Jean-Georges Vongerichten’s Molten Chocolate Cake

Ludicrously easy and simply dazzling, these individual cakes can be on your table in half an hour from the time you start. This recipe, adapted from one by Jean-Georges Vongrichten, was created in the 1980s in New York City. Other chefs and pastry chef claim to have invented it as well. We wrote about it in February 2021.

You’ll need 4 six-ounce ramekins or three 8-ounce ramekins. Serve them with vanilla ice cream or lightly sweetened whipped cream, or simply dust them with powdered sugar.

Makes 3 to 4 servings, depending on the ramekins you use.

Ingredients

Jean-Georges Vongerichten’s Molten Chocolate Cake — perfect for Valentine’s Day, or any other day

8 tablespoons (1 stick) unsalted butter, plus additional for buttering the ramekins

Two 3-ounce chocolate bars, 70% cacao, broken into pieces

2 large eggs

2 egg yolks

1/4 cup sugar

2 tablespoons all-purpose flour, plus additional for flouring the ramekins

A pinch of salt

Instructions

1. Heat the oven to 450 degrees. Generously butter the ramekins, being careful not to miss any spots, or the cakes may stick. Flour them, tapping out any excess. Place them on a baking sheet.

2. In a double-boiler, melt the butter with the chocolate over barely simmering water. Set aside.

3. Put the eggs, the egg yolks, sugar and salt in a medium bowl, and beat at high speed with a mixer, or by hand with a whisk, until the mixture is thick and pale. Give the chocolate a quick whisk until it is smooth, then use a rubber spatula to gently fold it, along with the flour, into the egg mixture, until just combined. Divide the mixture into the ramekins and bake for 12 or 13 minutes, until the center is nearly set but still a wee bit jiggly. Remove from the oven and let them sit for one minute.

4. Place a plate over one of them, and carefully invert to unmold. Repeat with the rest and serve, dusting with powdered sugar through a small sieve, if you like.


Jean-Georges Vongerichten's Molten Chocolate Cake

Jean-Georges Vongerichten's Molten Chocolate Cake

Yield: 3 - 4 servings
Author: Recipe by Jean-Georges Vongerichten; headnote and adaptation by Leslie Brenner
Ludicrously easy and inevitably dazzling, these individual cakes can be on your table in half an hour from the time you start. This recipe, adapted from one by Jean-Georges Vongrichten, was created in the 1980s in New York City. Other chefs and pastry chef claim to have invented it as well. We wrote about it in February 2021. You’ll need 4 six-ounce ramekins or three 8-ounce ramekins. Serve them with vanilla ice cream or lightly sweetened whipped cream, or simply dust them with powdered sugar.

Ingredients

  • 8 tablespoons (1 stick) unsalted butter, plus additional for buttering the ramekins
  • Two 3-ounce chocolate bars, 70% cacao, broken into pieces
  • 2 large eggs
  • 2 egg yolks
  • 1/4 cup sugar
  • 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour, plus additional for flouring the ramekins
  • A pinch of salt

Instructions

  1. Heat the oven to 450 degrees. Generously butter the ramekins, being careful not to miss any spots, or the cakes may stick. Flour them, tapping out any excess. Place them on a baking sheet.
  2. In a double-boiler, melt the butter with the chocolate over barely simmering water. Set aside.
  3. Put the eggs, the egg yolks, sugar and salt in a medium bowl, and beat at high speed with a mixer, or by hand with a whisk, until the mixture is thick and pale. Give the chocolate a quick whisk until it is smooth, then use a rubber spatula to gently fold it, along with the flour, into the egg mixture, until just combined. Divide the mixture into the ramekins and bake for 12 or 13 minutes, until the center is nearly set but still a wee bit jiggly. Remove from the oven and let them sit for one minute.
  4. Place a plate over one of them, and carefully invert to unmold. Repeat with the rest and serve, dusting with powdered sugar through a small sieve, if you like.
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Desserts
French, American
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