Fallen Chocolate Cake a.k.a Molten Chocolate Cake

Recipe from: Baking Illustrated

Molten chocolate cake has always been one of my favourite western deserts. No thanks to countless visits to the Chili's at Ann Arbor. I never fail to order one when I am there. And its not even the greatest, have always found it too sweet and a little unrefined, but ah, its a habit.

Here is a short description of what Fallen Chocolate Cake is all about : " an undercooked-in-the-center mound of intense, buttery chocolate cake, which ranges from a dense, brownie-like consistency to something altogether more ethereal" - Baking Illustrated

Perfect description.

One of the most famous version of this cake hails from the famous French chef Jean-Gorges Vongerichten (who claims to have invented the souffle-cake hybrid, but of course, you will always have someone else disputing it). Baking Illustrated combined elements from the recipes of 3 cooks: Jean-Gorges, Todd English and Richard Sax. The culmination is a recipe that is easily manageable for the average home-based baker and it yields great results! Trust me as my first attempt was spot on (can't say that was the case for most of my other baked products).

Side note: This recipe will not produce an extremely molten chocolaty core if you stick to the full baking time. Try to pull it out a little while after it reaches 1/2 inch above the ramekins. Also, once cooled, it will lose its 'molteness'. So, serve/eat it hot!

Serves: 8

Ingredients:
2 tbsp plain flour + a little more for dusting
60 g unsalted butter
8 oz bittersweet/semisweet chocolate chopped coarse
4 large eggs + 1 large egg yolk at room temp
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/4 sp salt
3.5 oz granulated sugar

Method:
1. Adjust over rack to the middle position and heat oven to 200 dC
2. Generously grease and flour ramekins. Tap out excess flour.
3. Meanwhile, melt butter and chocolate in a medium heatproof bowl set over a pan of almost-simmering water, stirring once/twice until smooth; remove from heat
4. Beat eggs, yolk, vanilla, salt, sugar in the bowl of standing mixer at the highest speed for 5 minutes. Volume should triple. (remember that your utensils should always be spot dry when you deal with egg mixtures)
5. Scrape egg mixture over melted chocolate mixture.
6. Sprinkle flour over egg mixture.
7. Gently fold the egg and flour into the chocolate until mixture is uniform in color
8. Ladle/scoop batter into prepared ramekins.
9. Bake until cakes have puffed about 1/2 inch above rims of ramekins, have a thin crust on top and jiggle slightly at the centre when ramekins are shaken (gentle pls!). Takes about 12-13 minutes
10. Serve warm with whipped cream, cocoa powder or icing sugar.

The mixture after step 7 can be refrigerated for up to 8 hours (cling wrap the bowl) just in case you don't want to destroy the peace of entertaining your guests with the whirring din of the mixing machine. Leave it out at room temperature for 30 min before baking.

Try this recipe yourself, you would be amazed.