mmmmmm gahhhhhhhh drool!!!
This lava cake is so decadent it instantly and inevitably puts one in a love-y mood. This ease of this recipe as related to presentation and immoral indulgence is completely unbalanced. It looks as if you have spent all afternoon baking, when in reality, the 7 ingredients can be whipped up in less than a half hour’s time. You can even make it ahead, chill in the fridge, and pop it in the oven to have it piping hot and gooey faster than it takes for you to eat the main course. I made this for our neighbor’s, the Miller’s, who are perpetually dieting. They faked like they were not too pleased with me; of course, until the first mouthful!
Ingredients:
- 1 1/4 cup Ghirardelli 60% cacao bittersweet chocolate chips
- 6 tablespoons cubed butter
- 1 cup hard packed brown sugar
- 2/3 cup flour
- 6 eggs
- 1 tablespoon unsweetened cocoa powder for dusting ramekins
- Werther’s caramels
1. Heat a small saucepan of water to a simmer and fit a heat safe bowl over top of of the simmering water. The bottom of the bowl should not touch the water. Place the chocolate chips and butter cubes into the bowl over the saucepan and stir occasionally until melted.
2. While the butter is melting, grease 4-6 ramekins with butter and then coat the insides with cocoa powder. Tap ramekin upside down against the sink wall to release excess cocoa powder.
3. In a large bowl, mix together 1 cup of brown sugar and 2/3 cup of flour. Add the melted chocolate/butter mixture and stir until incorporated.
4. In a second, large, separate bowl, whisk together 6 eggs. Add the beaten eggs to your chocolate mix, stir, for a while, until completely mixed. (It will feel like it’s not coming together at first, but use a whisk. It helps to mix it all together.)
5. Ladle the mixture into your floured, cocoa powdered ramekins, filling about 3/4 of the way full. Chill in the fridge for at least an hour, or for up to 4 hours.
6. When you are ready to bake, preheat your oven to 350 degrees. (This part is brilliant.) You can make your own caramel sauce, and mess with a piping bag, BUT WHY BOTHER??? No worries about Werther’s caramels seizing up on you… So start unwrapping! I stuffed 3 caramels inside the center each ramekin, pressing down until the chocolate covered the caramel. Use your own caramel judgement of how many more or less caramels are preferred.
Werther’s = brilliant!
7. Place ramekins on a cookie sheet and bake at 350 for 15-25 minutes, depending on our oven. They will puff up when finished and the centers should be chocolatey caramel goodness. Flip over onto the plate and tap the bottom to release the cake. It should slide right out of the ramekin.
finished product!
8. Dust with powdered sugar, mint sprig, vanilla ice cream, whatever you love best! You can see the caramel bursting out of the top of this cake. They will be crusty on the outside and soft and gooey on the inside. Perfection!
Yummmmm!
