I was cursed with a wicked sweet tooth at birth. I inherited it from my dad’s side of the family, where my grandmother always had something sweet at the end of a meal. Literally the moment dinner’s over, I start scouring the pantry for something, anything, that’s sweet. And, if I can't find anything, I'm known for making a trip to the grocery store to pick up "emergency" brownie mix. One of the recipes that I keep in my back pocket for these occasions is my molten lava cakes. They can be made using mostly pantry ingredients and the prep work is done using a microwave. Very Easy Bake oven style.
When I was testing this recipe, I stumbled upon the secret completely by accident. My results were coming out good...but not great. Then one night I put the ramekins in a cake pan instead of on a baking sheet. When they came out of the oven they looked burnt to hell. But when I took a bite, they were gooier and more pudding-like than they'd ever been! So I repeated this happy accident, but added a bain marie to create steam and protect the cakes from burning. They came out perfect! This is one of my favorite things about cooking. You are at once a magician and a mad scientist.
A “bain marie” means “water bath” in French. It is often used for cheesecake, pot de crèmes, etc. See the below photos for what I mean.
Just a hint: these are great leftover for post-lunch dessert at work. Just pop the cake in its ramekin in the microwave for about 10 seconds. You’re welcome. :-)
What makes this recipe enchanting:
Perfect for a date night in
Goes great with ice cream
Makes great leftovers
More desserts perfect for date night:
From left to right: The lava cakes before baking, and after baking. You can also see what I mean about the bain marie, it's simply steaming water poured around the ramekins. Super easy.
Makes 4:
Baking spray
½ cup semisweet chocolate chips
½ cup milk chocolate chips
6 tablespoons unsalted butter
½ teaspoon instant coffee
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
¼ teaspoon kosher salt
2 eggs
2 egg yolks
¼ cup flour or almond flour
Vanilla bean gelato or ice cream
Special equipment: 4 6-oz. dome-shaped ramekins
Directions:
Preheat oven to 450 degrees F. Set a kettle filled with water over medium heat. It doesn’t have to boil, a nice simmer will do. Spray 4 ramekins with cooking spray and set aside. In a large glass measuring cup, melt the chocolate chips and butter in the microwave in 30 sec increments until melted and smooth, stirring with a spatula after each 30-second increment. I’ve found placing the butter below the chocolate chips helps it melt better. Allow to cool slightly, so as not to scramble the eggs.
Add the coffee, vanilla and salt, and stir. Add the eggs and egg yolks, and stir. Add the flour and stir once more. Fill each ramekin 2/3 of the way full. Place the ramekins in a rectangular cake pan.
Scoot all of the ramekins to one side of the pan. On the other side of the pan, pour the simmering water into the pan just until the bottom of the pan is covered. Carefully scoot the ramekins back to the center of the pan, open the oven, and place the pan in the oven. Be careful not to splash any water into the ramekins. Bake 10 minutes.
Allow to cool just until cool enough to handle, about 10 minutes or longer. Turn ramekins over onto a plate and the cakes should pop out naturally. If not, nudge out with a spoon. Serve each cake with a scoop of vanilla ice cream.
