Valentine's Day Molten Chocolate Cakes

Happy Valentine's Day!

I'll have you know that I am making molten chocolate cakes for Valentine's Day. Nathan asked me the other day what dessert I would pick if I only had one meal left, and I said, without hesitation, "Molten chocolate cakes." "Not your quadruple chocolate cake?" he asked. "No."

No question there. Molten chocolate cakes are the best.

In case you have no chocolate plans for today, I thought I'd bless you with the recipe, from The Joy of Cooking. When you cut into your individual cake and see the molten deliciousness, I hope you'll think of me. ;)

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Molten Chocolate Cakes

Have all ingredients at room temperature, about 70 degrees. Preheat oven to 400. Butter and sugar 8 muffin cups [I used 6 small ramekins]. Heat, in the top of a double boiler or in a microwave on medium, stirring often, until melted and smooth:

6 ounces bittersweet or semisweet chocolate, coarsely chopped
6 tablespoons (3/4 stick) unsalted butter

Remove from the heat and sift in:

1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder

Stir until smooth. Beat in a medium bowl on medium speed until soft peaks form:

4 large egg whites
1/4 teaspoon cream of tartar

Gradually add, beating on high speed until the peaks are stiff but not dry:

2 tablespoons sugar

Use a rubber spatula to fold one quarter of the egg whites into the chocolate mixture, then fold in the remaining whites. Fill the muffin cups about three-quarters full.
Bake until the cakes are cracked on the top but still gooey in the center, 7-8 minutes. Let sit for 2 to 3 minutes; the cakes will shrink slightly from the sides of the pan. Place a rack over the cakes and invert to unmold [or serve in the ramekins, or invert onto individual plates]. Serve hot, accompanied with whipped cream.

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I am actually refrigerating my batter, because we're going to our friends' house for dinner tonight, so we'll bake the cakes there. If you refrigerate your batter, just add about a minute to the baking time. I'll be serving mine with berries. Mmmm......

I'd have to say my favorite thing about these (other than the chocolate, and the gooeyness, and . . . okay, I have a lot of favorite things about them) is the sugary crispiness on the outside, produced by the buttered and sugared ramekins.

When I was buying chocolate at the grocery store, it struck me that I could use some kind of fun, fancy, flavored chocolate next time, like orange or chili. I might experiment with this recipe. Or maybe I'll find a way to incorporate Nutella. That would be darn good, too.

Enjoy!