Chocolate Cake

This recipe for the chocolate cake came from a collection of recipes within a Youtube video titled “5 Easy 2-Ingredient Recipes.” The video was created by the channel, Tasty, which acts as small cooking focused branch-off of the larger production company Buzzfeed. The idea of a cake being made of only eggs and chocolate chips might have been difficult to pitch as a lack of ingredients would usually correlate to a lacking flavor. However, some initial doubt is coaxed away when it is noted that the production has amassed almost seven million views and garnered a 154,000 to 2,800 like-to-dislike ratio. Then feelings of optimism crop up and skepticism falls away as beautiful shots of smooth melted chocolate and an impressive final product are introduced through the video. Those feelings are extremely short-lived.

Within the steps of preparation for the cooking, it becomes apparent that there are flaws in the recipe ­— there is a complete lack of specificity. The four eggs needed, were not difficult to derive from the onscreen bowl of white ovals, but there was an indiscriminate amount of chocolate chips shown and steps like beating the egg whites were given no added instructions. While aesthetically pleasing, the fast-forwarded cut shots only furthered the unclear directions and provided pitfalls for anyone without much cooking experience. The poor recipe was only made worse by a terrible end product. It was dry, flavorless, and visually underwhelming as well as incomparable to the glamour shots that were advertised.

Hardly a chocolate cake, this poseur brownie recipe barely deserves one star.

Mozzarella Pasta

Mozzarella pasta — for cheese and pasta lovers, this would sound like a dream; however, it remains only a dream since it only actually works in theory. In reality, it was just a failed experiment that was too good to be true. The recipe itself seemed easy enough — the two ingredients to make the pasta only being mozzarella cheese and egg; but, once the plan was actually put into motion, the “noodles” that were frozen and boiled, only turned into melted mozzarella in the hot water.

It could have been a human error that caused this disappointment, although, on Buzzfeed’s part, there was a lack of actual direction and measurements. Needless to say, the product in the video definitely did not match the final product in the home kitchen — it wasn’t even close to resembling the same texture or physical appearance.

The instructions in the video were vague: there was no specific time to freeze the pasta, there were no measurements for the egg, and there was no technique or tips to describe the whole process or even an estimated time to boil it — just a fast-forwarded two and a half long video to introduce the ingredients and “cooking directions.” Despite the displeasure from this event, expectations going in weren’t high; therefore, the ratings also reflect the standards held prior to attempting to make the so-called “mozzarella pasta”.

Ultimately, the purpose of this video was not intended to share an actual recipe but was created for content to please their viewers and to introduce a “fun” activity to try out. So for fun and laughs, the recommendations would be high; however, don’t use these recipes for intentions of becoming a new master chef — because skill sets will not improve with Buzzfeed “two ingredient recipes”, “five minute mac and cheese” or “how to make pizza in a pan” instructional videos.

Flatbread

Aside from the lack of instructional help and specific directions, the flatbread was by far the best recipe. This two-ingredient homemade bread uses low-costing ingredients that are easily accessible just by one trip to the store.

There are countless examples of ways to mess up making the dough; however, the fix is easy — just by the addition of greek yogurt or a few more sprinkles of flour will do the job. No matter how much of an inconsistent texture the dough becomes, the recipe is truly so simple that there’s truly no way to falter it.

Since the flatbread was the last recipe to be made, expectations going in were low — and honestly, the standards were non-existent. Imagine the surprise when the bread started puffing up in the pan and the flavors were finally acceptable after the other two recipes.

The job was not necessarily difficult; however, due to lack of direction on how long to heat up the dough in the pan or how thick of a consistency the dough should be, common sense had paved the way to this success.

Especially when paired with the “mozzarella pasta” better known as the: melted mozzarella, it was truly a wonderful pair that was evenly balanced with the saltiness of the cheese and the plainness of the bread.

The flavor of the flatbread was bland by itself, so a recommendation would be to add salt — of course, that was not a part of the recipe list because it would defeat the purpose of a “two ingredient recipe” — but it would have been more flavorful with a touch of salt.

At the end of the day, the general idea of the video is plainly for fun and not intended for individuals who are trying to cook grand meals. This recipe, however, is something that has the potential to become exceptional — that is of course when there are more than two ingredients involved.