Warm molten chocolate cakes (base recipe)

I am not in the habit to write the exact amounts  of the ingredients in my recipes, because I feel that so much depends on one's taste and ..touch.
I also believe that cooking is freedom and one should rely more on personal taste and technique than following a precisely recipe.

A always, though, there's the exception...

Baking, and baking with chocolate I think, is such an exception.

The following is the recipe for my take on Vong's famous signature Lava cake.
This recipe is for small individual muffin size cakes and you can truly be as inventive and daring as you want with toppings, sauces and pairings.

imagine placing a marshmallow in it before baking it and top it with crumbled cookies, or add anise or got chillies to the batter... you name it! ; )

This bad boys had Grand Marnier mixed in the batter and were served with an orange creme Anglaise

Here it goes:


9 tbsp. unsalted butter
6 tsp. flour
4 oz. bittersweet chocolate
2 eggs
2 egg yolks
1/4 cup sugar
1 tbsp. unsweetened cocoa

1. Preheat oven to 450°. Butter four 4muffin. molds. Dust each mold with 1 tsp. of the flour, tapping out excess, then put on a baking sheet.

2. Put chocolate and the remaining 8 tbsp. butter into a double boiler set over a pan of simmering water over medium-low heat and heat until almost completely melted, about 10 minutes. (Note: don't let the boiling water touch the bowl)

3. In the while, beat eggs, egg yolks, and sugar together in a mixing bowl until thick and pale .

4. Whisk chocolate and butter together, then add to egg mix, stirring until just combined. Whisk in the remaining 2 tsp. flour.

5. Divide batter between the molds and bake for 6–7 minutes (center of cakes will be very soft). Invert cakes onto 4 individual dessert plates and let rest, do not touch it,  for about 10 seconds. Lift up an edge of each mold to let cake fall out onto plate. Dust cakes with cocoa and serve immediately.....

Super success guaranteed!