Just about every restaurant around has a version of molten chocolate cake on the menu, and many claim to be the original, but the cake that Jean-Georges developed at Lafayette Restaurant in New York is the most delicious, the one with the greatest contrast in textures. It’s the only dessert that stays on the menu year-round at Jean Georges. (The photograph is pages 144–145.)
Recipe information
Yield
serves 8 on it¿s own or 16 as part of fourplay
Ingredients
For the Cake
To Serve
Preparation
For the Cake
Step 1
Butter eight 4-ounce ramekins or sixteen 2-ounce molds and dust them lightly with flour. Set the ramekins on a baking sheet.
Step 2
Put the butter and chocolate in a glass bowl and melt in the microwave, using 30-second bursts. Stir until smooth.
Step 3
Put the egg yolks and eggs in the bowl of a standing mixer fitted with the whisk. Beat at medium speed until frothy. Pour in the sugar and increase the speed to medium-high. Continue to beat until the eggs have tripled in volume.
Step 4
Scrape the butter and chocolate into the eggs. Beat until well mixed, scraping the bowl once or twice. Sift the flour over the batter and fold it in gently.
Step 5
Put the batter in a pastry bag and pipe into the ramekins. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate until you’re ready to serve the dessert or for up to 8 hours.
To Serve
Step 6
Take the cakes out of the refrigerator to bring them to room temperature. Heat the oven to 475°F or 450°F on convection.
Step 7
Slide the baking sheet into the oven and bake the cakes until the sides and tops are set, about 4 minutes for small cakes or 6 to 7 minutes for large ones. The centers will still be very soft.
Step 8
Invert the ramekins onto dessert plates. Leave for about 10 seconds, then lift off the ramekins. Spoon a little chocolate sauce around each cake. Make a small pile of chocolate crumble to the side, and top with a scoop of ice cream. Garnish the ice cream with crystallized vanilla and the cake with confectioners’ sugar, if you want. Serve immediately.
