Valentine's Day Part 5: Molten Lava Cakes with Chocolate Ganache, Raspberry Coulis and Whipped Cream

You CANNOT have Valentine's Day without chocolate. Yummy chocolate is a necessity on Valentine's Day! When planning our meal, I knew exactly what our ending note would be.

I started with the base of a molten lava cake. This recipe can be found at epicurious.com:

http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/Molten-Chocolate-Cakes-102177

These cakes were very easy to make. I made the batter the day before and placed them in the little souffle cups. I then placed the cups on a plate, covered them loosely with saran wrap and kept them in the fridge. When we were ready for dessert, I took them out of the fridge while the oven reached the desired temperature. Then they went into the oven while I poured us each a small glass of brandy and whipped the cream and prepared the ganache. After they came out they were allowed to cool for a few moments and were drizzled with the toppings.

Ganache, I discovered, is ridiculously easy. It is one part chocolate to two parts heavy cream. Put it in a sauce pan on low and let it do its own work. It thickens into a beautiful chocolate sauce. I used a bittersweet chocolate with great results.

Whipped cream I have been making for years. Heavy whipping cream, covered stand mixer, a tiny bit of powdered sugar (I don't like it too sweet!), a tiny bit of vanilla and you let it go to town.

The Raspberry Coulis was also a new one. This one was easy and would make a great topping for a variety of desserts (mmmm...I am thinking a lemon cheesecake....). It was also easy enough to make the day before and stick in the fridge. I suspect it would have lasted a few more days, so if you want to make it very early, it is seems very possible. This recipe was also from Epicurious and can be found here:

http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/Raspberry-Coulis-104664

Straining the Raspberry Coulis

Here is the finished product:

Drool!!

Side View!

This dessert was wonderful. The molten cake was good, but nothing special in and of itself. The sauces really made it. Awesome Sauce found that the sauces overpowered the molten cake. However, as desserts go, he really liked this one.

These desserts were ridiculous! Tasty, but over the top! Actually, this whole dinner was quite ridiculous and there is a reason why Awesome Sauce and I do not eat like this every day. We do enjoy indulging ourselves on holidays and special occasions. I really enjoyed cooking this meal for him and tried to make sure he would enjoy every last bite. I am so glad that we stayed in and I cooked this year. It is really nice to personalize your meal to your partner and was my way of showing Awesome Sauce how much I love and appreciate him. For your next occasion, I highly recommend using your kitchen prowess to show your partner that you care.


Ratings for Overall Dessert:
The Clumsy Gourmet: 8
Awesome Sauce: 9