I often browse cooking blogs. I’m not a great cook, by any means, but I’d like to better myself (for Husband’s sake–though, luckily, he can cook!). The Queen of cooking blogs, in my opinion, is the Pioneer Woman. I have saved so many recipes from her blog because they are mostly simple. However, I haven’t tried any until last night. Now that we’re in our own house (with a great-sized kitchen), it’s a little easier for trial and error. (And believe me, there could be a lot of error.)
When I saw the recipe for molten chocolate lava cake (originally posted on Tasty Kitchen), I knew I had to make it. It looked so simple, and I only had to buy a couple ingredients because the rest, I already had.
I’ll post the recipe here for your convenience, but all credit goes to Tasty Kitchen member, Brandielle, for posting the recipe.
Ingredients (makes 4 servings):
4 pieces (squares) Semi-sweet Baking Chocolate
½ cups Butter (1 stick)
1 cup Powdered Sugar
2 whole Eggs
2 whole Egg Yolks
6 tablespoons Flour
2 cups Real Whipping Cream (optional)
custard cups (Pyrex or Anchor)
Seriously, that’s it. However, I cut everything in half, since I only wanted to make two cakes for Husband and I to each have one. They turned out great, regardless.
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First, preheat your oven to 425 degrees. Then put the stick of butter and four chocolate squares in a microwavable bowl. Place it in the microwave for one minute. Don’t worry–the chocolate won’t melt completely! Whisk the butter/chocolate slowly until the chocolate is smooth. It looks delicious already!
Next, stir in one cup of powdered sugar. (I recommend using a spoon rather than the whisk–it blends much easier.) While your doing this, have your husband separate the egg white and yolk of two eggs. (Okay, so you can do this yourself, but I had Husband do it.) Put the two egg yolks, along with two eggs, in the bowl and whisk. Now, add the six tablespoons of flour and stir. (Again, I recommend using a spoon because the mixture will get stuck in the whisk otherwise.)
How easy was that? The next part is even easier.
Spray four custard cups with cooking spray (so that the cakes will slide out easily). Evenly distribute the cake mixture into the custard cups and place them on a cookie sheet. Put in the oven and cook for just thirteen minutes. When the cakes are done, carefully remove them from the oven. Let them sit for about ten minutes (or until the custard cups cool) before removing the cakes. As Pioneer Woman suggests, the best way to get the cake on the plate is to place the plate upside down on top of the custard cup; then flip it and remove the custard cup. (That way the cake doesn’t slip out of the cup, making a mess.)
It’ll look beautiful, I promise! To make the cake even more delicious, you could add whipped cream (we made our own) or vanilla ice cream. It actually helps to mute the chocolate slightly because, believe me, it’s rich. Now, cut your beautiful cake open and enjoy!
*I know, I need to hurry up and buy that Nikon D5000. I used my cell phone for these images.
