Confessions of a Bake-a-holic!

I made it…Tah-dah!

I have reached a point in life where the idea of home baked desserts is more appealing than the store bought ones.In this way I also have control over the ingredients I use. My love for Chocolate never ends,infact I try and read a lot about it.There are so many different kinds of chocolates available. If a recipe calls for Dark chocolate, Semisweet or bittersweet can be used compromising a bit in the taste.Ofcourse, White chocolate cannot be substituted with any other chocolate. I came across an interesting read on Cocoa powders - Often we come across recipes asking for Dutch Processed Cocoa,this actually means that the cocoa has been treated with an alkali such as Potassium carbonate which makes it much darker and less acidic.

As we all know,chocolate can be melted either by using a “microwave” or a “double boiler method” where in two bowls stacked with some water on the lower one and the chocolate on the upper .As the water heats up,it slowly heats the upper bowl and melts the chocolate.Its also said that the upper bowl should never touch the lower one.I always wondered why this would make a difference in melting chocolate,until I got to know that Water and Chocolate are fatal. Chocolate is an oil based product and hence does not combine well with water. When melted chocolate contacts water, it will seize (solidify rapidly).So you should avoid any contact with steam.That’s too much of trivia,lets head to the recipe.

I came across Bridget’s blog Bake at 350 and her event Flavor of the month - Chocolate and thought my Molten Chocolate was a perfect entry.

Recipe Source – Good housekeeping – All Chocolate recipes

Preparation time – 20mins ; Bake – 8-9 min

Ingredients:

4 ounces semisweet Chocolate(1/3 Cup Chocolate chip)

½ Cup Butter(1 stick)

¼ Cup Heavy or Whipping Cream

½ tsp Vanilla Extract

¼ cup All Purpose Flour

¼ cup Sugar

2 Large Eggs

2 Large Egg yolks

Whipped Cream or Vanilla Ice cream for serving

Confectioner’s Sugar (for decorating) optional

Method: Preheat 400F.Grease 8 six ounce custard cups/ramekins.Dust with Sugar.In a three quart saucepan, Combine chocolate,butter and cream.Heat over low heat stirring occasionally until butter and chocolate have melted and mixture is smooth.Remove from heat.Add Vanilla with wire whisk.Stir in flour just until mixture is smooth.

In a medium bowl,with mixer at high speed beat sugar,eggs and egg yolks until thick and lemon colored, about 10mins.Add egg mixture ,one third at a time into chocolate, until blended.Divide batter equally among prepared custard cups/ramekins.Place jelly roll pan for easier handling.Bake until edges of cakes are set and center still jiggles,8-9mins.Do not overbake else you will end up with just a moist cake.Cool in pan on rack . Run knife around the cakes to loosen from sides of cups,invert into dessert plates.Serve immediately with whipped cream or icecream if desired. You may also sprinkle confectioner’s sugar on top of it.

Verdict: Each servings is about 281 cal; 22g total fat. As always,chocolate at its best.Its one quick recipe with absolutely no fuss.When you run a fork to take a bite,goey chocolate oozes out from the center,that is the perfect Molten chocolate.Its sinful and delectable.If you are passionate about chocolate like me….this is what you shud bake!