Chocolate Lava Cake

This is a first for Light and Sweet: my first chocolate recipe! Well, my first real one if you don't count my chocolate turtle apple slices recipe. Technically, this is my first completely chocolate recipe. I've always been more of a vanilla person, but who doesn't love lava cake? The New York Times published this simple chocolate lava cake recipe and I had to try it out. I mean, if it made it on the New York Times, it has to be good right? This restaurant quality dessert surely did not disappoint.

HOW TO MAKE CHOCOLATE LAVA CAKE

You Will Need:

• 3 ounces bittersweet chocolate (70-74% cacao), chopped (about 1/2 cup)
• 3 tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into cubes, plus more for the ramekin
• 3 tablespoons granulated sugar, plus more for ramekin
• 1 large egg
• 1 large egg yolk 
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1/8 teaspoon kosher salt 
• 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
• Confectioners' sugar, to serve (optional)

Directions:

1. Heat oven to 425 degrees and butter a 10-ounce ramekin. Dust the buttered ramekin with granulated sugar. 
2. Combine the chocolate and 3 tablespoons butter in a heat-safe bowl set over a pan of simmering water. Cook, stirring occasionally, until melted and smooth. (Alternatively, combine in a bowl and microwave in 30-second blasts, stirring in between, until melted and smooth, about 1 minute.) Remove from the heat and set aside.
3. In a medium bowl, combine the 3 tablespoons sugar, egg, egg yolk, vanilla and salt. Whisk vigorously until the mixture is thick, foamy and pale, about 2 minutes. Whisk in the flour until smooth.
4. Using a spatula, add the chocolate to the egg mixture and stir gently until combined.
5. Pour the mixture into the ramekin. Bake for 12 to 14 minutes or until the edges are set and puffed, but the center is still soft when lightly pressed. (You can also cover and refrigerate the batter up to a day in advance. Add an additional minute or 2 to baking time if you are baking the cake directly from the refrigerator.)
6. Use an offset spatula or a small knife to loosen the edges of the cake from the ramekin. place a plate over the ramekin and carefully invert the warm cake. Use an oven mitt or clean kitchen towel to remove the ramekin, dust the cake with confectioners' sugar and serve with ice cream or whipped cream.

MY REVIEW

This recipe was so much easier to make than I thought it would be. Maybe it's because I normally only have them at restaurants so I think of them as fancy, but I assumed that these cakes would be hard to make. The recipe was quick and simple. The only thing I did different was I used a bittersweet block of chocolate that contained les cacao because I'm not a huge fan of bittersweet chocolate and a lesser percentage of cacao makes it sweeter. The middle had that picture perfect chocolate ooze that you would expect it to have, and had a great chocolate taste. I personally think the chocolate I used made it taste better than it would have if I used the bittersweet chocolate with a higher cacao percentage as directed. This recipe is a 10/10 for me. It came out perfect. Between the dripping chocolate lava and the high-quality taste, there are no complaints here. This is definitely a recipe to try out for date night, Valentine's Day, or just a regular night in. 

Original recipe: https://cooking.nytimes.com/recipes/1019957-chocolate-lava-cake-for-two