Recipe from the cookbook
Classic Home Desserts: A Treasury of Heirloom and Contemporary Recipes
From Around the World, by Richard Sax.
“This is the ultimate in chocolate: a
warm, baked-to-order individual hot soufflé-like mousse with a crackled,
brownie-like exterior enclosing a molten chocolate center. This dessert
is so good, so essence-of-chocolate, that it evokes the timeless
chocolate puddings, moist cakes and warm soufflés that linger in memory.
It’s the creation of the amply gifted Thomas Keller, whose restaurant,
French Laundry, recently opened in Napa Valley, California. Though
Keller calls it a tart, it has no crust. The baking dishes are frozen before they go into
the oven, so the dessert comes out creamy. It should be baked just
before serving. The recipe has been adapted slightly for the home
kitchen. Keller serves his dessert with a cool pear puree and vanilla
ice cream. I like to accompany it with either a small scoop of ice cream
or a spoonful of cool vanilla-scented whipped cream.”
Check out
Basic Rules For Baking or here for
Secrets Of A Successful Cake. Also check out more great
Cake Recipes and
Chocolate Recipes.
Don't forget to check out my seven-course
Butter-Poached Lobster Tails dinner menu which includes this fabulous Molten Chocolate Tart.
Thomas Keller’s Molten Chocolate Tart
Recipe Type:
Cake,
Chocolate
Yields: 6 servings
Prep time: 20 min
Cook time: 11 min
Ingredients:
4 ounces best-quality semisweet
chocolate, finely chopped
1 1/2 ounces unsweetened
chocolate, finely chopped
10 tablespoons (1 stick or cube plus 2 tablespoons) unsalted butter, cut into cubes and softened
1/2 cup granulated
sugar
3 large
eggs
1/2 cup plus 2 teaspoons all-purpose
flour
3/4 teaspoon
baking powder
1 1/2 tablespoons
unsweetened cocoa powder
Vanilla ice cream or vanilla-flavored
whipped cream, for serving
Preparation:
Place the semisweet and unsweetened chocolate in the top of a double boiler or in a bowl set over a saucepan of hot water over low heat (the bottom of the
bowl should not touch the water). Stir occasionally until the chocolate melts; remove from the heat.
Learn different techniques for
How To Melt Chocolate.
When the chocolate is smooth, stir in the butter and sugar until smooth.
Add the eggs, flour, baking powder and cocoa. Beat with an electric
mixer at medium-high speed until the mixture is pale and has a thick,
mousse-like consistency, about 5 minutes.
Fill the
ramekins 1/2 full and cover each with plastic wrap. Freeze for at
least 3 hours. NOTE: The ramekins can be filled and frozen up to 3 days in
advance.
Just before serving time, preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. Place oven rack in the center
of the oven.
Bake the cold desserts until the outer edges of the tops
are set, but the centers are still moist and shiny, usually 10 to 11 minutes. Remove from oven.
To serve, invert each hot portion onto a serving plate and serve warm,
with a small scoop of the vanilla ice cream or a spoonful of
vanilla-flavored whipped cream. Alternately, serve directly from the ramekins.
Makes 6 servings.
