Chocolate Lava Cake

I have always been amazed by the CHOCOLATE cake, the one that has silky chocolate fudge oozing from the insides....yum.... This type of chocolate cake appears to be a staple of most western food restaurants/cafes, as a result, I find that I usually order this when I see it on the dessert menu.

I've wondered how the cake is done. Recently, I did a research and found that there are 2 ways to cooking this cake: (a) bake it quickly at high heat to cook the outsides only; (b) insert a chocolate truffle/ganache in the centre. To my delight, the ever-reliable Delia has a recipe for this. It seemed easy enough with the help of a mixer and did not require additional ingredients that my pantry didn't have. The only problem was I did not have suitable pudding basins to bake these delectable cakes in. This was solved when I saw suitable pudding basins which were within my budget at Sun Lik last week.

With the last obstacle cleared, I set out to bake the cakes soon after the purchase of basins. Sadly, I overbaked them, failing to take into account that my pudding basins were smaller than the ones prescribed by Delia. Nevertheless, it more than passed as a chocolatey sponge.

The next day, I tried again. This time success smiled upon me - the shells were thin and there was lots of fudge oozing from within..... I also tried a variation: put Marks and Spencers' "Cherry Liquers" into the centre, turning it into a pseudo black forest chocolate pudding. I passed this variation to Mum - she liked it, but still preferred the log from Wuthering Heights.

Hubby was delighted at the second attempt without the M&S "Cherry Liquers" and promptly pronounced it as his favourite chocolate cake. He has repeatedly requested for this cake subsequently and even asked me to bake it for CNY reunion dinner in Malaysia!

Today is my 3rd attempt baking it...upon the request of my dearest Hubby and my lovely Brother who wishes to see the cakes...

YY, here are some pics for your drooling viewing pleasure...

Prior to baking











After baking, before unmoulding











Sitting pretty in a plate saying "Eat Me"











Alice passed by and poked the cake...











Alice gave into temptation and ate it....











Alice's verdict: although the chocolate sponge was light, there was not enough chocolate fudge oozing from the cake (guess I overbaked it slightly). Nevertheless, it was chocolate intensity - Alice flew to heaven. Luckily, Alice did not grow upwards, but wasn't sure if she had grown sideways instead.....

Calla's notes on the recipe:

• I omitted the brandy - it doesn't appear to affect the taste of the cake.
• It's done when the top looks cooked - when you shake the mould, the mixture does not quiver. The cake also shrinks from the side of the mould.
• I remembered baking it for about 5 - 6 minutes on my 2nd attempt. However, I forgot if the top and bottom heat were switched on. I will experiment again.
  

I have leftover batter from today's baking session - will try them at the revised time and cooking method and post an update about the results....stay tuned!

Update on 9 January 2008

I turned on the top and bottom heat and baked for about 6 minutes. The results were good! Please refer to this post for the pictures.

Apple Pie

Hubby has been requesting for an apple pie for a while. However, I have put his request aside as I'm bad at making pastry. Somehow, dough and me don't mix well together :(

My fears were put aside when I came across Delia's recipe for gooseberry pie. The crust sounded pretty easy to do - so I thought I could make use of the crust and turn it into an apple pie instead. It seemed like a workable idea as Delia had substituted rhubarbs for gooseberries.

Hence with all my gungho, I set out making the apple pie this evening. I was a little disorganised initially, but the dough was not too difficult to handle - thankfully! Within an hour, the kitchen was filled with homely smells of cinnamon and sugar.

The pie turned out quite nicely. Hubby loved it so much that he polished 2 slices in one go. I gave mum and dad a slice too. Mum said that it was delicious.

Maybe I could try with gooseberries the next time - perhaps YY could bring some gooseberries back when he returns home during summer :D

Here are some pics for you to enjoy. Sorry, we forgot to take pics before cutting the pie - we were too excited....

Calla's notes on the apple pie:

• I used granny smith apples.
• I replaced lard with an equivalent amount of butter. Crust was still crunchy, in my opinion.
• I replaced caster sugar with brown sugar for sprinkling onto each layer of apples. I also sprinkled cinnamon onto each layer of fruit.
• I baked at a centre shelf, with no adverse effects. I simply baked till the crust turns golden brown.