Mmmmm Molten Chocolate Cake

{Revision: see recipe links at end of post –I meant to include them the first time around, but I guess I forgot.}

Since I didn’t make a dessert like I was going to on the night of our anniversary, I made it the following evening. I had always wanted to try making these molten chocolate cakes that you always see in restaurants. I put together the dough while the girls were still awake. I could have put it in the fridge and baked it after they were in bed, but Grant and I decided to go ahead and pop them in the oven after dinner. So, our candlelit anniversary dessert turned into a different scene. That’s okay. I wouldn’t trade listening to Phaedra chant “hungee!” over and over from the second I put the cake onto a plate.

This is what they looked like right out of the oven. Oh, the anticipation! The cakes didn’t keep their shape very well, and the middle didn’t actually ooze out onto the plate. But, man, they tasted good! They were really rich and decadent. You had to have the ice cream to cut the sweetness. One bite, and I knew I was in trouble. The middle had a consistency like warm, fluffy, mousse.

Eleanor and Phaedra mostly wanted the ice cream, so Grant and I didn’t even have to share that much. I love watching those girls enjoying themselves. Phaedra really enjoyed her “ceam.”

Afterward, I found a recipe that looked easier to make. For the sake of science, I tried it just the other night. That recipe held its shape much better and had a definite ooze coming out of the middle, but the taste wasn’t quite as impressive. They were still quite good. Grant and I decided that we could make the easier recipe in a pinch when we didn’t want to do much work but wanted something better than brownies. Also, it would be an impressive dessert to whip together quickly for guests, but when we really want to spoil ourselves, we’ll use the first recipe. So good!

Recipe for pictured cakes HERE.

Recipe for slightly easier but not quite as decadent cakes HERE.