Sunday, October 10, 2010

Molten Chocolate Souffle and Lava Cakes

Rose's Heavenly Cakes, Page 359: Molten Chocolate Souffle and Lava Cakes

I wasn't sure if i wanted to make this cake till very last min, ie Sunday evening.  When i flip through the recipe, i realised that i had to make the ganache beforehand and chill it and then make the batter and chill it again.  So i did the short cut way..actually i did a lot of short cuts..lol!  After baking from this book from almost a year, i find Rose's recipes very long-winded. 

For the ganache centers, i microwaved the chocolate and cream instead of using a double-boiler and whisked them together. Then i spooned them into egg carton as instructed and i put in the freezer for 30mins instead of waiting for several hours.  Works pretty well. :D 


Then while waiting for the ganache to 'freeze'..i went ahead with making the batter.  I used non-stick paper cups instead of silicon containers.  Again..instead of double boiler..i just microwave the butter, chocolate and cocoa powder and whisk them together till smooth. Works very well and save time.   Not a lot of egg whites for me to bring out my KA mixer out of the cabinet, so i just used a hand mixer instead.   After mixing the chocolate mixture with the eggwhite, i filled the paper cups with the batter.  Not too sure if i should fill it to 3/4 or not since i think my cups pretty huge..and i pushed the ganache centres right to the bottom..then i realised immediately after that i shouldn't! :P  Too late!  


I think i must have put too much batter into the cup...since the batter ballooned up above the cup while in the oven but it did shrink quite a lot after it cooled.


Because of these non-stick paper cups, the souffle just shrank away from the sides without the need to pop it out carefully..it will just pop out anyway when you turn it out..lol!   


I put them in the freezer for 1 hour so we can eat 2 hours later instead of the next day...and transferred it to the fridge for another hour plus.  After, took it out from the fridge and turn the cup around and the souffle just came out easily.   My souffle looked quite ugly though..lol!  


Microwaved for 20 secs and then all ready to be eaten.  See the 'lava' oozing out..except as i mentioned earlier, i pushed it too way down to the bottom, so the chocolate is oozing out from the bottom instead of from centre.   That's one ugly looking molten lava cake..lol!   

Verdict:  It's yummy but i think it's a bit bland as well as a bit bitter. Well, i don't mind since i love dark bitter chocolate, but i think for those who doesn't like dark chocolate, probably will find it on the bitter side.   Best eaten with a scoop of ice-cream.  If you ask me for my opinion, i don't really like this souffle texture on the outside and i prefer the rich original molten lava cake, ie, rich on the outside as well as on the inside...and also less time consuming to make.  However, my daughter, husband and helper all said it's delicious (they are all not chocoholics like me..)...or rather in my daughter's words "feels healthier since it's not as rich".



18 comments:

ann low on October 10, 2010 at 11:57 PM said...

I love bitter chocolate, must try this someday. Thanks for sharing :)

Lois B on October 11, 2010 at 12:09 AM said...

Oh, no! A healthy cake! lol

Patricia @ ButterYum on October 11, 2010 at 3:13 AM said...

I like your shortcuts, Faithy. You're right Rose tends to make her directions a bit too long-winded. I think her taste had changed a bit too because I find her newer recipes are not always as sweet as I would like them to be, whereas her CB recipes are just about all perfect.

Great write up!!

:)
ButterYum

Mendy on October 11, 2010 at 3:54 AM said...

ב''ה

Look great Faithy!

I stuck mine in the freezer, since I used lower % chocolate. I was also wondering if I should not fill my cups all the way up to 3/4?

I'll have to try the original recipe sometime. I liked this one though.

Marie on October 11, 2010 at 4:49 AM said...

Not ugly at all--your cakes all seem to have expressions!

Anonymous said...

I agree with ButterYum. I think i scored more with Rose's cake bible than heavenly cakes! Your lava within the souffle looks tempting. Yummm

Vicki on October 11, 2010 at 5:55 AM said...

Great tips, Faithy! I like those non-stick cups. Your's look much better than mine. Mine were too done.

Sanjeeta kk on October 11, 2010 at 3:52 PM said...

A chocolaty indulgence, I would love to have any time of the day. Lovely pictures.

cocoa and coconut on October 11, 2010 at 5:32 PM said...

Who cares if you put too much in the cup? Those look delicious!! The more the merrier :)

Also, where did you get those adorable little cuppie holders? Online? I've been searching everywhere because they sort of look vintage

Pei-Lin on October 11, 2010 at 11:02 PM said...

Hey, that's a good news! I have company! Rose is just as long-winded as Pei-Lin is!!! HAHA!

The cakes still look good to me nonetheless. I'd disagree with what your daughter said. Albeit feels light in texture, it doesn't mean it's "healthier." LOL!

Eh, this is my type of chocolate cake. I'm a super-dark choc person! Gimme 85-percent dark choc! LOL!

Vicki on October 12, 2010 at 12:23 AM said...

Faithy, thank you; that is so sweet of you to offer! I just never paid attention at my little baking supply store. They have them!

Jenn on October 12, 2010 at 2:32 AM said...

Your cake is very pretty Faithy. One of the pictures makes me think of macaroons.

lola on October 12, 2010 at 5:14 AM said...

Marie's comment is great "expressions". They look delicous Faithy. Good job even under pressure.

faithy on October 12, 2010 at 9:09 AM said...

Thank you everyone for dropping by and taking time to leave your comments! :D Much appreciated!

jkcurtis on October 13, 2010 at 8:42 AM said...

My daughter thought they tasted bitter too. I'm impressed that you got your lava flowing and I don't think it matters where exactly it was flowing from. Nice job.a

Angie's Recipes on October 13, 2010 at 9:21 PM said...

These chocolate cakes look great to me. I like dark chocolate, so I wouldn't mind the pleasant bitterness in it.

cocoa and coconut on October 14, 2010 at 6:23 AM said...

Thanks for letting me know Faithy. Your right..I don't think we've got them here in Australia so I'll just have to keep searching. And I must say each time I look at these cakes they look more tempting and delicious :)

Cake Fixation on October 14, 2010 at 11:25 AM said...

Yum!! Looks really delicious. Love the shortcuts too.

 

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