Ooey Gooey Rich and Chewy Inside, Chocolate Cakey Yummy Tasty Outside

I think it’s obvious that I like chocolate. Well, I guess it’s probably obvious that I like anything that’s edible, but chocolate is especially good. I like a variety of textures too, so a chocolate molten cake is an excellent dessert choice. Cakey on the outside, gooey on the inside and chocolate all over. I’ve seen it numerous times on restaurant menus and in pictures but I’ve never actually had one. I decided to change that by making it myself. It’s a pretty easy recipe, the only problem I had was my lack of appropriate sized molds. The ramekins I have are mini so my molten cakes ended up being mini. That just meant there were more of them to eat. It also meant I got to find out what happens when the lava interior cools off. Most recipes will tell you that molten cakes are best eaten straight out of the oven and this is true if you want it to retain the title of molten cake. But as I found out, if you put leftovers in the fridge, (if you actually manage to have leftovers) the molten part hardens and becomes somewhat chewy. No matter which way you eat it, it’s chockfull of chocolate so it’s got to be good. It’s also a Nigella Lawson recipe so mark me down as another step closer to becoming a complete Domestic Goddess.

Molten Chocolate Babycakes

Scant ¼ cup soft, unsalted butter, plus more for greasing
12 ounces best bittersweet chocolate (I substituted about a third of it for dark chocolate with good results)
½ cup sugar
4 large eggs, beaten with a pinch of salt
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/3 cup all purpose flour
6 individual 6-ounce custard cups, buttered (I actually halved the recipe and since I made them in mini ramekins I ended up getting 5 molten cakes, so the originals are quite large)

Preheat oven to 400F, putting in a baking sheet at the same time. Put the custard cups on parchment paper, trace rounds, cut them out and press into the base of the cups.

Melt the chocolate and let cool slightly. Cream together butter and sugar. Gradually beat in eggs and salt, then vanilla. Add flour and when it is smoothly combined, add the cooled chocolate and blend to a smooth batter.

Divide the batter between the 6 cups, quickly whip the baking sheet out of the oven, arrange the cups on it and replace. Cook for 10-12 minutes and turn the cakes out onto plates as soon as they’re removed from the oven. You can also make the cups up in advance, cover them with plastic wrap and put in the fridge until right before serving, that’s what the extra 2 minutes of cooking time is for because you’re putting them into the oven cold. Simple and very presentable.

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Baking + Dessert + Chocolate + Recipe> + Nigella Lawson> + Domestic Goddess