Molten Chocolate Cakes

If you are a chocolate lover and you are looking for something that is ridiculously easy to make but looks like you fussed, you might want to consider these Molten Lava Cakes.  I apologize in advance to all of you trying to lose weight in time for the upcoming bathing suit season, but these are to die for (just run an extra three miles, maybe?).  Even my husband who is not a huge dessert fan said this was the best dessert he's ever had (he said it even tops Creme Brulee!).    I'll be keeping this recipe in my forever files.


Molten Chocolate Cakes (via All Recipes)

Ingredients:

1 cup unsalted butter

8 ounces semisweet chocolate chips, or bars, cut into bite-size chunks

5 large eggs

1/2 cup sugar

Pinch of salt

4 teaspoons flour (or matzo meal, ground in a blender to a fine powder)

8 extra-large paper muffin cups (or use regular paper muffin cups, which will make 12 cakes)

Garnish:

1 (6 ounce) container raspberries, barely moistened (we used a pint of strawberries) and rolled in about

1/2 cup sugar right before serving
Sweetened whipped cream

Directions:


1.  Melt butter and chocolate in a medium heat-proof bowl over a saucepan of simmering water; remove from heat. Beat eggs, sugar and salt with a hand mixer in a medium bowl until sugar dissolves. Beat egg mixture into chocolate until smooth. Beat in flour or matzo meal until just combined. (Batter can be made a day ahead; return to room temperature an hour or so before baking.)

2.  Before serving dinner, adjust oven rack to middle position; heat oven to 450 degrees. Line a standard-size muffin tin (1/2 cup capacity) with 8 extra-large muffin papers (papers should extend above cups to facilitate removal). Spray muffin papers with vegetable cooking spray. Divide batter among muffin cups.

3.  Bake until batter puffs but center is not set, 8 to 10 minutes. Carefully lift cakes from tin and set on a work surface. Pull papers away from cakes and transfer cakes to dessert plates.

4.  Top each with sugared raspberries and serve immediately.

{Find the best chocolate you can.}



{Fresh eggs from 'Our Girls'.}




{Chocolate + butter mixture ready to be incorporated with the sugar + eggs.}



{Waiting to be chilled.}



{Cracked tops.}



{Fresh, in-season strawberries macerated in sugar.}


Here are some modifications:

• I put the batter in four ramekins (instead of 8 large muffin-sized cakes), but I estimate if you have more ramekins it would make about 5 servings.  I only have four ramekins, so the rest of the batter made four small cakes in a regular-sized muffin tin.  I didn't line them with paper; I just buttered the tin and the cakes came out easily when they were still warm.   
• I chilled the batter before baking for about 2 hours although you can chill it overnight.  Let the cakes rest on the counter until they are at room temperature before popping them into the oven . 
• Baking time might vary (depending on your oven and if you get impatient waiting until you can bake them).  You'll know when your lava cakes are ready:  they'll dome up and crack on top.  Immediately pull them out so you don't lose the oozy, chocolately goodness in the middle.  
• A few reviewers said that the dessert tasted "eggy"; I didn't find this to be so, but if your eggs are freakishly huge, you could cut the number of eggs to four instead of five.

The best part is that you can make these ahead of time and they freeze well too! 

Posted by Dawn.