SOFT-CENTERED CHOCOLATE TEACUP CAKES (warm, "lava" chocolate cupcake)
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Even our sunny California is finally getting cooler. We had rain on two weekends in a row, which is amazing, but good for us, because we seriously need water.
Getting cool means, Yes, chocolate season has arrived! I am finally a little settled… recovered from the wild, crazy election season. So I have been trying to enjoy some quiet time, reading cookbooks over a cup of tea, and have found quite a few recipes I want to bake and share with friends who want to indulge.
Among the recipes I chose, this is the one (from BAKING CHEZ MOI, by Doris Greenspan) I want to make first because it is so easy, and I know everyone will love it. I have done similar cakes like this many times both at work and home, but this one is so simple, yet wonderful in taste and texture.
What I like about Dorie Greenspan’s cookbooks is that they are so fun to read (with a lot of great stories), and the recipes are well organized and full of good tips. She has had incredible experiences meeting many of the world’s great professional chefs and bakers, as well as many famous/top chefs of small towns. For me it is always a pleasure to discover something new from her books, and then going to the kitchen to try it. I hope you will enjoy baking these too.
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- ½ stick (2 ounces (56g)) unsalted butter, cut into chunks
- 5 ounces (142g) bittersweet chocolate, coarsely chopped
- 2 ounces (57g) bittersweet or milk chocolate, cut into 8 pieces
- 3 large eggs, at room temperature
- ½ cup (60g) confectioners’ sugar, sifted
- 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour or 1 tablespoon cornstarch
- Center a rack in the oven and preheat the oven to 400°F. Butter and dust with flour four 6-ounce ovenproof teacups or ramekins or custard cups. Place the cups on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper or a silicon baking mat.
- Put the butter and the 5 ounces chopped chocolate in a heatproof bowl set over a saucepan of simmering water, and heat, stirring occasionally, until the butter and chocolate are melted but not so hot that they separate. When you stir them together the mixture should be thick, smooth and shiny. Remove from the heat and set aside.
- Working in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, or in a large bowl with a hand mixer, whip the eggs and confectioners’ sugar at medium-high speed for about 5 minutes, until the eggs are pale and have increased in volume. Reduce the mixer speed to low and blend in the flour or cornstarch. Switch to a flexible spatula and gently blend in the melted chocolate mixture, stirring until it’s completely incorporated.
- Divide half of the batter among the cups. Drop in the chocolate chunks (2 pieces in each cup) and top with the remaining batter.
- Bake the cakes for 10 to 12 minutes: At 10 minutes, the edges, tops and a thin section of the bottom of the cakes will be set and the center will be super runny. At 12 minutes, the set sections will be thicker and the centers will be a little less runny. The cakes are wonderful either way.
- Transfer the cups to a rack and let the cakes rest for 5-10 minutes. You want them to be warm but not dangerously hot to eat.
- Author Dorie Greenspan suggested this “bonne idée” for Molten Surprise Cakes: The technique of placing something that’s slow to melt in the center of a chocolate cake is too good an idea not to riff on. Stuffing these cakes with white or milk chocolate chunks is one way to play with them. But you can also put juicy fruit in the center. Berries are perfect here: Mash them, freeze them and add a spoonful to each cake, or use frozen berry coulis. Or return to Chef Bras’ original idea: Put a small frozen chocolate truffle in each cake.
- You can find a simple chocolate truffle recipe for the stuffing in Molten Chocolate Lava Cake ( http://cocobeat.net/recipes/).
- To serve: Top with vanilla or honey yogurt instead of traditional whipped cream or vanilla ice cream -- it's healthier, and the slightly sour counterpoint of the yogurt tastes great with this cake.
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