especially for an Almost Fifty gal like me--seeing the tour de force of "seniors" out hip the hippest of them, I was floored. 

Of course, beforehand, we had to watch The Coop (Anderson Cooper) interview Lady Gaga. I confessed to Dr. Thyme that I had never really paid much attention to her. Certainly knew her music, certainly saw her perform at last year's Grammys with Sir Elton and LOVED it, but other than that, meh. I really didn't pay much attention. Well, that sorta changed after watching the interview. Her empowerment message to girls rocks. Not so much the "prep" she confessed to using to write said songs--think: things that make you really hungry afterward. But then watched her reincarnate Madonna on the Grammy stage and was, well, impressed--I am getting her CD today. (Ah, the eighties and eyeliner. And sweet young folks of this generation, you did NOT invent eyeliner, WE did, okay!) Real quick aside, in a week, Adele's new CD, 21, hits the stores. I am sooo looking forward to this release and know we'll be seeing her next year on the Grammy stage. 

So the Grammy show. We sat through a tribute to the Queen of Soul, and for me, this was a perfect beginning. Women strong. Then, as the night wore on, and it was two hours later and we'd seen Muppets neither of us were familiar with (Uh, Miss Piggy, where are you?) singing with Gwyneth Paltrow and a chicken, I was getting concerned. I began to wonder if the bizarre "concert feeling" of the night would ever give way to some genuine vocal performances. And then came the tribute song Jolene performed by John "Oh-My-God-Is-That-Johnny-Depp" Mayer, Norah Jones and Keith Urrrban. I love Dolly Parton. Love. Her. She was doing the show-girl thing way before Gaga or anyone else dare tried. Jolene is an amazing song. And then Mick. Good old Mick. I had no idea he had chicken legs. I really missed the whole Rolling Stones love fest. Only until the song, You Can't Always Get What You Want was part of The Big Chill soundtrack, I really had not paid much attention to Mick (I was a Journey/Steve Perry gal). I tended toward the other side of the pond in my music preferences is all. And did anyone understand a word of the song Bob Dylan sang? A word? Seriously, mike up, Bob (okay, not a fan of his either). Finally was happy to see the Bieber fever tone down a bit--but understand there were plenty of on-lookers ready to have it out with the Grammy committee. Really, giving it to a jazz instrumentalist and singer: Best surprise of the night! (Though I will be perfectly honest, I don't know a single song she's recorded, but that will change by end of the day today.) Finally, what I had been waiting for: Babs. I saw her mouth the words, I'm so nervous. I was like, She's nervous? Yentl is nervous? Okay, she sounded a bit nervous, but she could sing the New York street directory and it would be lovely. It was a great Grammy night, but after Babs, TV time turned into bedtime. I had to unwind for like an hour before I finally was able to get some sleep. The Grammy night was so large, so loud, so everything, I just couldn't stop thinking about the music I wanted to run out and get today. Ipod in hand, I am headed out to run a nice four-miler. But first, the chocolate.   

I have been consuming so much chocolate lately that I am worried I might have a vitamin deficiency of some kind. I make hot chocolate (or coffee) and I ADD mini dark chocolate pieces to it. I sit down in the afternoon for lunch, and nibble on chocolate. I cook dinner, and I have a pile (okay, small stack) of chocolate chips sitting next to my cutting board. What is wrong with me?!

It's Valentine's Day weekend, and I absolutely HAD to make something with chocolate. I had been searching the internet for something new, something "cute", something, well, chocolate. Don't think for a minute I didn't have oodles of recipes in the house for all things chocolate, I do. I just wanted a picture of what it was I was going for and I wanted it to send a charge of "I must bake this now" up my spine so fast that before I could take two steps in the direction of my pantry, I'd be ready to bake. Thank goodness for King Arthur Flour. I have both KAF cookbooks and can attest to their greatness. I could spend hours pouring over their recipes. Lucky for me, as a vegan-ized version, this recipe worked like a charm. The only vegan change I had to make was subbing for the egg with my Ener-G Egg Replacer. This recipe is fast, it requires very little prep (though you will need those ramekins), and it re-heats the next night into a perfect bowl of MORE yum. Serve it warm, no matter what. You can find the link for the recipe here. Happy Love Fest Day!