Of all the desserts I have made during my lifetime, this one would definitely rate amongst the top three. It is a powerful little delectable, very useful to have in your repertoire should you wish to seduce a new lover, get an old one back, beg a favour, celebrate any occasion, apologize for a wrong doing, spoil someone you love, secure an ally and so on. The orange cream can be made well ahead of time and the cakes themselves take only about ten minutes to prepare plus another 15 minutes to bake. This dessert is best served straight out of the oven, topped with the cream.
Half Baked Chocolate Cakes + Fresh Orange Cream
Preheat oven to 375* and bring about 3 cups of water to a boil, in a kettle. Lightly butter 8 small ramekins and place them in a shallow roasting pan. In a medium size bowl, whisk together:
3 eggs, slightly beaten
½ c white sugar
2 tbsp all purpose flour, sifted- very important to sift
Then in a double boiler melt:
200 grams good dark chocolate, broken into pieces
100 grams unsalted butter, chopped into pieces
Gradually whisk the chocolate mixture into the egg mixture, just until well combined. Pour the batter into the 8 ramekins. Pour enough boiling water into the pan, just until the water is about half way up the ramekins. Bake in the oven for 12-15 minutes, until the edges are set but the centre is still a little bit soft. Serve topped with orange cream.
Orange Cream:
1 cup whipping cream
zest of 1 orange
Put the zest into a small bowl with the whipping cream. Beat the cream until it reaches a nice thick consistency. Store in a sealed container in the fridge until needed. (This part of the recipe can be done hours ahead)
