Molten Chocolate Cake
- Yield:Makes one 4-ounce ramekin, serving 2
- Active time:8 minutes
- Total time:20 minutes
This recipe appears in:
This Molten Chocolate Cake for 2 Will Melt Your Valentine's HeartA molten chocolate cake to put all others to shame. [Photographs: Nila Jones]
This gooey chocolate cake for two, loaded with whipped cream, ice cream, chocolate and caramel sauce more than delivers. And it couldn't be easier to make.
Why this recipe works:
- No special equipment required—just a whisk and a rubber spatula.
- By serving the cake in the ramekin, you don't have to worry about whether it will unmold properly.
Note: Cooking for more than two? This recipe can easily be doubled, tripled, or even quintupled—heck, you could make a hundred of them if you had enough ramekins. Just scale the ingredients accordingly, and then pour into multiple 4-ounce ramekins (making a larger cake in a single larger ramekin will throw off cooking times given here).
Ingredients
- 1 ounce semisweet chocolate
- 2 tablespoons (28 grams) unsalted butter
- 2 tablespoons plus 1 teaspoon (18 grams) powdered sugar
- 1 large egg, at room temperature
- 1 1/2 tablespoons (12 grams) all-purpose flour
- Pinch of kosher salt
- Ice cream, for serving
- Whipped cream, for serving
- Hulled and quartered fresh strawberries, for serving
- Store-bough or homemade salted caramel sauce, for serving
- Store-bought or homemade hot fudge sauce, for serving
Directions
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1.
Adjust oven rack to middle position and preheat oven to 390°F.
-
2.
Melt chocolate and butter together in a heatproof bowl set over a pan of simmering water (make sure the water doesn’t touch the bottom of the bowl); alternatively, melt chocolate and butter together in a heatproof bowl in the microwave, stirring after every 20 second-interval. Once fully melted, whisk in powdered sugar (it's okay if it looks a little bit lumpy).
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3.
Separate the egg into two small bowls. Whisk the egg white briefly with a fork, then add half the egg white to the yolk. Discard the remaining half of the egg white.
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4.
Add the yolk and half the egg white to the chocolate mixture and whisk until incorporated. Add flour and salt and whisk until the batter is smooth.
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5.
Pour the batter into a 4-ounce ramekin. Bake until the cake is set around the edges but still molten within, about 12 minutes. Let cool for 1 minute before adding toppings. Serve immediately.