Molten Chocolate Cakes

This is not so much a recipe as it is a way of life instructions for assembly.

You don't have to go to Chili's to have one of the best dessert inventions to come from the fat nineties.  You can totally make it at home.



For best results, use Julie's homemade chocolate sauce for the center of the cake, and my mom's amazing homemade caramel sauce to drizzle over the top.  Though I am an advocate for All Things Made From Scratch . . . I totally used store-bought fudge sauce and store-bought caramel to compliment my store-bought ice cream and store-bought Magic Shell (can one even make Magic Shell at home???  It's surely too magical for the hoi polloi).

But making the cake from a mix?  That's going too far.  I used my husband's famous Texas Sheet Cake recipe.

Make the cake batter, then grease and flour some ramekins, or your large muffin tin.  I have got to get a set of 12 ramekins.  Any suggestions?  These ones look cool.  Plus, you can always get good discounts at Kohl's.  But I digress . . .



I made six big "cakes" with this recipe, and twelve small cupcakes for my kids.  Sorry, kids, only grownups got the molten goodness this time . . . be happy with your inferior (albeit, delicious) cupcakes.

On second thought, I wish I would have thought to use a "cake release" recipe (like in Melanie's peerless Chocolate Sour Cream Bundt Cake)", which is just equal parts melted butter and cocoa.  Brush that stuff all over your pan and those babies will come right out without leaving half of themselves behind.

Once the cakes have cooled, turn them over so they look like little volcanoes.  Then scoop out a 1/4 cup-sized hole in the top of the cake, so it looks even more like a little volcano.  Then fill that hole with your (cool or room temp) chocolate sauce, so it looks . . . nothing like an actual volcano, but a lot like something you want to stuff into your face with reckless abandon.

Unfortunately, we ate all the perfectly-shaped cakes.  This was
one that broke apart when I tried to get them out of the pan, so
the back half is missing.  When there's dessert involved, my picture-
taking desire is over-ruled by my chocolate-inhaling desire . . .

Now, you can refrigerate or freeze (up to 2 weeks) your volcanoes until you are ready to serve them.  Or skip straight to the part where you microwave the cake for 30-45 seconds, until the chocolate sauce is melted (but not scorched).

Next, top your little volcano o' molten joy with a big ol' round scoop of vanilla ice cream.  Then be liberal with some chocolate Magic Shell topping (sauce that hardens over ice cream).  Finally, drizzle some warm caramel sauce over THAT . . . and you are ready to enjoy.

Chocolate Cake + Chocolate Fudge + Ice Cream + Magic Chocolate + Caramel = America the Beautiful.