Description

There are many recipes for flourless warm chocolate cakes, some simple to make, some complicated. In this simplest possible version, the cakes are cooked in the muffin-size aluminum foil cups with paper liners available at any supermarket, making them easy to unmold and eliminating messy cleanup chores.
4servings

Ingredients

Chocolate cakes
4 ounces bittersweet or semisweet chocolate (chocolate chips or morsels, or larger pieces of chocolate broken into ½-inch pieces)
4 tablespoons (½ stick) unsalted butter
1 tablespoon sugar
1 teaspoon sugar
1 teaspoon cornstarch
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
2 large eggs
2 large egg yolks

Apricot-cognac sauce (optional)
¼ cup good apricot jam
1 tablespoon water, if the jam is very thick
1 tablespoon cognac
½ cup sour cream, if not using sauce

Instructions

For the chocolate cakes: Heat the oven to 350 degrees. Put the chocolate, butter, sugar, cornstarch, and vanilla in a microwavable glass bowl. Microwave for 1 minute, then let rest for 2 to 3 minutes. If the mixture is not melted, microwave again for 30 seconds to 1 minute, just until melted. Mix with a whisk until smooth, then add the whole eggs and the egg yolks and whisk again until smooth.

Place four foil muffin-size cups, each with a paper liner inside, on a cookie sheet. Divide the batter among the cups. Bake for about 8 minutes, then remove from the oven. At this point the desserts will be bubbly and still liquid in the centers. Let cool to lukewarm or room temperature. The desserts will continue cooking, but their centers will remain creamy.

For the sauce (if making): Mix the ingredients in a bowl until smooth.

At serving time, remove the foil from the chocolate cakes and peel off the paper liners. Turn the desserts so that they are right side up and serve 1 per person on a dessert plate with a spoonful of the apricot-cognac sauce or a dollop of sour cream in the center.

*****MAKE AHEAD
The desserts should be cooked about 45 minutes ahead so that they are lukewarm when served. If cooked further ahead, reheat them for a few minutes in a conventional oven or for a few seconds in a microwave oven (with the foil and paper removed) before you reheat them.

*contributed by Jacques Pépin from his book “Fast Food My Way” 2004©