Individual Molten Center Chocolate Cakes

I saw this recipe on another fellow bloggers site, bakinsheet.blogspot.com, and I had to give it a try. I am freakishly addicted to chocolate and this recipe especially caught my eye because it uses bittersweet chocolate. This is a perfect recipe for a dinner party or if you want to impress your family, or that special someone.

INGREDIENTS (makes 6 individual cakes)

• 6 oz. bittersweet chocolate, chopped and divided
• 1 tablespoon heavy cream
• 3 tablespoons unsalted butter, very soft
• 2 large eggs, room temperature
• 1/4 cup sugar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1/8 teaspoon salt
• 1 tablespoon all-purpose flour

DIRECTIONS

Preheat oven to 400F.

Butter a 6-cup muffin tin and dust each well with cocoa powder. Set aside.

In a small bowl, melt together 2 ounces bittersweet chocolate and 1 tablespoon heavy cream, either in the microwave in very small intervals, or over a small double boiler. Once it becomes smooth and shiny, chill for about 10 to 15 minutes. This is the ganache.

In another small bowl, melt together the remaining 4 ounces of bittersweet chocolate and the butter. Set aside to cool for about 10 minutes at room temperature.

In a large bowl, combine the eggs, sugar, vanilla and salt. Beat with an electric mixer until the mixture triples in volume and is very thick (about 5-7 minutes). Sift flour over egg mixture and fold in. Add cooled chocolate/butter mixture and fold in until batter is uniform. Pour into prepared muffin tins.

Form ganache into 6 teaspoon-sized balls and place one in each cake, pressing gently to cover with batter. (If there is a little left over, that's ok.)

Bake at 400F for 9-11 minutes, until the tops are set. Let cakes cool in pan for 5 minutes before turning out onto a wire rack and serving on individual plates. Cakes can be served right side up or still inverted. Serve immediately, with lightly sweetened whipped cream or vanilla ice cream.