Chocolate Molten Cake

I am a fan of dessert. In fact, dessert is a weakness of mine. I will stop eating dinner if I know that an amazing dessert is waiting for me. It’s okay though, because I’m not afraid to admit it! And if dessert is my weakness, molten cake is the ultimate weakness. Something about ooey-gooey flowing chocolate surrounded by a light, fluffy cake — it just gets me.

I’ve had plenty of molten cakes (probably more than I’d care to admit) in restaurants, some of which I dubbed “the best molten cake ever. But never have I tried to make molten cake. Well, my birthday was quickly approaching and I knew what I wanted for dinner, but I hadn’t come up with a dessert idea yet. Then it hit me — molten cakes! So, I used my trusty online sources and came to the conclusion that a recipe from Martha Stewart (gag me) was a winner in most books. So, despite my hatred for this woman, I decided I would forget about my feelings for the day and risk everything for a delicious molten cake.

Chocolate Molten Cake

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Here’s what you’ll need:
Serves: 4
- 1/2 cup (1 stick) butter
- cocoa powder (for dusting ramekins)
- 4 oz. semi-sweet chocolate chips
- 2 eggs
- 2 egg yolks
- 1/4 cup sugar
- 2 tsp flour
- powdered sugar (for garnishing)

Instructions:
Preheat the oven to 450 degrees. Prepare four ramekins by coating them with butter (or cooking spray) and lightly dusting with cocoa powder. Be sure to tap out any excess cocoa powder so you don’t have a huge chunk baked into one of your cakes.

To prepare the cakes, melt the butter and chocolate in a double boiler (a glass bowl set over simmering water works just as well, just make sure the water isn’t touching the bowl). While the chocolate is melting, whisk together the eggs, egg yolks and sugar until light and thick, about three minutes on medium to high speed.

Once the egg mixture is ready and the chocolate is melted, slowly add a little of the melted chocolate to the eggs (the goal here it to temper the eggs before adding all the chocolate). Whisk to combine well, then add the rest of the chocolate and whisk until everything is nicely incorporated. Finally, add flour and mix until well combined.

Divide the batter evenly between the four prepared ramekins (they should be about halfway full). Place the ramekins on a baking sheet and bake at 450 for about seven to 10 minutes, or until the sides are set and center is soft.

To serve, flip each ramekin onto a plate and don’t touch for a few seconds. Tap the top of the ramekin and carefully lift to remove. The cocoa powder really helps the cakes come out easily, so you shouldn’t have any problems. Sprinkle with powdered sugar and serve warm with a scoop of ice cream.

Ooey-Gooey Chocolate Molten Cake

This was probably one of the easiest cakes I’ve ever made, and it was uh-maz-ing. It was warm, gooey and chocolaty — but totally not too sweet or rich. The cake was light and airy and the molten center was, well, molten. It was rich and delicious! The ice cream was the perfect compliment to the warm cake, but I think next time I’d make some type of sauce to go on top.

The one complaint I had about our cakes was that we baked them a minute or two too long — a few of them didn’t have horribly molten centers. Nevertheless, they were still delicious. Recipes are never perfect on the first try, right? Right.

I can’t say that this was better than some of the molten cakes I’ve had in restaurants, but it was a close contender. This is something I’ll be making again, especially since it was so easy. Plus, the presentation is perfect for a dinner party or a special occasion! Check out Martha’s (gag me again) original recipe on her website.