molten chocolate lava cakes

I was on total chocolate craze last month. Hmm... it aligned perfectly with exam schedules, coincidence? Then as if it was meant to be, I discovered this chocolate lava cake recipe from foodwishes.blogspot.com. As if the universe was telling me to eat more chocolate! For those who have never had molten chocolate lava cakes, you have been missing out! The recipe utilized ingredients I already had and consisted only of 3 steps! Easy and delicious! You can be having your own chocolate lava cakes in a short 60 minutes! What are you waiting for? :)

As an aside, I love foodwishes.blogspot.com! The blogger makes video recipes, so you can see every step in action. It's perfect for those of us who don't quite know what "stiff peaks" or "curdled mixture" looks like.

So far, I have baked this cake 3 times. The first time it was absolute perfection, with the gooey chocolate-y inside. However, the second time, I was impatient and under-baked the cake; needless to say, it completely collapsed once I slid it out of the ramekin. Ben ate the molten chocolate all the same, when do you pass on molten warm gooey chocolate?! And the third time, I used metal muffin tins rather than ramekins and the cakes turned out overbaked. I guess I'm still working on my timing. Ideally, the cakes are done when the center of each cake is a bit jiggly, indicating the creamy, not-completely-baked insides. So, take the listed baking time as a suggestion... baking times can vary depending on your oven and the type of baking pan you used (metal or ceramic).

Molten Chocolate Lava Cake

2 large eggs
2 large egg yolks
5 tbsp. butter
3 tbsp. sugar
3.5 oz. dark chocolate
3 tbsp. flour
4 tsp. cocoa powder
A pinch of salt
1/8 tsp. vanilla

Directions:

1. Butter 4 small ramekins, and set aside. Whisk eggs, egg yolks, and sugar until mixture is light and foamy. 
2. Melt dark chocolate and butter in microwave until just melted (20-30 seconds). Stir chocolate into egg mixture. Sift cocoa powder, flour, and salt into mixture. Fill ramekins with mixture. 
3. Cover ramekins with ceramic wrap and refrigerate for 30 minutes. 
4. Place ramekins in deep baking dish, and fill baking dish halfway with hot water. Bake at 425 degrees F. for 15 to 18 minutes. Remove from oven, run a knife along outside of the cake to detach cake from ramekin, and turn upside down to remove cake from ramekins. Dust with powder sugar prior to serving. 

Loving myself some chocolate!