Showing posts with label chocolate cake. Show all posts
Showing posts with label chocolate cake. Show all posts

Friday, June 13, 2008

Molten Chocolate Cake

OK, first, I have to thank Ann at Velvet Lava for the inspiration for this dessert. I mean, her whole blog is inspired by the lava cake and the chocolate velvet cake, so after a few months of reading her posts, I finally got off the dime and made this recipe, which truthfully has been in the house for five years! It was in the newspaper in 2003 - well, what can I say, it's been busy around here . . . .

And I am way late posting, because I made these many days ago. But they are so very cute and so very delicious! The recipe - one of probably 127 of the recipes out there - is at the end of the post. There are lots of variations on how much chocolate, how much butter, etc. But I love it that you can make them early in the day and keep them in the fridge until the last minute and bake them cold. The one picture that didn't come out so well was the one I took after the kitchen towel caught on fire when taking these out of the oven! YES, full on flames! Crap. I stood there like an idiot, pizza pan in my hand with the little ramekins on it, thinking, hmm, is the pan steaming? why is my hand so hot?? I did't drop them though. Apparently, with an oven at 500 F, you don't need much towel contact with the heating element for it to ignite. I suppose there's a lesson there about using pot holders, but it's a lesson I will probably never learn.
Anyway, the recipe says to serve these in the ramekins, but I liked them baked for one or two extra minutes so they would pop out and be served on a plate - the lava effect is so much better if it flows across the plate. . . .

Molten Chocolate Lava Cake

3 1/2 ounces (7 tablespoons) butter
3 ounces bittersweet chocolate, chopped
2 large egg yolks
2 large whole eggs
3/4 cup plus 3 tablespoons confectioners' sugar
7 tablespoons plus 2 teaspoons all-purpose flour
Additional confectioners' sugar, for garnish
Whipped cream, for garnish
Have ready 4 half-cup ramekins.
In a double boiler, melt the butter and the chocolate together. Meanwhile, lightly beat the eggs and egg yolks. In a separate bowl, sift the confectioners' sugar together with the flour.
When the chocolate has melted, whisk the egg mixture into it, blending well. Gradually stir in the dry ingredients, until they are just incorporated into the batter.
Divide the batter evenly between the four ramekins, and refrigerate until ready to bake.
Before serving, preheat the oven to 500 degrees. Bake for 8 to 10 minutes, until each cake has a high rounded dome and a single crack that oozes a bit of chocolate.
Dust with confectioners' sugar, and serve with whipped cream on the side.

Wednesday, December 26, 2007

December - a whole month in one bite!

OK, OK, it's been really really busy lately. . . .



First of all - Merry Christmas and Happy New Year from Scout - the chocolate dog with a caramel bow. The bow is courtesy of a box of Fran's nuts and caramels, and it is a testament to just how much I've eaten recently that the box still has any left in it . . . .


The baking continues since November. First, Dusen Cookies - little jam filled butter cookies. They can be made with an almond cookie base instead of a sugar cookie base, but the dough is more brittle and hard to work with, and the flavor is not that much better, so sugar cookies it is.



These have apricot jam in some and blackberry red currant jelly in the rest.








Then, just for fun, a dark chocolate cake with cream cheese frosting and meringue mushrooms -so cute!


For Bryan's birthday party on 12/22. . . .








And yes, I know I am apparently crappy at taking pictures of the inside of the baked goods - the chocolate cake above is a case in point. I don't know how that happens - normally I just don't have the camera out at the cutting and serving point, and then poof it's gone!




But, here I have tried to take steps in the right direction - mom's stollen, whole and cut up, covered with melted butter and sugar. Won't last long.

And this doesn't even begin to touch the savory items, such as the puff pastry filled with Dungeness crab and cheddar cheese.


OK - more next year! XO - L