Molten Chocolate Babycakes

Whenever I’m craving chocolate, I never want just a plain bar of chocolate, I want something baked, warm and gooey. Flipping the ‘Chocolate Chapter’ from Nigella Lawson’s cookbook ‘Domestic Goddess’ I quickly settled upon these molten chocolate babycakes. These are everything a chocolate-lover dreams about; they’re sweet, indulgent, and full-on chocolate! You essentially bake a pool of melted chocolate in a ramekin and then flip them upside down when they’re done. This might seem a bit scary, buy you’ll feel so accomplished when you tap the babycakes out of their custard cups successfully! How could I not rate them 5 out of 5?

Molten Chocolate Babycakes recipe: Nigella Lawson - How To Be A Domestic Goddess

Ingredients: Serves 6
- Scant ¼ cup soft unsalted butter, plus more for greasing (50g)
- 12 ounces best bittersweet chocolate (350g)
- ½ cup sugar (150g)
- 4 large eggs, beaten with a pinch of salt
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- ⅓ cup all-purpose flour (50g)
- 6 individual 6-ounce custard cups

Instructions:
- Unless you are making these up in advance, preheat the oven to 400ºF (200ºC), putting in a baking sheet at the same time. Lay 3 of the moulds on a sheet of doubled baking parchment. Draw round them, remove, and then cut out the discs as marked. Press them all into the base of the cups.
- Melt the chocolate and let it cool slightly. Cream together the butter and sugar, and gradually beat in the eggs and salt, then the vanilla. Now add the flour, and when all is smoothly combined scrape in the cooled chocolate, blending it to a smooth batter.
- Divide the batter between the 6 custard cups, quickly whip the baking sheet out of the oven, arrange the little tins on it and replace in the oven. Cook for 10–12 minutes (the extra 2 minutes will be needed if the puddings are fridge-cold when you start) and as soon as you take them out of the oven, tip out these luscious babycakes onto small plates or shallow bowls. Serve these with whipped double cream, the same unwhipped in a jug, crème fraîche, crème anglaise or ice cream.


In a lot of ways, this recipe resembles Nigella's Chocohotopots turned upside down.



These are a spectacular ending to a fancy dinner party. It looks really difficult to get the babycakes out of their custard cups, but it’s mercifully easy.

These chic cakes will satisfy anyone in your company. They have that ooey, gooey chocolate intensity that dreams are made of.