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Wednesday, October 06, 2010

A sweet punch indeed - molten lava cake

Even though I mailed the Sweet Punch team a few months back, this is the first challenge that I am participating in. Despite my microwave user manual telling me that it is safe to use metal in the convection mode, I was wary, mainly because a service technician who tried talking me into buying extended warranty for the machine told me that I should never use metal, no matter what the mode. Then, a few weeks back, on my FB page, I asked if we could use metal in the convection mode, and lots of people replied saying that they've been doing it for a long time. Off I went to the store and got myself a few small ramekins for this month's Sweet Punch. I was so terrified that there was going to be a mini explosion once I put the metal into the microwave, that I asked hubby to watch over the cake as it was getting done, while I stood nearby with fingers over my ears. A few minutes passed and nothing happened. A few more...and the whole house smelled wonderfully chocolate-y. I am definitely going back to the store to get myself some more metal bake ware in different shapes and sizes.
The recipe for this month's Sweet Punch was chosen by Divya.
Recipe source : showmethecurry.com
To make molten lava cakes, you need:
Semi-Sweet Baking Chocolate – 4 oz (113g)
Butter – 4 oz (113g)
Eggs – 2
Sugar – 1/3 cup (75 g)
All-purpose Flour – 1/4 cup (40g)
Butter/oil – for greasing ramekins

1. In a double boiler, melt chocolate.
2. In a medium mixing bowl, beat Eggs and Sugar until light and fluffy.
3. Once chocolate is melted, remove pan from heat and add in butter. Mix until the butter melts fully.
4. Add chocolate/butter mixture into the eggs, add all-purpose flour and mix until well incorporated.
5. Butter bottom and sides of ramekins (small glass/porcelain bowls) and pour in mixture about 3/4 way full.
6. Place ramekins on a baking tray and bake at 350 degrees Fahrenheit (180 C) for 10 – 15 minutes. Shorter for gooey (molten) inside, longer for stiff inside.
The idea of a gooey center did not appeal to me...so I baked mine for 17 minutes and the result was a soft center.

Another look....