Wednesday, July 16, 2008

Mini Moltens

It only seems appropriate to share my all time favorite recipe as the first post on here.* 1/2 Stick unsalted butter at room temperature
* 1/2 Cup sugar
* 12 ounces of bittersweet chocolate
* 4 Large eggs
* 1/3 Cup flour
* 1 Teaspoon vanilla
* 1 pinch of salt
* 6 ramekins (ceramic molds) approx. 6-ounces in size, lined with parchment paper

1) Prepare the ramekins that you'll bake the moltens in: butter them and line the bottom with parchment. This step will insure that the moltens will ease out of the ramekin molds after baking.

2) To start melt the chocolate because it needs a chance to cool before you add it to the rest of the ingredients. To melt the chocolate start by boiling a pot that has about 3-4 inches of water in it - you want there to be enough water so that it won't evaporate quickly but you also want to be able to rest a glass or metal bowl over the pot without the bottom of the bowl coming in direct contact with the water. The idea is to melt the chocolate with indirect heat, i.e. the steam from the water. Once the water comes to a boil turn down the heat to medium and place a glass or metal bowl over it and add the chocolate to the bowl. If using bars of chocolate break them into small pieces so that they will melt faster. Once the chocolate melts take off the heat and and allow to cool. I find Ghirardelli's bittersweet chocolate works well in this recipe and their bars come in 4 oz. size so you need exactly 3 of them.

3) Cream the butter and sugar together in a large bowl while the chocolate cools, just use a spoon to stir them together until totally incorporated. Then add one egg at a time and beat into the mixture. Once you've added all 4 eggs add a pinch of salt and the vanilla extract. The next step is adding the flour. And finally, mix in the melted chocolate.

4) Fill the ramekins with the batter evenly. You can either cover them with plastic wrap and refrigerate until you're ready to bake them or you can bake them immediately. If you cook them immediately bake for 10-12 minutes at 400F. If refrigerating them bake for 12-14 minutes at 400F. I recommend serving with your favorite vanilla ice cream.

Note: To more easily remove the moltens from their ramekins after they've baked, gently slide a knife around them to loosen and flip onto a plate.

3 comments:

Richard said...

I love this yummy goodness. chocoholic1010@gmail.com
~diana

Diana said...

Now when I made this, I used cupcake pans. And I lined with wax paper--but that was the biggest pain because the paper wouldn't sit nicely at the bottom, and would slide around as i poured in the batter.

Any suggestions autumn?

Autumn said...

Did you coat the pan with butter first? That always works for me it seems to keep the paper good on the bottom, although it does work best once it gets a little batter on it.