These intensely chocolate cakes always garner “oohs and ahs” when they arrive at the table. Use the best quality chocolate – I use Valhrona. For a larger group, the recipe is easily doubled. This dessert can be easily assembled in minutes.
INGREDIENTS:
1/2 cup unsalted butter, plus more for molds
2 teaspoons all-purpose flour, plus more for molds
4 ounces bittersweet chocolate, preferably Valrhona
2 large eggs
2 large egg yolks
1/4 cup sugar
METHOD:
Preheat oven to 450°F.
Butter and lightly flour four (4-ounce) brioche molds, ramekins, or custard cups. Tap out excess flour; butter and flour them again; set aside.
Place butter and chocolate in the top of a double boiler or heat-proof bowl set over a pan of simmering water, and heat until the chocolate has almost completely melted.
In the bowl of a mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat together the eggs, yolks, and sugar until light and thick.
Add melted chocolate mixture; beat to combine. Quickly beat in flour until just combined. Divide the batter evenly among the molds.
Place filled molds on a baking sheet, and bake until the sides have set but the centers remain soft, about 6 to 7 minutes. (If you’ve used larger molds than specified, you’ll need to add additional time to baking.)
Invert each mold onto a plate, and let rest for 10 seconds. Unmold by lifting up 1 corner of the mold; the cake will fall out onto the plate.
Garnish with a small scoop of premium vanilla ice cream or a dollop of freshly whipped cream and dust with cocoa or powdered sugar. Fresh raspberries, when in season, make this dessert spectacular with a dollop of whipped cream.
