Chocolate Lava Cake

I decided to try to make these cakes after watching an episode of the Worst Cooks in America. They were really struggling with them and I wondered if they were really THAT hard to make. Turns out they are pretty easy, but they look WAY impressive. My husband LOVED them.

I used this recipe from the food network website, but I changed it quite a bit so here's what I did:

Chocolate Lava Cakes

(I halved the recipe to just make four, but this is the full recipe. Left overs aren't really good with this recipe. You want to eat them immediately.)

2 sticks butter, unsalted

4 tsp. sugar

1/2 tsp. cinnamon

pinch nutmeg

12 ounces semisweet chocolate chopped or just use semi-sweet chocolate chips (11/2 cups)

1 cup flour

2 1/2 cups CONFECTIONER'S sugar (don't used granulated!)

6 large eggs

6 large egg yolks

1 1/2 tsp. vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Prepare ramekins by covering insides with butter or margarine. Do this well or the cakes won't come out! Then sprinkle lightly with the granulated sugar.

In a saucepan melt butter, cinnamon, nutmeg, and chocolate over low heat until butter is melted and combined well. Stir frequently. While this is cooling mix the batter.

Mix flour, confectioner's sugar, eggs, yolks, and vanilla extract until creamy. Slowly pour in the melted chocolate while stirring.

Pour into ramekins (I put my ramekins on a sheet pan and then into the oven) and bake for 12-14 minutes until the tops are cracked.

*At 12 minutes mine were still SUPER giggly so I put them in for three more minutes until they were just slightly jiggly. You don't want to over bake or there won't be any molten lava in the middle, but if you under-bake them they will fall apart. Just jiggle the pan the ramekins are on and see how much they are cooked. This is the hardest part of the recipe!

When they are done let them cool for five minutes and then carefully run a knife or spatula around the edges and then tip out. Don't fret if they ooze out. Mine all came out perfect though. You can sprinkle some powdered sugar on the top and serve with icecream or whipped cream. I think a little sprig of mint would look FABULOUS. Enjoy. They are SO good!