Molten Chocolate Cakes With Sugar-Coated Raspberries

SUBMITTED BY: USA WEEKEND columnist Pam Anderson PHOTO BY: olganydia

"Dessert is individual molten chocolate cakes. They're simple and elegant, and they bake in under 10 minutes in a standard muffin pan. The best part about these little beauties is that the cake batter is extremely forgiving: You can make it up to six hours before you plan to serve the cakes. Fill the pans with batter and refrigerate, but remember to remove the pan far enough in advance of baking to let the batter return to room temperature. Because they bake for only 8 to 10 minutes, pop these little cakes into the oven as you're clearing the main course dishes and making coffee."

SERVINGS & SCALING

Original recipe yield: 8 servings

USMETRIC

About scaling and conversions

INGREDIENTS

1 cup unsalted butter or unsalted margarine*
8 ounces semisweet chocolate chips, or bars, cut into bite-size chunks
5 large eggs
1/2 cup sugar
Pinch of salt
4 teaspoons flour (or matzo meal, ground in a blender to a fine powder)
8 extra-large paper muffin cups (or use regular paper muffin cups, which will make 12 cakes)
Garnish:
1 (6 ounce) container raspberries, barely moistened and rolled in about
1/2 cup sugar right before serving

READ REVIEWS (233)

DIRECTIONS

Melt butter and chocolate in a medium heat-proof bowl over a saucepan of simmering water; remove from heat. Beat eggs, sugar and salt with a hand mixer in a medium bowl until sugar dissolves. Beat egg mixture into chocolate until smooth. Beat in flour or matzo meal until just combined. (Batter can be made a day ahead; return to room temperature an hour or so before baking.)
Before serving dinner, adjust oven rack to middle position; heat oven to 450 degrees. Line a standard-size muffin tin (1/2 cup capacity) with 8 extra-large muffin papers (papers should extend above cups to facilitate removal). Spray muffin papers with vegetable cooking spray. Divide batter among muffin cups.
Bake until batter puffs but center is not set, 8 to 10 minutes. Carefully lift cakes from tin and set on a work surface. Pull papers away from cakes and transfer cakes to dessert plates.
Top each with sugared raspberries and serve immediately.

*Make sure you use unsalted margarine; otherwise, the cakes will be too salty. (You can use salted butter, if you like, but remember to omit the pinch of salt.)

This recipe was originally featured in the USA WEEKEND article Advice A Holiday Feast - One Meal, Two Traditions on April 13, 2003.

Find the Perfect Recipe from Pam Anderson .

Pam Anderson is the author of four cookbooks, including her latest, Perfect Recipes for Having People Over .

REVIEWS

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Reviewed on Sep. 21, 2005 by LIKO2828

I've cooked this twice. First time, I prepared it and then put it in the refrigerator for 3 hours and cooked it after dinner. Second time, I cooked it straight away. It was definitely better the first time (more dense and chocolatey). The second time was too fluffy and dry. I'm guessing the reason was that the eggs had some time to deflate. Next time, I will make it in advance again. Thanks for the great recipe!

34 users found this review helpful

Reviewed on Nov. 22, 2005 by RebeccaStMartin.com

This is, hands down, my favorite dessert. A.k.a. chocolate lava cakes, they can be served with raspberry liqueur drizzled on the plate with a mint garnish or topped with whipped cream. I've put the batter in the freezer and have been able to store for several weeks. (Baking time is increased to 12-15 minutes.) I recommend: 1) replacing the paper muffin cups in muffin pan with ramekins sprayed with oil or cooking spray. (You can turn them over on plate for presentation.) 2) using Ghirardelli or another high quality chocolate

26 users found this review helpful

Reviewed on Dec. 11, 2005 by C. Coleman

This is a phenomenal recipe. I have used this one twice and it has been a HUGE hit both times. I used Giardenelli (sp) bittersweet chocolate to make it even more wonderful. Defintely make batter in advance and let set in refrigerator several hours before using. You do not need to let it warm up to room temperature. I used raspberry perserves for an easy delicious topping.

23 users found this review helpful

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