TWD: Gooey Chocolate Cakes

This week's Tuesdays with Dorie (TWD) recipe was chosen by Leigh of Lemon Tartlet: Gooey Chocolate Cakes. If you've been reading my blog, you'll remember reading a post I wrote not too long ago where I talked about these ooey gooey molten chocolate lava cakes! I have only made this type of cake once, and it was from a box mix (that was before I realized how easy these are to make from scratch!). When I received Dorie's book, this recipe was one of the many to catch my eye. I've seen several recipes for this type of cake, but I knew that I wanted to try Dorie's version. So I was really excited when I saw that Leigh had chosen these for this week's TWD.


After our honeymoon, I had my heart set on making these. So much so that I added this pan to my Christmas wish list :) The cake pan is perfect for these gooey chocolate cakes, but is also great for making muffins and mini cheesecakes. If you're not in the market to purchase yet another cake pan, Dorie points out that disposable aluminum foil muffin pans are also perfect for making these.


These were so good! This is definitely going to be my go-to molten chocolate lava cake recipe from now on. What I love about these is that they will satisfy any chocolate craving you have, and yet they are so simple to make. They really aren't any more work than a boxed cake mix. So if you're going to be entertaining and want to make something that will impress your guests that won't keep you in the kitchen all night, this is the dessert for you.


The only change I made to this recipe was to use semisweet chocolate instead of bittersweet. I'm not a fan of dark chocolate and as Dorie points out, "the most important rule to remember in making these individual cakes is to use not only the best chocolate you can find, but the chocolate you most love to eat, since that's the ingredient you will taste." I took this opportunity to use the TCHO chocolate I received from Blake Makes.


I simply used 4 ounces of semisweet chocolate chips for the batter and then 1 ounce of the TCHO chocolate to decorate the tops. My only complaint is that this recipe yielded only 4 small cakes for me, instead of the 6 that Dorie said it would. I think the cakes would have been really small if I had made 6 cakes with the batter.


Thanks Leigh, for picking this week's recipe. This was my first time making chocolate lava cakes from scratch and it certainly won't be the last! Make sure you check out the blog roll on the Tuesdays with Dorie blog to see everyone else's gooey creations.

Gooey Chocolate Cakes
from Baking: From My Home to Yours, by Dorie Greenspan

1/3 cup all purpose flour
3 tbsp unsweetened cocoa powder
1/4 tsp salt
5 ounces bittersweet chocolate (4 ounces coarsely chopped, 1 ounce very finely chopped)
1 stick (8 tbsp) unsalted butter, cut into 8 pieces
2 large eggs, at room temperature
1 large egg yolk, at room temperature
6 tbsp sugar


Getting Ready:
Center a rack in the oven and preheat the oven to 400°F. Butter (or spray-it's easier) 6 cups of a regular-size muffin pan, preferably a disposable aluminum foil pan, dust the insides with flour and tap out the excess. Put the muffin pan on a baking sheet.

Sift the flour, cocoa and salt together.

Set a heatproof bowl over a saucepan of gently simmering water, put the coarsely chopped chocolate and the butter in the bowl and stir occasionally over the simmering water just until they are melted-you don't want them to get so hot that the butter separates. Remove the bowl form the pan of water.

In a large bowl, whisk the eggs and yolk until homogenous. Add the sugar and whisk until well blended, about 2 minutes. Add the dry ingredients and, still using the whisk, stir (don't beat) them into the eggs. Little by little, and using a light hand, stir in the melted chocolate and butter. Divide the batter evenly among the muffin cups and sprinkle the finely chopped chocolate over the batter.

Bake the cakes for 13 minutes. Transfer them, still on the baking sheet, to a rack to cool for 3 minutes. (There is no way to test that these cakes are properly baked, because the inside remains liquid.)

Line a cutting board with a silicone baking mat or parchment or wax paper, and, after the 3-minute rest, unmold the cakes onto the board. Use a wide metal spatula to lift the cakes onto dessert plates.

Yield: 6 Servings

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