Soft-Centered Chocolate Teacup Cakes

I adore molten chocolate or lava cakes and have been collecting and saving the recipes. But I have never attempted to make them until now. A soft-centered chocolate teacup cakes, which bakers at Tuesday's with Dorie TWD are making this week, are too adorable to pass up. I can't think of anything more indulgent than a fine and textured chocolate cake, presented to your love ones, with a red rose, on Valentine's Day. The idea came to me when we went to a Pre-valentine's Day party for couples. There were red roses abound. They made perfect companions next to the molten chocolate cakes.

I don't know whether my teacups would hold up to 400°F oven temperature. I used oven-proof ramekins instead and called these cakes ramekin cakes.

Now I learned the trick to achieve the soft moltenness is to add chunks of chocolate to the final chocolate batter, which are spooned in cups or ramekins. Then they go into the oven for about 10 minutes. The whole process is much easier than I've thought. No more than five ingredients are needed.

I like to serve the chocolate cake warm. I only made one-third of the recipe using just one whole egg. It has worked out well for me. You can efficiently weigh out 19 gm of butter to 66 gm of bittersweet chocolate (save 19 gm of it, cut in chunks and set aside). I melted the rest of cbocolate, coarsely chopped, together with butter in the microwave oven, in 30-second intervals, until they were almost completely melted. Whipped one egg and 20 gm of confectioner's sugar in a stand mixer for about five minutes until the mixture turned pale and have increased in volume. Added one-third of one tablespoon of cornstarch to the egg mixture. (The cakes are gluten-free as cornstarch is used, instead of all-purpose flour.) Combined that with the melted chocolate mixture. Placed the remaining chocolate chunks inside the batter which has been divided among individual cups. They were ready to be baked in the preheated 400°F oven.

In less than half an hour from start to finish, you get one to two, depending on the size of the cups, of these adorable cakes. Quick, simple and decadent. I'll definitely make them again! Maybe with a twist, like stuffing these cakes with white chocolate chunks, frozen berries, or berry coulis, as Dorie has suggested.

Valentine's day is just around the corner.

Molten lava flows from the cake