Here's the recipe I've made, and I am the klutzy one in the kitchen and they came out great! I think they should be served with a tiny bit of vanilla ice cream and not the chocolate sauce (sorry Sol) or any more chocolate or coffee bean accompaniements. Its wonderful just the way it is and a bit of cold vanilla ice cream just sets it off perfectly!

Sol's Molten Lava Cakes

½ pound bittersweet chocolate, finely chopped
½ pound butter
6 whole eggs, room temperature
1 ½ cups sugar
½ cup flour

Preheat the oven to 400°F. Butter the bottom and sides of 8 6-ounce ramekins and sprinkle with baking cocoa, tap to remove excess cocoa. Set aside.

In the top of a double boiler or in a microwave, gently, melt the chocolate and butter. Whisk until completely melted.

Meanwhile, in a large bowl whisk together the eggs, sugar and flour until just blended. Gradually whisk the chocolate mixture into the egg mixture until combined.

Evenly divide the mixture between the prepared ramekins. Place the ramekins on a baking sheet and bake for 10-12 minutes or until the tops are firm and beginning to crack and the edges are set. Remove from oven and serve immediately, with ice cream, your favorite chocolate sauce, a few chocolate-covered coffee beans and giddyap baby!. I can almost feel my zippy-self coming back to life, just thinking 'bout it ;-Ã
Note: I didn't use ramekins. Instead I used mini wonder-molds for these cakes 'cause I liked their shape. These molds are quite a bit larger than the ramekins, so for me, this recipe only yielded 5 servings.
Chocolate Sauce
1 cup heavy whipping cream
1/3 cup light brown sugar
1/3 cup light corn syrup
12 oz. bittersweet chocolate, chopped
1/8 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon vanilla extract or liqueur
Heat the cream, sugar, salt and corn syrup in a saucepan over low heat. Bring to a boil, stirring often, until sugar dissolves. Remove from heat and add the chocolate. Allow to stand a few minutes until the chocolate has melted, then whisk gently until smooth. Whisk in vanilla or liqueur.
Note ~ I know you love Valrhona, so do I. But for this, I used Lindt because it's another favorite, and it's what I always have around. As long as the chocolate tastes good and the texture is silky to begin, then it'll be a good candidate for this sauce. If you end up using another type of chocolate and you notice tiny lumps in your finished product, don't panic. Just strain the chocolate mixture through a fine sieve, it'll be fine.

And here is the one we like:

{{!gwi}}

3/4 cup butter
6 ounces semi-sweet chocolate
1 cup granulated sugar
1 teaspoon instant coffee
3/4 all-purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon salt
4 large eggs
4 large egg yolks
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

Line bottom only of 6 jumbo muffin cups (or 6 ramekins) with wax paper, then grease; set aside. In a small sauce pan over low heat; melt butter and chocolate stirring constantly until smooth; remove from heat. Whisk in granulated sugar and coffee then flour and salt until blended. Beat in eggs and egg yolks along with vanilla. Pour evenly into prepared pans (pans can be filled close to the top, cakes wonÂt rise). Refrigerate at least an hour before baking (or overnight).

Preheat oven to 425°.Bake 10 to 12 minutes or until edges are firm but centers are still slightly soft. Do not over-bake. (The centers should look like about 1/3rd of the cake is not baked.) Cool 10 minutes on a wire rack. To serve, carefully run sharp knife around cake edges. Unmold onto serving plates, and then remove waxed paper. Top with confectionerÂs sugar, chocolate shavings or sweet whipped cream. Serve warm or cooled.

*After these are cooled completely the filling will become like soft, gooey fudge.
**Adding a small amount of coffee to chocolate enhances the flavor of the chocolate.

Marilyn

I also use Sol's recipe and agree heartily with Woodie, a bit of vanilla ice cream is just what these need to complement them, they are so rich that the extra chocolate sauce just seems redundant.

Annie

Snyder, Sol's Molten Lava Cakes have become famous around here. You will see lots of references to MLC. If you haven't made them yet you might want to read this thread about MLC Virgins.

Ann

I use Sol's recipe too, but prefer them with whip cream. (We are not big ice cream eaters here)

I haven't made Sol's but Marilyn's are wonderful, especially with whipped cream & any excuse to eat whipped cream is fine with me.

Made Sol's recipe for Valentines dinner. Yummy!

Marilyn - your recipe sounds good too. I like the touch of coffee. I'm saving it to try next.

Hi all,
The last time I made these cakes, I remember putting them in the freezer and baking them for a specific time...they came out great! Can someone refresh my memory?
Thanks,
Maggie

maggie--i made a batch recently and baked 2 and froze the rest so that i wouldn't be tempted to eat more of them right away. later, i took 2 out of the freezer and let them defrost and then cooked them for about 13 minutes. they were wonderful!