Chocolate Molten Lava Cakes

Food for Thought by Chef Katie Chin, For recipes, visit thesweetandsourchronicles.com

When I was going through my divorce, I was dreading the thought of Valentine’s Day, “what if I go alone to a movie and run into my ex with his new girlfriend?,” “I want to stay at home and binge watch Sex in the City but I’ll feel like a loser.” Instead, I gathered by besties and threw a Valentine’s Day dinner to celebrate friendship. I made everyone dress up and we had oysters, champagne and individual chocolate molten cakes. It felt empowering to redefine Valentine’s Day and celebrate the people who truly made my heart sing. Here’s a delicious and easy recipe for chocolate molten cakes I adapted from Martha Stewart (who provided me with a quote for my new cookbook coming in late April, btw!)

Chocolate Molten Cakes

• 4 tablespoons unsalted butter, room temperature, plus more for muffin tins
• 1/3 cup granulated sugar, plus more for muffin tins
• 3 large eggs
• 1/3 cup all-purpose flour
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 8 ounces bittersweet chocolate, melted
• Confectioners’ sugar, for dusting
• Whipped cream, for serving for serving

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Generously butter 6 cups of a standard muffin tin. Dust with granulated sugar, and tap out excess. Set aside.
2. In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream the butter and granulated sugar until fluffy. Add eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition. With the mixer on low speed, beat in flour and salt until just combined. Beat in chocolate until just combined. Divide batter evenly among prepared muffin cups.
3. Place muffin tin on a baking sheet; bake just until tops of the cakes no longer jiggle when the pan is lightly shaken, 8 to 10 minutes. Remove from oven; let stand 10 minutes.
4. To serve, turn out cakes, and place on serving plates, bottom sides up. Dust with confectioners’ sugar, and serve with whipped cream, if desired.