Salted Caramel Molten Chocolate Cakes

This month, we’ve asked food bloggers to share their favorite holiday desserts, and today, Izy of Top With Cinnamon reveals how to make these molten chocolate cakes with salted caramel. How insanely rich and delicious do these look? Here’s how to whip them up…

Salted Caramel Molten Chocolate Cakes
By Izy Hossack of Top With Cinnamon

From an early age, I’ve had a caps-lock OBSESSION with molten chocolate cakes. They were one of those miraculous treats that could only be found on the dessert menus of restaurants—and I would always order one. The cake would arrive at the table accompanied by a super-fancy quenelle of vanilla-speckled ice cream which melted and pooled onto the plate, marbling with the chocolate goo from within the cake. Talk about a dream dessert.

It took me some time to find the right recipe and to make sure that I didn’t over-bake the cakes, but eventually I got them right (although I can’t complain—I got to eat a lot of chocolate cakes in the process).

One day, I had some salted caramels sitting around and poked them into the batter too. Best. Decision. Ever. Chocolate and salted caramel are a power couple in the flavor world. If you’re not already on this sweet-salty bandwagon, get on it immediately.

Now, surely these cakes can’t get any better. WELL THEY CAN. You can make them in advance, so they’re perfect for dinner parties. You make the batter and chill it for a few hours. Then, when you’re ready, you just add the caramel and bake for 10 minutes. Then, BOOM. Dessert = done.

Recipe: Salted Caramel Filled Molten Chocolate Cakes
Makes six

You’ll need:
For the Salted Caramel:
1/3 cup (65 g.) granulated sugar
1 tbsp. agave syrup, honey or corn syrup
1/4 cup (60 ml.) water
1/3 cup (80 ml.) heavy cream
1/2 tsp. flaky salt
1 tsp. vanilla extract
(Alternatively, you can skip making the caramel: take 6 store-bought salted caramels and poke one into the batter in each ramekin after chilling.)

For the Cakes:
2/3 cup (100 g.) bittersweet chocolate (70% cocoa solids)
1/4 cup (55 g.) unsalted butter
3 tbsp. (30 g.) all purpose flour
1/4 tsp. salt
3 eggs
1/3 cup (65 g.) granulated sugar

For the ramekins: 2 tbsp. softened butter and 2 tbsp. cocoa powder
Optional: whipped cream or vanilla ice cream, to serve.

What to do:

In a deep saucepan, heat the first three caramel ingredients, stirring just until the sugar dissolves. Continue to cook over a medium-high heat, swirling the pan often (don’t use the spoon to stir the mixture as this can cause crystallisation in the caramel) until the mixture becomes golden. Remove from the heat and immediately add the cream – stand back for a second as the mixture will bubble up. Stir in the cream until completely combined, then add the salt and vanilla extract. Set the caramel aside to cool.

Butter six, 4-oz ramekins and dust with the cocoa powder, shaking out any excess.

In a small saucepan, heat the chocolate and butter together on low, stirring until just melted. Remove from the heat and stir in the flour and salt until smooth.

Crack the eggs into a large bowl and beat using an electric whisk whilst gradually adding the sugar until pale. Pour the chocolate mixture into the egg mixture and gently fold together using a rubber spatula. Divide the mixture between the ramekins and chill for at least 30 minutes (or up to 5 hours, if making in advance).

Ten minutes before you’re ready to bake the cakes, preheat your oven to 350 F.
Spoon a heaped teaspoon of the cooled caramel into the center of each ramekin and push it down gently into the cake mixture. Place the ramekins onto a small baking tray and bake for 8-10 minutes. Loosen the edges of the cakes with a knife and turn out onto individual plates. Serve immediately with whipped cream or vanilla ice cream.