HEYhi look what I made!!! I'm so excited to share with you one of my favorite desserts ever, the molten chocolate cake!
Is there anything more perfect for a Valentine's Day dessert? Except maybe creme brûlée because obviously but that's besides the point. Sometimes, you just gotta have chocolate amiright?
Have you ever seen the movie Chef? If you haven't you just HAVE to. Definitely watch it on a full stomach though because omg the fooooood. Anyway, there's a scene where said Chef Carl loses his cool at a food critic who gave him a bad review, specifically claiming the molten chocolate cake that was served was not, in fact, molten.
It was HI-larious and I kept hearing Chef Carl screaming "IT'S MOLTEN!!!!" the whole time I was making this recipe ????????. One of my favorite movies (LOTR first and foremost people).
Anyhoo, the molten chocolate cake was accidentally created by French Chef Jean-Georges Vongerichten, who pulled a chocolate cake out of the oven before it was completely cooked inside.
Instead of the usual "ewgrossnothanks" that occurs with an uncooked center, it was a delicious miracle that has become the world renowned molten chocolate cake.
And guess what?? It's WAY easier to make then you think! There's only 6 ingredients (7 if you count eggs and egg yolks as two separate things) and they bake up in no more than 12 minutes.
Little hint: You definitely want to know your oven with this recipe, specifically if it runs hot or cold. I've seen that most recipes suggest baking for 12 minutes. My oven only needed 11 minutes, resulting in a perfectly molten, lava like center. I did a couple at about 12 and a half minutes as an experiment and there wasn't a molten center in sight. So even 1 minute makes all the difference!
Basically, always err on the side of undercooking with a molten chocolate cake. The sides should look set but the center of the cake will still look soft.
If you're nervous, this recipe makes 4 single serving cakes. Instead of baking all 4 at once, you can bake them in two batches to make sure you've got he timing down pat. You could even do just one to start as a practice!
Seriously, you just have to make molten chocolate cake. I was so proud of myself the first time I made them successfully, even more so than with my cheesecake! Give it a try next week for Valentine's Day. Never a more perfect time for a decadent yet super easy chocolate dessert right??
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Molten Chocolate Cake
- Total Time: 22 minutes
- Yield: 4 single serving cakes 1x
Ingredients
- ½ cup unsalted butter (1 stick)
- 6 ounces bittersweet chocolate*, roughly chopped
- 2 eggs
- 2 egg yolks
- Pinch of sea salt (about ⅛ teaspoon)
- ¼ cup white sugar
- 2 tablespoons all purpose, unbleached flour
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Instructions
- Preheat oven to 450°F. Butter and dust ramekins with a little cocoa powder*. Tap out any excess powder and place ramekins on a baking sheet.
- In a double boiler over simmering water, melt together the butter and chocolate pieces, whisking occasionally until smooth.
- While chocolate and butter is melting, in a medium bowl beat eggs, egg yolks, sugar and salt together on a high speed until thickened, somewhat frothy and pale.
- Quickly fold the chocolate mixture and the flour into the egg mixture, until mixed.
- Spoon the batter into the ramekins. Bake for 10-12 minutes* until the sides of the cakes are firm but the centers are still soft.
- Remove ramekins from heat, and place on a wire rack to cool for 1 minute. Cover each ramekin with an upside down dessert plate (or whatever you intend to serve each cake on) and carefully turn over. Let each ramekin stand for 10 seconds before gently unmolding.
- Top with a dusting of powdered sugar and serve immediately.
Notes
I used Ghirardelli's bittersweet 60% cacao baking bar chocolate. Make sure to use baking chocolate and not chocolate chips as they won't melt down as well and can thicken, throwing off the texture and bake of the cake.
My cakes were done in 11 minutes. Keep a close eye on your cakes as they bake; if you're not sure, it's better to undercook than overcook these!
If you don't have cocoa powder, regular all purpose flour is fine to dust the ramekins. However, it can result in white streaks on the tops of the cakes but this is easily masked by a dusting of powdered sugar!
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Cook Time: 12 minutes
Brittany says