Before trying this recipe of Rose's, I had made lava cakes twice, from the same recipe. The first time they turned out perfectly. The second time, I must have baked them just a hair longer because there was no lava at all. They were just chocolate cakes, and a little dry to boot. Thinking that they were one of those things that would only turn out right when you didn't really care, I decided to stay away from them. So I was a little tentative about baking them again. When I found out that these lava cakes didn't rely on underbaked cake batter for their moltenness, I was very happy. It's a better concept, I think, and you're not at the mercy of your oven timer.
The first thing to do is to make the ganache, the star of this particular cake. And a chance to make ganache using the egg carton technique, a first for me. The ganache is, of course, just melted chocolate and warmed cream, mixed and poured into the individual egg containers, after they're first lined with plastic wrap. I had enough ganache to make 9 little balls, but I was confident the other two wouldn't be wasted. Into the refrigerator they went.
The technique for making the cupcakes was slightly different than I've done with any of the other cakes (at least that I remember doing), but it's quite simple. Warm up and mix chocolate, cocoa, and butter.
Then mix up egg yolks and creme fraiche. Why is it that no matter what kinds of eggs I buy, the yolks always weigh less than they're supposed to and the whites always weigh more? Do we only have runty little egg yolks in Minnesota?
At this point Jim asked me if this was a flourless cake. Only then did I realize there was no flour in this recipe. He asked if that meant it was going to be really rich. I said I didn't think so, because of the beaten egg whites that I was mixing in with the chocolate. And, in fact, the batter went from deep chocolate to soft, light chocolate.
As it turned out, I had too much batter for seven cupcakes. I could have made nine. Too bad, though, because I'd already given Jim what I thought was the extra ganache egg, so I didn't have enough for nine. I made the six-pack of cupcakes and two larger ones made in glass custard cups.
Jim's birthday was Wednesday, but I had no cake for him on Wednesday, so this turned out to be his birthday cake. Not the best picture, but you get the idea.
I really enjoyed this cake. I think the liquid ganache center is much nicer and more foolproof than relying on a not-quite-done cake. It's chocolate, but not in-your-face chocolate, and the small cupcake-size was just the right-sized serving. I'm not sure that chocolate lava cakes will still be around in another ten years (although cookie-dough ice cream is still with us), but this version could easily become a standard.
****DON'T FORGET TO VOTE IN THE BAKERS' POLL FOR TOP HEAVENLY CAKES!*****
TASTING PANEL:
Jan: "Delicious! And it's also light."
Laurel: "Very pretty to look at, and not too sweet."
Jim: "It's got a nice chocolate flavor. I got to eat the extra truffle, and I loved it."
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