Bittersweet Molten Chocolate Cakes with Coffee Ice Cream

From the kitchen of Carly

Molten chocolate cakes that deliver that perfect ooze of bittersweet chocolate when you crack through the set exterior. Rich, elegant, and surprisingly simple. Coffee ice cream melts into the warm center, cutting through the richness with its bitter note.

Bittersweet Molten Chocolate Cakes with Coffee Ice Cream

Eight minutes of beating eggs into submission gets you thick, pale ribbons that fold into chocolate without deflating. That's the foundation for cakes that puff high and molten in the center, with edges that turn crispy-cracked in the oven. Bittersweet chocolate keeps things grown-up, and coffee ice cream melting over the warm center is the only ending that makes sense.

Prep
n/a
Cook
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Total
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Servings
4
Difficulty
medium

Ingredients

4 servings

  • 12 tspplus 5 tablespoons sugar
  • 8 ozbittersweet or semisweet chocolate, chopped
  • 3/4 cupunsalted butter
  • 3 largeeggs
  • 3 largeegg yolks
  • 1 tbspall purpose flour
  • 1 quartcoffee ice cream

Instructions

  1. Generously butter eight 3/4-cup soufflé dishes or custard cups, then dust the inside of each one with 1 1/2 teaspoons of sugar, tipping out any excess.

  2. Combine the chocolate and butter in a heavy medium saucepan over low heat, stirring until completely smooth, then pull it off the heat. In a large bowl, use an electric mixer to beat the eggs, egg yolks, and remaining 5 tablespoons of sugar until the mixture is thick and pale yellow, about 8 minutes. Fold in a third of the warm chocolate mixture to temper the eggs, then fold in the rest. Add the flour and fold just until incorporated. Divide the batter evenly among the prepared soufflé dishes. At this point the cakes can be covered with plastic wrap and refrigerated up to 1 day ahead; bring them back to room temperature before baking.

  3. Position a rack in the oven and preheat to 425°F. Set the soufflé dishes on a baking sheet and bake uncovered until the edges are puffed and slightly cracked but the center inch of each cake still wobbles gently when you shake the dish, about 13 minutes.

  4. Crown each warm cake with a scoop of coffee ice cream and get them to the table immediately.

Tips from the kitchen

  • Eggs and sugar need those full eight minutes of beating, no shortcuts. You're building air that becomes structure, so don't skip ahead.
  • The center should jiggle slightly when you shake the ramekin at 13 minutes, not wobble like custard. Err toward underbaked if anything, since carryover heat keeps cooking.
  • Butter and sugar your ramekins generously. This is nonnegotiable insurance against sticking. Custard cups work fine if you don't have soufflé dishes.
  • Room temperature batter bakes more evenly than cold batter straight from the fridge. Even 20 minutes on the counter helps.

Variations

  • Swap coffee ice cream for vanilla or salted caramel if you want to shift the flavor profile without changing the structure.
  • Use a mix of dark and milk chocolate, or go all milk chocolate if you prefer less intensity and more sweetness.
  • Top with whipped cream and espresso powder instead of ice cream for a winter plating without the melt.
  • Make a batch of smaller cakes in muffin tins, 8 to 10 minutes baking time, if you need more servings.

Make ahead and storage

These don't store well after baking, so plan to serve hot. The unbaked batter keeps refrigerated for up to one day, then needs 20 minutes to come back to room temperature before baking.