Posted on May 15th, 2008 by Carolyn
There are probably 1001 recipes out there for molten chocolate cake, or lava cake. Meaning that some of the batter doesn’t quite get cooked through, so when you press your fork or spoon into it, some of the center, hot batter oozes out and becomes a sauce. I have made these before, but not often, since I rarely make a heavy-duty chocolate dessert for guests. I do serve chocolate, but not usually a really heavy dose of it because the caffeine in chocolate affects me, so I assume it affects others too. I’m sensitive to caffeine. A half a cup of regular coffee and I’m feeling jittery in a matter of 15 minutes and regular coffee would probably prevent me from sleeping all night.
When this was served at the cooking class last week I hesitated. Should I really eat this? I don’t want to be up half the night playing mindless games on the computer. But my will power was weak. Especially when each of these cakes was cut in half, so I was only getting a half portion. I dug in. Ah, yes, it was good. Very good.
It’s a relatively simple recipe. The batter can be made up ahead of time, poured into ramekins and refrigerated. Then you can pop the pan into the oven about 15 minutes before you want to eat them. You could bake them just as you’re getting up from the dinner table perhaps. The only thing I learned from this version was dusting the buttered ramekins with granulated sugar before pouring in the batter. You could also use powdered cocoa (that’s what I’ve done in the past) but the granulated sugar is probably a better option. Dusting the ramekins with one or the other helps when it comes time to unmold the cakes. And make the caramel sauce ahead of time - it will keep for several weeks in the refrigerator.
The good news is that I slept just fine, thank you!
Molten Chocolate Cake with Caramel Sauce
Recipe By: Deb Buzar, professional chef
Serving Size: 4
MOLTEN CAKES:
4 ounces semisweet chocolate
1/2 cup butter
1 cup powdered sugar
2 large eggs
2 large egg yolks — whole, reserve whites for another use
6 tablespoons flour
CARAMEL SAUCE:
8 ounces sugar
1/8 cup water
1/4 teaspoon lemon juice
1 tablespoon light corn syrup
3/4 cup heavy cream
2 tablespoons butter
GARNISH:
2 cups vanilla ice cream or whipped cream
Fresh berries to decorate plates
CAKE:
1. Preheat oven to 425 F. Butter and sugar 4 custard cups or ramekins. Place on cookie sheet and set aside.
2. Place chocolate and butter in a heatproof bowl and set over a bowl of simmering water (do not let bowl touch water), and stir occasionally until chocolate and butter are melted. Stir to combine, then add sugar. Remove from heat and mix until combined. Blend in eggs and egg yolks with a wire whisk. Stir in flour until no flour streaks are visible. Pour batter equally into the four cups.
3. Bake for 13-15 minutes, or until sides are firm but the centers are still soft and jiggly. Let them stand for one minutes. Take a small knife and loosen cake from sides of ramekins. Invert cakes onto dessert plates. It may take a fairly solid bang onto the plate to get them to release. Or, serve them in the ramekin. Serve immediately with topping of your choice, and with vanilla ice cream or whipped cream and berries for garnish.
SAUCE:
1. Place sugar, water and lemon juice in a small saucepan and gently bring to a boil. Brush down the edges of the pot with a wet, clean pastry brush. Add the corn syrup and continue to cook until the caramel turns a golden amber color. Do not stir even once.
2. Remove from heat and whisk in the butter. Carefully pour in the cream, whisking gently but constantly. May be done ahead and kept covered in the refrigerator for several weeks.
I purposely have not included the nutrition count on this as the recipe assumes you eat all of the caramel sauce, which you won’t do. The numbers would scare anybody away from ever making this!
