Yoo-hoo! This past weekend, we welcomed May and I baked up a storm. The theme was all things chocolate. So this coming week, you’ll be seeing so. much. chocolate, and I’m thrilled about it all.
First up on the list is this decadent chocolate lava cake (aka molten chocolate cake or petit gâteau, if you’re French and fancy). This actually came from a challenge my husband jokingly gave me. We were chatting about our favorite desserts, and he mentioned that his favorite dessert is the Chocolate Lava Crunch Cake from Domino’s. Yes, Domino’s as in the place that you get cheap pizza from. He then challenged me to bake a homemade version that tastes better than Domino’s. Honestly, I wasn’t sure if this challenge was insulting or not, but nevertheless, I was up for the challenge.
We did a side-by-side comparison. Honestly, the Domino’s version is so overwhelmingly sweet, the chocolate flavor doesn’t really come through. The flavor reminds me of an Oreo. This homemade version has very sophisticated chocolate notes and the texture is much better in terms of mouthfeel. The best part is, the whole thing comes together so fast, AND YOU CAN EAT IT OUT OF THE OVEN.
Chocolate Lava Cake
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter
- 1 cup dark chocolate chips
- 2 large eggs
- 2 egg yolks
- 2 Tb granulated sugar, plus more for coating the ramekins
- pinch of salt
- 2 Tb all-purpose flour
Method
- Preheat oven to 450°F. Grease four 5-oz ramekins with butter. Sprinkle each ramekin with 1 tsp of sugar, rotate to coat and tap out the excess. Place ramekins on a baking sheet.
- In a double boiler, melt dark chocolate chips and butter until smooth. In a separate bowl, beat together eggs, egg yolks, sugar, and salt until pale the mixture falls like ribbons. Pour in chocolate mixture and flour, mix well.
- Pour evenly into ramekins. Bake in preheated oven for 7-9 minutes. (The top should be just set and when you shake the pan there should be a slight jiggle). Let cool for a couple minutes. Turn out to serving plates. Serve with fresh fruits or ice cream.
Adapted from Jean-Georges Vongerichten
