Molten Lava Cake
A classic, decadent, chocolate dessert. It takes a bit of experimentation to nail, but otherwise it's actually a fairly easy and quick dessert. Nothing beats that first bite of the cold, creamy vanilla ice cream paired with the soft, warm cake and chocolate lava.
Active Time: 25 min
Total Time: 40 min
Ingredients
> 6 ounces semi-sweet baking chocolate
> 3 eggs
> 1/2 cup granulated sugar
> 6 ounces butter, cubed
> 1/2 tsp expresso powder
> 1/2 tsp cinnamon
> 1/3 cup flour
> salt
> powdered sugar
Instructions
1. Prep: preheat oven to 350 degrees F, and generously butter the sides of your ramekins.
2. Chop up the chocolate into small pieces. Over a double boiler, melt the chocolate until smooth and fully melted. Add the butter, expresso powder, cinnamon, and a little salt to the chocolate mixture. Mix until all the butter melts.
3. In the meantime, whisk the eggs and granulated sugar until slightly foamy.
4. Slowly stir the chocolate mixture into the egg mixture, little by little. Once the chocolate is fully incorporated, add the flour and continue to stir until fully mixed. Add the batter to the ramekins, filling them most of the way up.
5. Bake for around 19 minutes. Remove from the oven, and let cool for a few minutes.
6. Run a knife along the sides of the ramekin to loosen the cake. Invert it over a dessert plate. Finally, top with some powdered sugar and a scoop of vanilla ice cream, and possibly serve with some berries on the side. Enjoy!
Notes/Tips:
> As a word of warning, the resulting product will be distinctly cakey. To be honest, this is actually not my preferred texture for a "molten lava" dessert; I think I would prefer a more fudgy texture.
> Oven times will vary dramatically. The recipe which I originally based this on asked to bake for 10-15 minutes, which turned out to be nowhere near enough for my oven. I had to experiment to find the right time.
> Be careful to not add the chocolate mixture too quickly to the egg mixture initially. The chocolate is very hot, and if it is added too quickly the eggs might end up scrambling.
> This recipe turned out to be just enough for 5 4-oz ramekins. Feel free to scale this recipe as desired.