Per a friend’s request, I’m posting another favorite dessert recipe. This variation of molten lava cake uses cocoa powder instead of flour. My daughter Kelli, http://softmoth.blogspot.com/, and I always enjoyed baking this together, so it’s a great way to get kids involved in cooking. It’s also a nice treat for Valentine’s Day or any night you’re craving something sweet.
Molten Lava Cake
Serves six
Ingredients
- 1 stick of butter
- 4 oz super-dark chocolate
- 2 eggs
- 2 egg yolks
- 1/2 cup sugar
- Cocoa powder
- Powdered sugar
- Mint (optional)
- Strawberries (optional)
- Ice Cream (optional)
Equipment
- 6 ramekins
- Sifter
- Cookie sheet
- Double boiler or small pot
- Mixer
Method
- Butter and dust the ramekins using cocoa powder.
- Place ramekins on a cookie sheet.
- Chop up the chocolate into small pieces.
- In a double boiler, on low flame, melt the chocolate and butter together. If you don’t have a double boiler, just use a small pot, but you must stir constantly, else mixture will burn.
- When they’re melted, turn off the heat and set aside.
- Mix the eggs, egg yolks and sugar together. I do this in the bowl of an electric mixer for convenience.
- Gradually drizzle in the chocolate and mix well.
- Pour mixture into the ramekins. Fill them about 1/2 to 2/3 of the way to the top.
- Bake for seven minutes at 450 degrees. Be sure not to overcook or the center will not be molten.
- Remove from the oven.
- Run a knife around the edges to loosen the cake. Use kitchen gloves so you don’t burn yourself.
- To get it onto the plate, hold the ramekin from the bottom in one hand and place the plate on top with the other, then flip.
- Tap the bottom of the ramekin and remove it.
- Dust with powdered sugar.
- (Optional) Garnish with mint and strawberries. I like to serve this with vanilla ice cream.
Useful Info
Ramekin – Individual ovenproof baking dishes made of ceramic, porcelain or glass and used in the preparation of custards and other miniature sweet or savory dishes.
http://www.cookadvice.com/glossary/11/letterr
Double boiler – also known as a bain Marie, is a stove top apparatus used to cook delicate sauces such as beurre blanc, to melt chocolate without burning or seizing, or cook any other thick liquid or porridge that would normally burn if not stirred constantly.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Double_boiler
Adapted from: Ms. Leslie Sarna, http://www.lesliesarna.com/2010/02/chocolate-molten-lava-cake-.html Published in Metro News, February 14, 2011
Enjoy!
Marjo Foodie 
Your recipe still calls for sifted flour. From your comments, I am assuming it was used for dusting the pans and you replaced it with the cocoa. One of the nice things about this recipe is that it should be suitable for gluten-free diets, though it would never make it into the health food category despite the use of dark chocolate.
Posted by Celia Spivack | May 24, 2011, 11:29 am@Celia: Thanks for the great comments. I’ve updated the recipe to remove the confusion. I didn’t even think of this recipe going anywhere near the “health food” category. But, I understand dark chocolate’s antioxidants are good for you, so let’s enjoy it!
Posted by Marjo Mercado | May 25, 2011, 1:53 pm