Volcanic Chocolate Cakes (Molten Lava Cakes) used to be a rare delicate dessert only found at high-end restaurants. Nevertheless, similar versions can be found today either boxed, at family restaurants and even at fast foods.  It is a treat few can resist, but keep in mind not all moltens are created equal.  Most people I know feel so guilty when ordering this decadent dessert that they say to the waiter;  “bring two spoons please, I’m going to share.”  Not me.  When I decide to order or make this dessert I don’t share with anyone, I keep the taste and the calories all to myself!

I’m not particularly a chocolate fanatic as in eating chocolate bars, but I really like moist chocolate cakes with ganache or bittersweet truffles. This dessert inspires strong and untamed feelings to many chocolate lovers. My friend Yari gave me a book about a year ago for my birthday narrating a young american woman’s experiences and romantic adventures in Paris.  The author accompanies every story or incident with a recipe (sounds familiar?).  Interesting how one of her encounters with her lover, described in intricate detail, is attached to her version of this dessert.

Molten Lava Cake was popularized by famous New York based French Chef Jean-Georges Vongerichten, when he included it in his restaurant’s menu in the late 1980’s. Naturally, its included in the menu of Fern, his restaurant at the St. Regis Bahia Beach Resort in Río Grande, Puerto Rico. The result is a warm chocolate cake with a flowing middle. I have seen variations of the recipe in which ganache balls are inserted in the middle of the batter to ensure the flowing chocolate core.  This version tastes good also but has a totally different consistency.

I recall I first tried this succulent dessert at San Francisco’s Morton’s Steakhouse on December 1995.  I made a short visit to this great city with my brothers and parents during New Year’s before heading to Vail, Colorado to ski.  Unfortunately, it coincided with the US Federal Government shutdown, so instead of visiting Alcatraz, we discovered the city on foot and went on day trips to Carmel and Monterey. We stayed at the Mark Hopkins Hotel on exclusive Nob Hill  which is walking distance to Morton’s. I was a devoted fan of the restaurant’s Grand Manier Souffle for years until I tried this dessert which they used to call Lady Godiva (not anymore).

Through the years I have been a loyal customer of Morton’s Steakhouse (although I rarely eat meat anymore).  I find their quality control and service to be unrivaled by any other chain of restaurants.  Whether it is to celebrate a special occasion or for a business related dinner, its hard to find a more reliable place to go.  Of course, the price tag will be high and there are no surprise daily specials, it has a fixed a la carte menu.  I have visited the ones in Washington, DC, St. Louis, Dallas,Chicago, Boston, NYC, San Juan, Miami and San Francisco.

This recipe has been in my selection of favorite recipes since 1997.  Its adapted from a recipe I found in a Food and Wine Magazine in that same year and every time I make it I enjoy watching how people just close their eyes and enter a dimension of pure pleasure and bliss, at least for a moment.  If you don’t have a bain-marie (double boiler), this might be a good time to include it in your batterie de cuisine. We use it a lot.  The original recipe calls for two ramekins (small glazed ceramic bowl) , but I think you can split the batter into three (for a smaller cake), just reduce cooking time a little.

Note:  the pictures I used in this post were taken while I made the recipe x4 since I had a large group of guests.

Enjoy!

Volcanic Chocolate Cake

Ingredients

3 ounces bittersweet chocolate, coarsely chopped

4 tbsp unsalted butter

1 large egg

1 large egg yolk

1/3 cup granulated sugar

1/3 cup all-purpose flour

1 tsp pure vanilla extract

confectioner’s sugar for sprinkling

fresh berries for garnish

mint leaves for garnish (optional)

Procedure

1. Preheat oven 350ºF.

2.  Butter ramekins and set on baking sheet.

3.  In a bain-marie (double boiler), melt chocolate and butter, low heat.  Stir occasionally until combined and let cool completely.

4.  In a medium heat proof bowl, combine egg, egg yolk and granulated sugar.  Set over a sauce pan with simmering water (allow only vapor to touch bowl).  Beat at high speed until thick and warm.  Take off the heat and continue to beat until thick enough to form a ribbon when beater is lifted.

5.  Fold the chocolate mixture into egg/sugar mixture.  Add vanilla extract. Sift in flour, folding gently.

6.  Divide batter into ramekins and bake for approximately 13-15 minutes or until the cake has risen and is set around the sides but still soft in the center (ovens vary).  Let cool for a couple of minutes and unmold into plate.  Sift with confectioner’s sugar and garnish with berries and mint leaves.  I like to add a scoop of vanilla ice cream.