Mexican Chocolate Lava Cakes

 

You might think that because you are a small family of only one or two people, molten chocolate lava cake is off the menu for you, or that you will have to wait until you have company before you can enjoy it.

I am happy to say that is just not true.  Whether you are one person or two people, you can certainly enjoy a delicious chocolate dessert, built just for two or for one with leftovers to enjoy another day!

 

 

Not only that, but this delicious dessert sports the Mexican flavor addition of ground cinnamon and a pinch of cayenne for a tiny bit of heat. 

I remember when my friend Eliza flew over to the UK to visit me when I was working at the Manor.  She was from Arizona and she brought some lovely Mexican chocolate with her to make a chocolate dessert for us. 

 

 

I was really surprised to note that it tasted of cinnamon. I wasn't exactly sure that I would enjoy it, but surprise!  It was delicious! 

Who would have thought it!  If you are not fond of the idea or of the taste of chocolate together with cinnamon, then just leave it out.

There is a pinch of cayenne pepper in this dessert as well. You can by all means leave that out also if you are not fond of any kind of heat.  It is only a touch though. I am not a lover of really spicy food.

 

Aside from that you can expect a lovely full on chocolate flavor from these tiny cakes.  I do so adore chocolate of any kind, especially in a cake.

One thing I really enjoy about Lava Cakes is that they have that soft and gooey, molten center.  They are meant to be eaten warm so that it stays that way.

 

They are very quick and easy to put together and cook very quickly as well.  Just until the edges are set and firm, and the center is quite jiggly. You can see from the above photograph just what it should look like when done. 

They do cook further as they sit and will harden up somewhat, so you will want to eat them while they are still warm to enjoy them at their best. 

 

Chocolate Lava Cakes were always a popular dessert when I worked at the Manor, for ladies luncheons or dinner parties.  You can access that full sized recipe here. 

It is not gluten free however.  It does make about 10 lush cakes, that are perfectly molten in the middles. One thing which I always liked about them was that I could make the mixture up ahead of time and then stick it in the refrigerator, covered.

 

It kept for more than a few days, unbaked.  That made them the perfect dessert for when my employers were entertaining.  Less work for me at the last minute.

When I think back now on all that I had to do and managed to do, I am amazed at myself.  Six course silver service dinners for up to 25 people, prepared from start to finish by only me. How did I do that!

 

Very careful planning, that's how!  The Mrs. liked for everything to be complicated, but I would always slip in a few easier things, like the molten cakes, or things I could do completely ahead of time.

That left me with more time to execute everything else on the day. To be honest, I don't think I could cope with it all now.  Seriously. I must be slowing down in my old age, LOL.

But then again, I think everyone does. My sister and I were just saying this morning that it seems to take us twice as long these days to get anything done.  Is it like that for everyone?

You would think with so much time on our hands we would get more done, but the reality is we are scrambling to just get the basics done.

 

Back to this dessert. It is one I adapted from the cookbook entitled The Weeknight Dessert Cookbook by Mary Younkin, of Barefeet in the kitchen.com.  It is filled with 80 irresistible recipes which only need 5 to 15 minutes of prep.

How can you go wrong with that!  You can't!

 

This recipe intrigued me, not only because it was chocolate, quick and easy, but because of the Mexican cinnamon flavor addition. 

Also in looking at the recipe, I could see that it would be very easy to adapt it down to just two servings instead of the original four.  

 

If you would like the original measurements to make four desserts, just ask. I will be happy to give them to you.

These chocolate puddings are meant to be enjoyed warm.  If I was in the UK I could really enjoy them with a dollop of clotted cream on top, alas . . .  no clotted cream where I am not.

 

Vanilla ice cream works very well with them however.  Mary suggested cinnamon ice cream or chocolate ice cream.

No such thing as cinnamon ice cream here, and true confession . . . I hate chocolate ice cream.  Funny how that goes. 

 

I adore chocolate cookies, cakes, pies, candy bars, etc., but I cannot stand any kind of chocolate milk wise.

Not chocolate milk, not chocolate ice cream. I can only just barely tolerate hot chocolate.   and when I do have one, its not my favorite thing, unless there are lots of marshmallows or whipped cream on top!

 

I used two six ounce ramekins to cook these in, simply sprayed with some Pam cooking spray.  Worked a charm. My puddings were done in 18 minutes.

They were quite liquid but as they cooled they firmed up a bit more. If you don't want a really liquid center, leave them in the oven for a few more minutes, but I wouldn't go any longer than 20 minutes maximum.

This photo is just to give you an idea of how molten they are at 18 minutes, so if you want them a bit firmer leave them in just that tiny bit longer, always bearing in mind that they will start to firm up as they cool.

SO, a quick and easy chocolate dessert, built just for two. Deliciously gluten-free. You really can't go wrong with this!

Mexican Chocolate Lava Cakes

Yield: 2

Author: Marie Rayner

Prep time: 5 MinCook time: 18 MinTotal time: 23 Min

This delicious recipe for molten middle chocolate lava cakes is perfectly sized for two. With the Mexican touch of cinnamon and a hint of heat, they make the perfect quick dessert. Top with a small scoop of vanilla ice cream for a real treat! These are also gluten free.

Ingredients

• 1/4 cup (60g) butter
• 1/3 cup (55 grams) semi sweet chocolate chips
• 4 1/2 TBS icing sugar, sifted
• 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
• pinch of cayenne pepper (optional)
• 1 large free range egg
• 3 1/2 TBS cornstarch (corn flour)
• Ice cream to serve

Instructions

1. Preheat the oven to 400*F/200*C/ gas mark 6.  Butter two 5-6 ounce ramekins really well. Alternately spray with some non-stick baking spray.  Place onto a baking sheet.
2. Pop the butter and chocolate chips into a microwave safe bowl.  Cook on high for 30 seconds.  Whisk to melt the chocolate and amalgamate the two.  Whisk in the icing sugar, cinnamon and cayenne pepper if using.  
3. Whisk in the egg to combine fully.  Stir in the corn flour until you have a smooth, well combined mixture.  Divide the mixture between the two ramekins evenly.
4. Bake for about 18 minutes, until the edges are firm but the center still appears soft and almost liquid like in appearance.  
5. Let cool for about 5 minutes, then serve immediately with a scoop of vanilla ice cream on top.

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