Oh, warm, gooey chocolate cake… how do I love thee? Let me count the ways.

1. You have just 4 main ingredients.
2. You are unbelievably easy to put together.
3. I can make you hours ahead of time, and bake you off when dinner is finished.
4. Well, the obvious… you are warm and chocolatey.
5. Depending on my mood, I can top you with any sort of ice cream.
6. I can make just the right amount, though leftovers (without added ice cream) freeze well, too.

Flourless chocolate cakes can often be dense, rich, and heavy, and leave you feeling the same way. Not these little cups of goodness… with these it’s as if a souffle and a chocolate molten cake had the cutest of babies. The best of both worlds, they’re light and airy like a souffle, without the bother of separating eggs and folding in the whites. And warm and gooey like a molten cake, but without having to deal with unmolding or adding flour (a plus for anyone who is gluten free). They are sure to impress any chocolate lover, and are a perfect choice for a Valentine’s Day treat.

Serve them with a scoop of your favorite store-bought ice cream. Salted caramel is tip top to me, but I’ve also loved them with cinnamon, peppermint, raspberry, coffee, hazelnut, pistachio… you get the idea!

Or try this… here’s a trick to spice up the plain ol’ vanilla that’s in your freezer. Simply stir in 1-2 teaspoons of freshly grated ginger into softened vanilla ice cream. Et voila!

Melt the chocolate and butter together in a double boiler, or bowl set over a pot of simmering water.

Whip the eggs using hand held beaters or a stand mixer until thick, pale and doubled in volume.

Fold the melted chocolate and butter into the eggs in two additions, being careful to not stir too vigorously so the eggs retain their volume.

Fill your ramekins and bake right away, or refrigerate until ready to bake.

Print Recipe

5 from 3 votes

Mini Chocolate Pudding Cakes

Prep Time10 mins

Cook Time15 mins

Servings: 4

Ingredients

• 4 ounces butter, unsalted (1 stick) cut into pieces
• 6 ounces bittersweet chocolate do not use chocolate chips
• 3 large eggs
• 6 ½ tablespoons sugar
• Pinch of salt
• your favorite ice cream for serving

Instructions

• Preheat the oven to 375.
• Put the butter and chocolate in a heat proof bowl that can rest on top of a pot of simmering water. You do not want the water in the pot to touch the bottom of the bowl. Gently melt the chocolate and butter, stirring occasionally. Remove from the heat.
• Using a stand mixer or hand-held beaters, beat the eggs, sugar and salt for 5 minutes, until thick and pale yellow.
• Pour ⅓ of the chocolate butter mixture into the eggs and fold in gently. Repeat with the remaining chocolate, stirring until just combined.
• Pour the mix into ramekins until ¾ full - there is no need to butter the ramekins first. If your ramekins are smaller, it may make 6 portions. At this point, you can refrigerate them until ready to bake, up to 6 hours. When ready, bake 12 minutes for smaller ramekins, 15 for larger. Carefully remove to serving plates and scoop your favorite ice cream on top. Serve immediately.

Tips & Tricks

• Use a good quality chocolate for this recipe- the flavor really comes through since there are so few ingredients. Grocers carry chocolate discs like you'll see in my photos (I like a brand called Tcho), or you can buy a bar, which you should rough chop or break into squares. I recommend between 52% and 70% dark chocolate.