Friday, May 1, 2009

Chocolate Volcanoes


Since I discovered that my boyfriend loves chocolate lava cake, I've told him about this one that I made a long time ago and how good it was. But I never made it for him. Not very nice of me but it's hard to go back to old recipes when there are so many new ones out there! Well finally I did remake the lava cakes (though they're called Chocolate Volcanoes in this recipe) and I was really happy that he loved them!

There are a couple of really great things about this recipe. One is that you can make the batter ahead of time because they have to be frozen at least overnight. The other is that because they're baked from frozen, you're pretty much guaranteed a gooey delicious centre. The recipe calls for serving them with a raspberry coulis, which I've made before and is good (so I've listed it below), but this time we just ate them with ice cream. Nothing wrong with that!



I was happy to see all of your comments about wanting to see more Abby pictures! =) And I wouldn't want to disappoint you all, so here's another one. She's laying in front of her favourite plant pot to dig in.

If this sounds good, you might also like:
German Chocolate Cake
Marshmallow Crunch Brownie Bars
Rich Chocolate Cheesecake
Chocolate Chunk Malt Cookies

Chocolate Volcanoes
Adapted from The Rest of the Best and More (From the Best of Bridge Series, 2)

1 1/2 tbsp instant coffee powder
1 tbsp boiling water
1/2 cup flour
1/4 cup cocoa powder
3/4 tsp. baking powder
6 oz semisweet chocolate, chopped
2/3 cup butter, softened
1/2 cup sugar
3 large eggs

Raspberry Coulis:
10 1/2 oz pkg frozen raspberries, thawed
1/3 cup sugar

To Make Volcanoes:
Dissolve coffee granules in boiling water. Set aside to cool. Grease 6 - 4 oz. ramekins.

Using a whisk, combine flour, cocoa and baking powder in a small bowl. Reserve.

Melt chocolate in a double boiler. Add butter and sugar and stir until smooth. Transfer to a large bowl. Using as electric mixer, beat in eggs 1 at a time on medium speed. Add dissolved coffee and flour mixture and continue beating until fully mixed. Raise mixer speed to high and beat for 6 more minutes. Pour batter into ramekins and tightly wrap with plastic wrap. Freeze overnight or up to 2 weeks.

Preheat oven to 375 F. Take ramekins out of freezer and remove plastic wrap. Bake volcanoes for 18 minutes - no longer! Cool on rack for 5 minutes. The outsides will be crusty and the centers will be gooey - sort of like your average volcano. To serve, drizzle individual plates with raspberry coulis. Invert each ramekin onto a plate and add a small scoop of ice cream.

To make raspberry coulis:
Combine raspberries and sugar in a blender and puree until smooth. Strain through a sieve (or a clean j-cloth) to remove seeds. Store in refrigerator.

21 comments:

Anonymous said...

Thanks for coming to visit my version of your delicious cinnamon swirl bread :)
These lava cakes look pretty awesome too, you are going to keep me busy in the kitchen if you keep on posting these kind of recipes....

Steph said...

Those look yummy! I've never baked a gooey centered cake before because I'm always worried about what happens to it if there are leftovers!

La Cuisine d'Helene said...

I love lava cakes. I will keep this recipe. I like the fact that you make it one day ahead. I usually serve mine with strawberries coulis and vanilla ice cream.

Juliana said...

I love the combination of chocolate and raspberries...they are my favorite. I never had a chance to bake them, I'll definitely try this recipe.

Jacqueline Meldrum said...

Abby is so cute and I love those lava cakes! It's a great recipe to have and prepare the night before guest arrive or just having some at hand in the freezer, brilliant!

Dana said...

I love all chocolate desserts, but that is my favorite kind. Yum!

Caroline said...

They look great - the combination of molten cake and melting ice-cream sounds good!

Love the cat piccies too! She's a real sweetie!

Erin said...

I love molten lava cakes! I will definitely be trying this. Your cat is beautiful!

Snooky doodle said...

oh these chocolate volcanoes look so good. I don t blame your boyfriend for eanting these. they re delicious. How cute the cat is !

Pearl said...

what a lucky boyfriend, don't you agree? :)

♥Mimi♥ said...

I've got a little hint for you. If you don't want you kitty to dig in your plants, place several rocks/stones on the surface of the dirt. Stops mine right in their tracks.

Beautiful kitty, BTW☺

Hannah said...

Yes indeed, your boyfriend is very lucky for a number of reasons! Something like this would win my heart in an instant, too.

Johanna GGG said...

love the idea of freezing them ahead of time - and you are lucky to have a boyfriend who loves your chocolate cooking (and a gorgeous pussy cat)

Amy said...

They've recently started selling chocolate lava cakes at a pizza place in Australia and I've had to put my foot down and stop the husband from ordering one (because yuck! That kind of stuff always tastes like pizza!). I'll have to make these for him, he'll be super happy!

And awww Abby is just as beautiful in that photo as the last one.

Sara said...

This looks great...mmmm!

CookiePie said...

Melty chocolate cakes and ice cream -- YUM!!!

Elyse said...

Chocolate volcanoes sound AMAZING!! Lucky boyfriend. And Abby is just precious!! Love that she has a favorite pot to dig in :)

Mermaid Sews said...

I have never made lava cakes and I LOVE the idea of the freezer bake ahead, that is just my style since I never seem to have time when I need time.

grace said...

a volcanic eruption of chocolate could never be bad. extraordinary recipe!

Bunny said...

I've never made lava cakes, I like this recipe. Abby has such a pretty face!

Pam Walter said...

I'm a dog person, but I have to say that your cat is beautiful and she looks very playful too! http://blog.sweetservices.com/sweetscandyblog/