I Love Chocolate!

February 8th, 2010

Surprise, surprise. I really do love chocolate - probably not as much as my friend, Dawn, in Bellingham does, but I sure think it is pretty darn good and I'm right up there in thinking it should be one of the main food groups! I'm more of a milk chocolate gal, rather than dark chocolate, but I'll certainly eat the dark chocolate variety. It's kind of a standing joke at our house that I pretty much have some chocolate hidden somewhere in the house. When you need chocolate, you NEED chocolate right then!

We have a Relief Society Chocolate Recipe night this week and so I've been looking at a few recipes in order to try something new. My goodness, there are tons and tons of internet recipe sites! Seriously could get lost and spend the whole day looking at recipes if one so desired! I found the following one at the Taste of Home recipe site and tried it tonight for Family Night...pretty good and very easy.

Lava Chocolate Cake
4 tsp. sugar
1/2 cup butter, cubed
4 ounces semisweet chocolate, chopped (I used chocolate chips)
1 cup confectioners' sugar
2 eggs
2 egg yolks
3/4 tsp. vanilla extract
6 Tblsp. all-purpose flour
1/2 tsp. salt
Grease the bottom and sides of four 6-oz. ramekins; sprinkle each with 1 tsp. sugar. Place ramekins on a baking sheet; set aside.
In a medium microwave-safe bowl, melt butter and chocolate; stir until smooth. Stir in confectioners' sugar until smooth. Whisk in the eggs, egg yolks, and vanilla. Stir in flour and salt; spoon batter into prepared ramekins.
Bake at 400 degrees for about 12 minutes or until a thermometer reads 160 degrees and cake sides are set and centers are soft. (When I initially looked at 12 minutes they didn't look done enough and I left them in a little longer...should have taken them out then...but I guess it really comes down to how much of a gooey center that you like!)
Remove ramekins to a wire rack to cool for 5 minutes. Carefully run a small knife around cakes to loosen. Invert warm cakes onto serving plates. Lift ramekins off cakes. Serve warm with whipped cream (or ice cream!) or sprinkle with additional confectioners' sugar if desire.
Yield - 4 servings.