Lava Cake

Update: 2008 - I tried this using powdered sugar - I think at a 4:3 ratio to replace the regular sugar - It worked perfectly - the centers were smooth rather than grainy. The desert was already very good but this change put it over the top! Also - the recipe below serves 12 - I usually cut it into thirds to make 4 - though this requires coming up with 3/4 of an egg.

I found this recipe searching the Internet for Lava cake and Volcano cake. It says it was adapted from a cooks magazine recipe.

The batter is easy to make and the end result is over-the-top chocolate. It is probably the richest chocolate desert I have had. Being a bit cheap (and taking a cue from cooks magazine, I used Bols triple sec instead of Grand Mariner. I also quartered the recipe - to produce four cakes instead of 16. The only tricky part of this was getting 3/4 of an egg - but the recipe worked fine.

I had some unmolding trouble where the bottoms stuch to the ramekin - I think a bit more butter would would have helped.

The center was a bit grainy - I want to try it with powdered sugar to see if it is smoother.

Also, it is important to serve quickly after it comes out of the oven. I made this twice last week. The first time, I served it right away and the centers were perfectly gooey. The second time I was delayed (do to stupidly getting lost in traffic) and they sat for 20 minutes before I served them. They were still tasty, but the centers set.

Lava Cake serves 12

10 tablespoons unsalted butter plus more for greasing ramekins
3 cups granulated sugar plus more for dusting ramekins
16 oz. bittersweet chocolate
4 oz. unsweetened chocolate
4 tablespoons cornstarch
3 large eggs
4 egg yolks
4 teaspoons Grand Marnier
powdered sugar, for dusting
espresso ice cream, for eating

Prepare your 12 4 oz. ramekins by buttering them heavily, making sure to get the corners. Roll granulated sugar in the ramekins to coat, tapping out any excess.

For the cake, use chocolate bars, not chips. The chips have extra ingredients in them to stop them from sticking together. Chop the chocolate finely, and cut the butter into small chickpea-sized nuggets.

Put the butter and chocolate into a metal bowl that will fit snugly over a saucepan filled halfway up with water. Bring the water to a simmer and place bowl filled with chocolate and butter on top. Stir to melt and combine the chocolate and butter. Stir together until smooth and uniform

In a large bowl, combine the sugar and cornstarch and mix well. In a separate small bowl, combine the eggs egg yolks, and grand marnier and beat the eggs until well scrambled.

Add the melted chocolate/butter mix to the bowl with the flour/cornstarch and stir to combine. Add the egg mix and stir to combine well. Keep stirring until you have a deep dark mostly uniform mixture.

Scoop out about 1/2 cup of the batter into each ramekin. You may have to adjust the amounts as you get to the last ramekins.

At this stage you may cover these with plastic and store for 24 hours before baking.

When you want to bake them, preheat an oven to 375 F. Place the ramekins in the oven and bake until the tops have set and show cracks - about 15-20 minutes. Don't overcook. You want a liquidy center.

Remove the ramekins and set them on a cooling rack for 2-3 minutes. To unmold, first run a knife between the cake and the ramekin walls to loosen. The ramekins will still be hot. Use a glove and grip the ramekin. Turn the ramekin over quickly just off-center on the serving dish and dust with powdered sugar.

Pair with a scoop of coffee or espresso ice cream. I used Ciao Bella's espresso ice cream (though known for their gelatos I think this was an ice cream), and can recommend it highly.