Chocolate Lava Cake Recipe

Have you ever eaten dessert at Chili's?  Well, their most famous dessert is their Molten Lava Cake.  My son absolutely loves the Molten Lava Cake from Chili's.  When we were on vacation two weeks ago in New Mexico, we drove through Roswell, NM on our way home from Carlsbad Caverns.  Since we didn't see any aliens, we decided to have dinner there.  Not to mention the fact that there is ABSOLUTELY NOTHING else around between Carlsbad Caverns and Roswell.  They actually have a Chili's in Roswell, NM so we ate dinner there that night.  It was late and we had a long drive back to our hotel in Santa Fe.  Because of that, I decided that D should not order his most favorite dessert. That meant, of course, that I owed him dessert at Chili's (I still do, in fact, owe him dessert at Chili's).  Now that we are home, I was thinking I could probably make him a copycat of Chili's Molten Lava Cake.  Big mistake on my part.  I didn't find the right recipe but I do think that these Chocolate Lava Cakes are really good.  I will continue to try to find the best Copycat Chili's Molten Lava Cake recipe.  Sadly, this is not it.  I found that out in a big way today!  Oh well, I tried.

Chocolate Lava Cake
Preparation:  15 Minutes
Cooking Time:  10 - 20 Minutes (or more if necessary)
Makes 4 Servings

Ingredients:

6 oz. semi-sweet baking chocolate (or use your favorite 70% dark chocolate bar)
6 oz. butter (diced, room temperature)
3 eggs
1/2 cup sugar
1/3 cup flour
butter for ramekins

Directions:

(1) Preheat oven to 400 degrees
(2) Butter four 3.5 oz. ramekins
(3) Melt chocolate on low flame in a double boiler.
(4) When chocolate is melted, remove from heat and stir in diced butter until it melts.
(5) In another bowl, beat eggs and sugar, until it starts to whiten.
(6) Stir in melted chocolate and then stir in the flour.
(7) Pour chocolate batter into prepared ramekins.
(8) Bake for 10 to 20 minutes or until top is cooked through, but center is still liquid.
(9) Tip ramekins upside down onto dessert plates and serve.

Voila!

Tips:

You can prepare your chocolate lava cake batter ahead of time and then bake just before serving.

Butter the ramekin bottoms first, and then butter the sides, wiping from the bottom up to the top.  This helps the chocolate to rise even more.

If you don't like liquid-center cake, just cook these babies for a little longer, and you will have an incredibly moist mini chocolate cake.

Serving Ideas:

Serve chocolate lava cake with a Creme Anglaise (English Cream) or a Coulis Aux Framboises (Raspberry Sauce).  I like serving it with good vanilla ice cream.

Enjoy!

The Creative Cook

Deep Chocolate Vitamuffin Copycat Recipe

I did not even know what a Vitamuffin was until I saw a post about them on Facebook by one of my cousins. She was talking about how her little boy (2 or 3 years of age) insisted on eating one of her Vitamuffins.  This was a problem because they are very expensive.  I can tell you that they range from a low of $4.19 for a box of 4 Vitatops or Vitamuffins up to a high of $5.99 for the same box!  When I saw how expensive they are, I did some searching and found this recipe pretty much all over the internet.  I don't know how the "Vita" part of the Vitamuffins have been copied in this recipe but the fiber part is clearly added with the clear fiber supplement.  I found clear fiber supplement at a local pharmacy.  I read a few reviews of this recipe that said the muffins were fairly dry and not as dense as the real Vitamuffins.  To remedy this problem, I used fat free Greek Yogurt in place of the applesauce and added a tablespoon of safflower oil.  I also used regular sugar but reduced the amount to 3/4 of a cup rather than using Splenda or some other sugar substitute.  That is just my preference.  If you like Vitamuffins or Vitatops but they are too expensive for your budget, try these with my "tweaks."

Deep Chocolate Vitamuffin Copycat Recipe

1-3/4 cups whole wheat flour (I used white wheat flour)
3 egg whites (I used egg substitute)
3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa
1/3 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
1/2 cup unsweetened applesauce
1-1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1/2 cup fat-free half & half
1-1/2 teaspoons apple cider vinegar
1-1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1-1/2 teaspoons baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1-1/2 cups hot water
1 cup sugar
2 tablespoons clear fiber supplement plus 2 teaspoons

Directions:

1.  Spray 24 cupcake pans with cooking spray and preheat oven to 350 degrees.

2.  Mix all dry ingredients together.

3.  Add all wet ingredients except the 1-1/2 cups hot water.

4.  Mix together both wet and dry ingredients while slowly stirring in hot water.

5.  Do not overmix.

6.  Evenly scoop batter into cupcake pans.

7.  Sprinkle each cupcake with chocolate chips.

8.  Bake at 350 degrees for about 10-12 minutes or until toothpick comes out clean.

9.  Let cool for 10 minutes.