One of my hands-down favorite desserts to order when eating out if it graces the menu’s offering is molten chocolate cake. If you love chocolate as much as I do in all its ooey-gooey splendor, you’ll want to give this easy as pie (or, in this case, cake) recipe from Food & Wine magazine a go from the chef who invented the masterpiece. It didn’t make their “Top 20 Best Recipes Ever” for nothing…

Molten Chocolate Cakes
Serves four

Ingredients
1 stick (4 oz.) unsalted butter, plus additional for buttering ramekins
6 oz. bittersweet chocolate (ideally Valrhona, chopped)
2 large eggs
2 large egg yolks
1/4 cup sugar
Pinch of salt
2 tbsp. all-purpose flour, plus additional for dusting ramekins

1. Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Butter and flour 4 six-ounce ramekins.

2. In a double boiler set over simmering water, melt the butter with the chocolate.

3. In a medium bowl, beat the whole eggs with the egg yolks, sugar and salt at high speed until mixture is pale and thickened.

4. Whisk the melted chocolate and butter until blended; quickly fold the chocolate mixture and 2 tbsp. of flour into the egg mixture.

5. Spoon the cake batter into the ramekins and place them on a baking sheet.

6. Bake for 12 minutes, or until the sides of the cakes are firm and centers are still soft.

7. Remove and allow the cakes to cool for 1 minute, then run a knife around the edge of the cakes.

8. To remove the cakes from the ramekins, cover them individually with an inverted dessert plate and turn the ramekins over onto the plates; let the cakes stand for a few minutes before unmolding them.

9. Serve while warm with a scoop of vanilla ice cream.

10. Enter state of euphoria.

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1. Puff, the Magic Oven
2. The Sweet Hereafter
3. Pina Colada Tres Leches Cupcakes