Gooey Chocolate Cakes

Wow, another successful Dorie recipe (not that I am the least bit surprised). I was treated to two in one week, with the Daring Baker’s Perfect Party Cake earlier in the week, and these Gooey Chocolate Cakes for dessert on Sunday. Thanks to Leigh of Lemon Tartlet for choosing such a fabulous recipe!

I scaled this recipe into one-third of the original and made them in two individual 6-oz. ramekins (the smallest size I have). I have a “standard” molten lava cake recipe that I have been using for years, but I have to say, I think these have it beat. I am not as big of a fan of the runny middle that is characteristic of the classic lava cake, and as a result usually end up overbaking mine so as to firm it up a little. Dorie’s recipe is absolutely perfect because the middle is just as the name implies – Gooey! It’s very soft and, well, gooey, yet not runny. I am in love!

You really have to be a chocolate lover to appreciate these cakes (no problem with that in this house!). There is just a smidge of flour and sugar in the recipe, so be prepared for the total onslaught of bittersweet chocolate flavor. These pair perfectly with ice cream and some fresh berries.

Next week: Fresh Orange Cream Tart
Last week: Caramel-Topped Flan

Gooey Chocolate Cakes
(Source: Dorie Greenspan “Baking: From My Home to Yours” pages 261-262)

1/3 cup all-purpose flour
3 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder
¼ teaspoon salt
5 ounces bittersweet chocolate,
-4 ounces coarsely chopped,
-1 ounce very finely chopped
1 stick (8 tablespoons) unsalted butter, cut into 8 pieces
2 large eggs, at room temperature
1 large egg yolk, at room temperature
6 tablespoons of sugar

Getting ready: Center a rack in the oven and preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. butter (or spray – it’s easier) 6 cups of a regular-size muffin pan, preferably a disposable aluminum foil pan, dust the insides with flour and tap out the excess. Put the muffin pan on a baking sheet.

Sift the flour, cocoa and salt together.

Set a heatproof bowl over a saucepan of gently simmering water, put the coarsely chopped chocolate and the butter in the bowl and stir occasionally over the simmering water just until they are melted – you don’t want them to get so hot that the butter separates. Remove the bowl from the pan of water.

In a large bowl, whisk the eggs and yolk until homogenous. Add the sugar and whisk until well blended, about 2 minutes. Add the dry ingredients and, still using the whisk, stir (don’t beat) them into the eggs. Little by little, and using a light hand, stir in the melted chocolate and butter. Divide the batter evenly among the muffin cups and sprinkle the finely chopped chocolate over the batter.

Bake the cakes for 13 minutes. Transfer them, still on the baking sheet, to a rack to cool for 3 minutes. (There is no way to test that these cakes are properly baked, because the inside remains liquid.)

Line a cutting board with a silicone baking mat or parchment or wax paper, and, after the 3-minute rest, unmold the cakes onto the board. Use a wide metal spatula to lift the cakes onto dessert plates.

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