The Allure of Gourmet Chocolate
By Chris Alleny
Nothing beats the taste of a truly divine chocolate that is made with the finest and purest ingredients. For the chocolate connoisseur, only gourmet chocolate will do; chocolate that is surely no 50-cent treat but a luscious indulgence that is meant to be savored and cherished like good wine and good food. In recent years, more and more chocolatiers are putting up chocolate shops, creating hand-made chocolate and confections that contain higher cacao levels than those mass-produced chocolates you can buy at the grocery store. These master chocolate makers use natural flavors and some unusual ingredients like chili peppers and grated lime to make your chocolate experience even more interesting. But because they make custom and gourmet chocolates, you can also expect gourmet prices, as much as seventy dollars for a pound of chocolate! But don
Why does my Chocolate Molten cake fall apart when inverting?
When baking indivdual chocolate molten cakes they fall apart when inverting to a serving dish. Need help
Unless you have a very sturdy cake recipe to begin with, there are NO SUCH THING AS NON-STICK PANS.
…..I wish there were.
Th finer the cake, the more disasterous the tear.
Pros (25 years in Country Club kitchens here) use parchment paper circles to line the bottom of cake pans.
I personally butter(spray)and flour cake pans and then place a circle of parchment paper in the bottom of the cake pan and then butter and flour the paper.
Parchment paper circles…..?
Either draw circles on parchment paper using the bottom of the cake pan as a stencil and cut those out with scissors, -or-
The local cake decorating shop is nice enough to sell me a dozen or so pre-cut parchment cake circles for about $1.00 a dozen. They’re worth every penny!
Be sure to 1. loosen cake from sides of pan with a thin knife immediately upon removing from oven.
and 2. let cake cool IN PAN for 10 minutes before inverting onto COOLING RACK. REMOVE
How do you make chocolate molten cake?
(L)
I was recently invited to lead a cooking session with a Girl Scout troop. For days the hostess and I deliberated on what to cook. We finally settled on these luxurious chocolate pudding cakes, because 1) they’re easy to make, 2) they could be prepped, cooked, and eaten in the allotted time (about an hour), and 3) everyone loves chocolate. The recipe is adapted from one in Bon Appétit magazine. The cakes are generally inverted and served with ice cream, which is how I first enjoyed them at a friend’s dinner party. However, these particular pudding cakes (pictured), made with the loving care of Troop 2656, just did not want to invert (the buttering of the ramekins was probably a bit too thin). When I made them again today, they cooked almost all the way through. So, lessons learned – butter well, and make sure to keep your eye on the ramekins in the oven. Start checking at about 9 minutes. The cakes should be like mini volcanoes – cake on the outside and molten lava chocolate on the inside.
6 ounces bittersweet or semisweet chocolate, chopped
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, cut into 4 pieces
3 large eggs
3 large egg yolks
1/3 cup sugar
1/4 cup all purpose flour
1 1/4 teaspoons peppermint extract
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 Preheat oven to 375°F. Generously butter six 3/4-cup (6 ounce) ramekins. Stir chocolate and butter in heavy small saucepan over low heat until melted and smooth. Remove from heat and cool slightly.
2 Using electric mixer, beat eggs, egg yolks, and 1/3 cup sugar until slightly thickened, about 5 minutes. Add all purpose flour and beat until blended. Add chocolate mixture, peppermint extract, and salt; beat just until incorporated. Divide chocolate mixture among prepared ramekins. Place ramekins on baking sheet.
3 Bake cakes until edges are set but centers look shiny and still move slightly when ramekins are gently shaken, 10-11 minutes. (Start checking at 9 minutes.) Remove cakes from oven; let cool for 5-10 minutes.
4 Either serve as is, in the ramekins, or run a knife around the edges of the cakes and invert on to individual dessert plates.
Serve with raspberries, mint leaves, vanilla or mint ice cream, or whipped cream.
Serves 6.
Question for Chili’s employees – reheating White Chocolate Molten Cake?
I got a White Chocolate Molten Cake to go. I was wondering how you guys heat them in the restaurant.. What is the best recommended way to reheat the cake? Microwave or oven? Temperature (oven) and time? Any help is appreciated, figured I’d try to ask Chili’s employees directly as they make these on a daily basis, but I’ll obviously take tips from anyone! Thanks in advance.
Oven is always better than microwave, when in doubt use low heat and keep a close eye on it. It’ll come out the other end better if it’s evenly warm.
you know how chilis has a white chocolate molten cake?
it the one with rasberry sauce and it has ice cream on top..
does any one know a recipe or boxed cake mix like this???
I don’t know if you can alter the recipe for white chocolate because I don’t believe the results will be the same as “white chocolate” isn’t really a rich chocolate.
CHILI’S CHOCOLATE MOLTEN CAKE
5 ounces bittersweet or semi-sweet chocolate (not unsweetened)
10 Tbsp (1 1/4 sticks) unsalted butter
3 large eggs
1 1/2 cups powdered sugar
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
Vanilla Ice cream (optional but good)
Chocolate sauce (optional but good)
Chop the chocolate into small pieces so it will melt easily.
Butter 4 3/4 cup ramekins or custard cups, set aside. Stir the chocolate pieces and butter in a heavy saucepan over low heat until they are melted. Set aside and cool slightly.
Preheat the oven to 450:.
Whisk the eggs in a large bowl then whisk in the sugar a little at a time until well blended; add the chocolate mixture, then the flour, blend well. Pour into the prepared dishes, dividing equally. (At this point the dishes can be refrigerated until you are ready to bake
them).
Place the dishes on a cookie sheet and bake about 11-12 minutes OR about 14 minutes if they were refrigerated.
Run a knife around the edge of the cakes to loosen them, place a desert plate over the top and invert the cake onto the plate. Put a scoop of ice cream (if using) and drizzle with the chocolate sauce.
For ganache
2 ounces fine-quality bittersweet chocolate (not unsweetened)
1/4 cup heavy cream
Make ganache:
Put a sheet of wax paper on a small baking sheet and put a 3-inch round cutter on it. (Alternatively, line a 3-inch ramekin with plastic wrap, leaving a 2-inch overhang.)
Chop chocolate and transfer to a bowl. In a small saucepan bring cream to a boil and pour over chocolate. Stir mixture with a rubber spatula until completely smooth and pour into cutter or ramekin. Freeze ganache while preparing cake. (Ganache may be made 1 week ahead and frozen, covered.)
hope this helps. good luck and enjoy.