Love and Olive Oil

(Almost) Molten Chocolate Cakes with “Bruised” Berry Sauce

Happy New Year! We’re quickly approaching the 1-year anniversary of Love and Olive Oil (our first post was of our Valentine’s dinner last February!). We are still trying new things and have yet to run out of recipes… needless to say we’re not stopping any time soon!

Our holiday treat to ourselves were some delicious Cumin Rubbed steaks, served with Cracked Potatoes and a side of lightly sautéed broccolini. A tasty meal, but no match for what followed…

For dessert… oh wonderful dessert… we partook in the ultimate chocolate indulgence: Molten Chocolate Cakes. Or, Almost Molten chocolate cakes. Our first two cooked a bit too long, so no oozy goodness in the middle, but still heavenly nonetheless. Since the recipe makes 4 ramekins, we saved two of them to enjoy again tonight. I cooked tonight’s batch for 13 minutes instead of 15, and they came out oozy and delicious.

One must always proceed with caution when making such a rich dessert. One bite could send you into a chocolate-induced coma. It was in my desire to be able to finish my pot of molten love that I scoured the web for a berry sauce or syrup or glaze that might cut the chocolate a bit. Take a bit of one recipe, the instructions in another, add a dash of brandy, and tada! The result was a bright and tangy compote of fresh blackberries and frozen blueberries (black and blue = bruised, hence the “Bruised” Berry sauce) that turned out to be the perfect companion to the cakes.

(Almost) Molten Chocolate Cakes with "Bruised" Fruit Sauce

Needless to say there wasn’t much leftover…
Leftovers? What leftovers?

Molten Chocolate Cakes with “Bruised” Berry Sauce

Makes 4 servings. Recipe from Epicurious.

Ingredients
5 ounces bittersweet (not unsweetened) or semisweet chocolate, chopped
1/4 cup (1/2 stick) unsalted butter or margarine
1 tablespoon brandy
2 large eggs
2 large egg yolks
5 tablespoons sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 1/2 teaspoons instant espresso powder or instant coffee powder
Large pinch of salt
1 tablespoon all purpose flour

Bruised Berry Sauce:
1 pint fresh blackberries
1/2 cup frozen blueberries
1/4 cup sugar
1-2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice (to taste)
1/2 teaspoon cornstarch
1 tablespoons brandy (optional)

Directions
Generously butter four 3/4-cup soufflé dishes or custard cups. Arrange on baking sheet. Stir chocolate and butter in heavy small saucepan over low heat until smooth. Remove from heat; stir in brandy. Cool 10 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Using electric mixer, beat eggs, yolks, 4 tablespoons sugar, vanilla, 1 teaspoon espresso powder and salt in medium bowl until very thick ribbon falls when beaters are lifted, about 6 minutes. Sift flour over batter; fold in flour. Fold in chocolate mixture. Divide batter among dishes, filling completely. (Can be made 1 day ahead. Cover loosely; refrigerate. Let stand at room temperature 30 minutes before baking.)

For berry sauce, combine berries, sugar, and lemon juice in a small saucepan over medium heat. Stir until sugar dissolves, breaking up berries as the mixture cooks. In a small bowl, mix cornstarch with 1 teaspoon cold water and stir well. Add to berry mixture. Cook over medium heat for 5-10 minutes, or until mixture barely begins to simmer. Remove from heat. Strain mixture if you don’t want the berry pulp (we like the chunks, so skipped this step). Mix in brandy. Set aside. Sauce can be made 1-2 days ahead and refrigerated. Bring to room temperature (or rewarm) before serving.

Preheat oven to 400°F. Bake cakes until tops are puffed and dry and tester inserted into center comes out with moist batter still attached, about 15 minutes. Cool cakes 5 minutes. Turn out onto plate, drizzle with blackberry sauce, and serve immediately.

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7 Comments

  1. Where is the olive oil in this recipe? Your website name is decieving!

  2. These look totally awesome. The pictures are like a magazine. Truly well done!

  3. Mmm…I’m all about anything chocolate! Really like the idea of being able to bake some of them the next day as I live alone—okay, it would also help my portion control:)

  4. We had two of them just waiting for you two to enjoy… :)

    You’ll have to come over some night and we’ll recreate New Years just for you!

  5. As my mom noted, it’s not quited “licked clean”… something she says would have definitely happened had she been here! hehe.

  6. That looks DELISH!!!!

  7. Very nice! Love the “plate licked clean” after image.

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