April 1, 2008

TWD- Gooey Chocolate Cakes

This weeks Tuesdays with Dorie challenge was chosen by Leigh of Lemon Tartlet. She's cute and I love reading her blog and she made a great choice! Wow, these cakes looked amazing from the time I first read the recipe till we licked our plates clean. They turned out delicious and I think they were just the right amount of choclate-ness. I used 3.5 ounces of 70% cacao and the rest was the milk chocolate. I love the milk chocolate. Somehow, the rest off the bar has disappeared... But it wasn't my doggy Sam, even though he was intensely interested in the whole process and never left my side.

My testers liked it and said it tasted just like the molten cakes they ate on their recent cruise, just gooey enough but cooked enough not to worry about salmonella (nothing like poisoning your dinner guests to complete the evening!) I think we all would have done better to hold off on baking the cakes until after dinner, we were completely, if happily, stuffed.

Next time I think I will dust the pan with cocoa powder like Ina sometimes suggests, or maybe try to use a little less flour- you could see a bit around the edges of the finished product, but it didn't effect the taste at all. They popped right out and were yummy. In my haste, I also forgot to add the finely chopped chocolate so I used that in some cookies on Saturday. Next time I'll remember (and there will be a next time for these babies, though I'm wondering how they would turn out with white chocolate since DH can't eat Cocoa...any suggestions?)

Gooey Chocolate Cakes
1/3 cup all-purpose flour
3 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder
¼ teaspoon salt
5 ounces bittersweet chocolate (4 ounces coarsely chopped,1 ounce very finely chopped)
1 stick (8 tablespoons) unsalted butter, cut into 8 pieces
2 large eggs, at room temperature
1 large egg yolk, at room temperature
6 tablespoons of sugar

Getting ready: Center a rack in the oven and preheat the oven to 400 degrees 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 from 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.

20 comments:

  1. Oh yum! I bet they were awesome with some ice cream. Great job!
    Clara @ I♥food4thought

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  2. Ooh! I'm so jealous that yours is so gooey! It looks so good!

    And I love the idea of trying it with white chocolate. You have to make a post about it if you end up trying it. I'd love to know how it turns out.

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  3. They turned out great! I wish I would have used milk chocolate...white chocolate sounds really good in these!

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  4. Nice and gooey looking cakes!!

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  5. You went for the cake & ice cream combo too! Your cakes look great, good job!

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  6. yum! They look nice and gooey!

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  7. they look great. Mine disappeared quickly as well.

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  8. I could make these everyday, they were so good! Yours look delicious!

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  9. I'm officially in love with your pup! I held off on ice cream because my thighs pleaded with me to do so!

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  10. Looks good- I bet is was great with ice cream!

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  11. Your cakes look deliciously fudgy! You'll have to let us know how they turn out with white chocolate! I topped mine with some clotted cream and a muscavado toffee sauce, but your ice cream looks mighty tasty as well!

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  12. Doggie! Doggie needs snuggles, LT needs cake. You go snuggle the dog and I'll guard your cakes from any intruders by keeping them safe in my tummy. It's because you called me cute that I'd make this effort for you. Ahem.

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  13. Looks gooey and delicious!
    I'm gonna try milk chocolate next time too.

    BTW, your cream cheese frosting looks divine in your last post!
    Donna

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  14. they look wonderful! i noticed the same thing about the flour....but it didn't seem to make a difference in the taste or how quickly they were gobbled up!

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  15. Those look delicious! If you make them with white chocolate, do share how they work. It sounds like it would be a delicious variation. (And your dog is adorable!)

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  16. There will definitely be a next time, no? They look delicious!

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  17. Yummy! Your cakes turned out great, but the cocoa powder idea is a good one. You'll have to tell me how it turns out if you ever try it.

    I've never tasted cocoa powder by itself. Would it leave a slight aftertaste?

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  18. Yummy gooey goodness you have there. Great job! I wish I had advice for your husband... white chocolate with vanilla? Coffee? Caramel? Dulce la Leche?

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  19. looks great! thanks for the tip about dusting w/cocoa!

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