Warm, Soft Chocolate Cake

Adapted from Jean-Georges Cooking at Home with a Four-Star Chef by Jean-Georges Vongerichten and Mark Bittman (Broadway Books, 1998)

These are the famous individual molten cakes created by Jean-Georges Vongerichten. I make them in 6-ounce Anchor Hocking custard cups that were my mother’s.

113g butter (1 stick), plus extra for buttering the cups
4 ounces bittersweet chocolate*
2 large eggs
2 large egg yolks
50g sugar
2 teaspoons flour, plus more for dusting

Preheat the oven to 450 degrees.

Butter and flour four 4-ounce custard cups. Turn them over to remove the excess flour, then butter and flour them again.

Melt the chocolate and butter together using the Alice Medrich method below. Remove the bowl from the heat and set aside.

In another bowl, beat the eggs, yolks, and sugar with an electric mixer until light and thick.

While the chocolate mixture is still warm, pour in the egg mixture and whisk in the flour just until combined.

Divide the batter among the prepared cups and place them on a quarter sheet pan. Bake for 6 to 7 minutes.

Remove from the oven and turn each custard cup upside down onto its own plate. Let sit for 10 seconds, then lift one corner of the cup and the cake will fall out. Serve immediately.

NOTES

To melt chocolate in a water bath using the Alice Medrich method:

Use a stainless steel bowl and a skillet a few inches wider than the bowl.

Roughly chop the chocolate and combine it with the butter in the bowl.

Bring a shallow layer of water in the skillet to a simmer.

Set the bowl in the skillet and stir frequently until the chocolate is melted and the mixture is smooth and hot enough that you want to remove your finger fairly quickly after dipping it in to test. Do not let the water rise above a simmer.

Remove the bowl from the heat and proceed with the recipe.

*Jean-Georges recommends Valrhona; I use Guittard.