With spring around the corner, now’s the time for some wonderfully soft-centred chocolate mini cakes to see out the last of the cool winter evenings! Thanks to our friends at Williams Sonoma for this week’s recipe.
Ingredients
- 75 g unsalted butter, cut into small cubes, plus more for greasing
- 250 g dark chocolate, chopped
- 125 g sugar
- 2 large eggs
- 1.5 tsp. pure vanilla extract
- Pinch of sea salt
- 45 g plain flour
- Whipped cream, crème fraîche or vanilla ice cream to serve (optional)
Method
Position a rack on the lowest level in the oven and preheat to 200 degrees celsius. Lightly butter six half-cup (125g) ramekins.
Put the butter and chocolate in a heatproof bowl and place over (not touching) simmering water in a saucepan. Heat until melted, then stir until smooth. Remove from the heat and let cool slightly.
Meanwhile, in a bowl, combine the sugar, eggs, vanilla and salt. Using an electric mixer set on high speed, beat until thickened, about 3 minutes. Reduce the speed to low. Gradually sprinkle the flour over the batter and continue beating just until combined. Using a spatula, fold the egg mixture into the cooled chocolate mixture until combined.
Divide the batter among the prepared ramekins. Place the ramekins on a rimmed baking sheet and bake until the tops are puffed and dry and a wooden skewer inserted in the centre comes out with some soft batter clinging to it, about 10 minutes.
Serve the cakes hot, in the ramekins. Top with a dollop of whipped cream, if you like. Serves 6.