Who's In the Kitchen: Chocolate Molten Lava: a crowd pleaser

Considering that America was the home of the cocoa bean, chocolate arrived relatively late to the American colonies, in about 1775. Not long after in 1765, Dr. James Baker and John Hannon set up a chocolate factory. It is claimed to be the first chocolate factory in the United States.  Today it is known as Baker’s German Sweet Chocolate.

Domenico Ghirardelli came in 1849, Henri Nestle in 1876, and Milton Hershey in 1900. He sold his caramel factory for one million dollars and with the proceeds, built the village of Hersheyville and a factory to produce chocolate bars, which he believed was the snack of the future.

Fast forward to the 1990’s, Katherine Hepburn was known to have said “What you see before you my friend, is the product of a lifetime of chocolate”.

Chocolate is also known for it’s health benefits.

A small amount of dark chocolate, eaten once a day can lower blood pressure as well as cholesterol in some people.  It is also known to stimulate endorphin production, which gives us a feeling of pleasure and it contains serotonin, which acts as an anti depressant.

Because of all the health benefits, as well as the pleasures you can derive from chocolate, I thought this would be a wonderful opportunity to share a favorite chocolate recipe of mine, Molten Chocolate Lava.  Served in individual ramekins, oozing with a hot gooey chocolate center, it’s sure to be a crowd pleaser. 

 

MOLTEN CHOCOLATE LAVA

Ingredients:

n 15 tbsp sweet, unsalted margarine

n 12 oz semi sweet chocolate, broken into small pieces

n 6 extra large eggs

n 3 extra large egg yolks

n 9 tbsp sugar

n 9 tbsp flour

n 6 tsp cocoa powder

n Pinch of salt

 

Preparation:

Preheat oven to 425 degrees

Spray bottoms and sides of eight 6 oz ramekins.

Place ramekins in an oven proof baking dish and set aside.

 Melt the margarine and chocolate together over a double-boiler, or in the microwave. Mix together the eggs and sugar until the mixture is light yellow in color.

 Stir the warm chocolate mixture into the egg mixture and mix until combined. Sift in the flour, cocoa, and salt. Fold in with a spatula until combined. Spoon the batter into the ramekins and Refrigerate for 30 minutes.