cooking @ home

©2008 Harry Kenney

If you enjoyed my very recent Chocolate-Raspberry Lava Cake recipe, then you are going to love this “makeover” or redeaux as well. Remember the original lava cake was made as a mistake. And this dish came about when I messed up my lava cake. So much for the saying two wrongs don’t make a right!

Think of it almost as a crunchy chocolate pudding “slash” cake. Obviously since it never leaves the dish it can’t “lava” out like the original. And as you see the cracking on top in the photo, you see why I had to call this chocolate cave-in cake.

I wanted to make something special for when my brother came over. And he has one of those intestinal things where you can’t eat little seeds. And I ran out of my original jar of raspberry jam and when I reached for the spare I had in the cupboard, turns out I’d mistakenly purchased preserves containing seeds (mistake one). That meant no raspberry sauce so I switched to orange, and instead of sauce, whipped cream.

Mistake two came when I forgot to grease my ramekins. Ooops! But wow what a delicious mistake! Plus, this recipe is even doubly fool-proof then the other one. Since you don’t have to take it out of the ramekin, even less chance to mess anything up. And yet, lip-smacking good. My bro’s girlfriend thought it was going to be as rich and dark and too sweet as a death by chocolate cake, and was surprised how it had just the right amount of sweetness but not that overpowering kind.

Btw, as always, when a recipe calls for an orange liqueur as this one, I say use Triple Sec instead of Grand Marnier because they’re the same taste, but the former costs about 10 times less while the second has a better marketing name and bigger price tag. Period.

By the way, did I mention this version has 2.5 to 3 times the amount of liquid chocolate inside?

Chocolate-Orange Cave-In Cake
©2008 Harry Kenney

6 oz bittersweet chocolate, chopped
6 oz butter
5-6 oz milk chocolate (or semisweet) chocolate chips
3 tbsps orange liqueur

1/3 cup all-purpose flour
3 eggs
2 egg yokes
1 cup granulated sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/4 tsp salt

Orange Whipped Cream
©2008 Harry Kenney

1 pint heavy cream
3 tbsps sugar
1 tbsp vanilla
6 tbsps orange liqueur

Note: This recipe is based on 6 oz. ramekin size.

Preheat oven to 350. Mix eggs and yokes and sugar together and cream. Over double-boiler melt bittersweet chocolate with butter. Slowly pour into beating mixture. Add flour, sugar, salt, vanilla and orange liqueur until well mixed.

With six ramekins (not greased) placed on top of baking sheet, fill the ramekins 2/3s to 3/4s of the way with cake mixture. Place about an ounce of chocolate chips (10-15 chips) into the middle of each and let sink. Pour rest of cake mixture on top. Place in oven for 22-28 minutes until see good cracking on top and firm around the sides.

Take ingredients for whipped cream and place in mixer (or use hand beater), adding orange liqueur half way through.

When cakes are done, let cool a few minutes. Top each cake with orange whipped cream and serve in ramekin with spoon. Don’t forget since you’re serving it in the cup itself, clean the cup off first before giving it to your guests. Makes six servings.

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