Baked Fudge

The name pretty much accurately sums up this dessert. It is like eating a piece of chocolate fudge - but it is warm from the oven and is so much easier to make than traditional fudge. Instead of boiling and cooling the candy mixture, just mix together the ingredients and bake it. The result is a chocolaty dream with a crisp, melt-in-your-mouth upper crust, a fudgey middle layer, and a molten chocolate lava bottom. Three delicious chocolate-packed layers in one small ramekin. I cannot stress enough how delicious this recipe is considering how quick and easy it is to make. This recipe is pretty much fool-proof and will satisfy any chocolate craving. It is very sweet and rich alone, so you'll definitely only need one. It doesn't require any garnish, but a quick dusting of icing sugar, dab of whipped cream, scoop of ice cream, or some fresh berries would do the trick.

Baked Fudge
2 large eggs
1 cup granulated (white) sugar
2 heaping Tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder
2 Tablespoons all-purpose (plain) flour
1/2 cup butter, melted
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 325◦F. Grease four large ramekins.
Beat the eggs until light, then beat in the sugar to just combine. Mix the remaining ingredients in gently. Divide batter evenly among ramekins.
Bake in a hot water bath coming halfway up the sides of the ramekins for 40-50 minutes. A toothpick inserted in the center should come out fudgey, not clean, and the tops will appear crisp and the batter will be firm but not completely set and not jiggly. 

Serve immediately with ice cream or whipped cream or a dusting of icing sugar straight from the ramekin, or you could cool them or chill them and save them for later. I imagine the batter will keep in the ramekins in the fridge if you would like to bake them later but serve them hot. 

Molten Chocolate Cakes

Here is a dessert I recently made. This is a molten chocolate cake, a fancy restaurant-style dessert that is actually quite simple to do and impressive to serve. Basically, a ramekin-full of chocolaty-goodness. The idea of molten chocolate cakes is a warm dish that must be served within minutes of baking, with a smooth, satiny center. Molten chocolate cakes must be made with real butter, fresh eggs, and good-quality chocolate, usually dark or bittersweet. There is a wide variety of different types of molten chocolate cakes out there. Most molten cakes are individual-sized, and usually baked in ramekins but may also be baked in muffin cups. Although molten chocolate cakes are the classic original, there are many other different flavors around too. Some do have chocolate  such as double chocolate, milk chocolate, chocolate cherry, chocolate mint, chocolate peanut butter etc. But there are also vanilla molten cakes, or fruit molten cakes or butterscotch molten cakes. All are good, and take the same basic idea.

Most of the time, molten chocolate cakes are tipped out of the (well-greased) ramekins and served, split open, on a plate with a spoon. I chose instead just to serve them in their original ramekins, which was easier, but could still be nicely presented. This way, there is no need to worry about the cakes breaking, collapsing, or coming out in pieces. They stay warmer, are easier to eat and less messy, and can be served immediately after baking. I served them on a plate, as the ramekins were still very hot. I added a spoon, then used a stencil to sprinkle icing sugar on top in the shape of a star. I added a small chocolate heart truffle on the side as well. Molten chocolate cakes go well with ice cream, whipped cream, icing sugar, or fruit. Or nothing at all, they are plenty rich on their own. 

This is a last minute dessert in the sense that they need to be baked just before serving, however, the batter may be prepared ahead and refrigerated fro up to a day, just be sure to bring to room temperature before serving. And if there happens to be any extra after baking, refrigerate it for later. They are quite good cold, but also good if gently reheated. 

Ramekins

Ramekins, also referred to as custard cups, or mini ovenproof dishes, are small, round dishes that are able to withstand high oven temperatures. They are used for individual, fancy baked desserts. I own a set of eight ramekins, and they are such a useful investment! They stack and store well, are perfect for individual portion sizes, make preparing desserts in advance simple, and are easy to clean. They are inexpensive, easy to find, and come in a wide array of colours and sizes.

You can use ramekins to make molten lava cakes, crème brulee, crème caramel, soufflés, mini bread puddings, individual cheesecakes, mini fruit crisps, and even savoury foods such as little chicken pot pies and individual shepherd’s pies. I have used my ramekins for many of the above foods, and they work incredibly well! You would not believe how often mini dishes that are ovenproof come in handy in the kitchen!

PHOTO CREDIT:"creme_caramel_ramekins-set"   http://www.pastrypal.com/2009/07/creme-caramel-so-saucy/  .Pastry Pal, n.d. Sunday, March 18, 2012.