Chocolate Lava Cakes with White Chocolate Centers Revisted

The last time I made these cakes I followed the recipe from Delectable, Marlene van der Westhuizen's first cook book. It produced a delicious and rich cakes. Actually I can't say enough about this cookbook, It's my new favorite!
I wanted to try to create a healthier version. If you can call something made with eggs, sugar, chocolate and butter healthy. I took my Molten Chocolate Cake recipe, it uses less eggs and added a few pieces of white chocolate to the center and voila! Wonderful yummy cakes, a little more heart and pocketbook friendly.
I started with these sweet little 3 ounce ramekins that I buttered and lined with parchment.
Melt the chocolate and butter in the microwave, stirring every 15 seconds until small lumps remained.At this point, stir the chocolate mixture until smooth and all lumps have disappeared.
Beat the eggs and sugar together until pale.Add the melted chocolate mixture, once it's incorporated, mix in the flour.
At this point, all that was left was filling the ramekins.
I broke up the white chocolate into small pieces.
Fill the ramekins half way and add 3 pieces of white chocolate.
Cover the white chocolate pieces and hold them at room temperature until ready to bake. If your are not baking them off soon, place in the refrigerator, but allow them to warm up before putting in the oven.
Lining them up across the counter made me feel very organized and Virgo-ish!
When they came out of the oven, while my daughter ohhed and ahhed I turned one out onto a plate (which is a tricky business) and topped it with whipped cream and a dusting of cocoa.
When we cut into it with a spoon, both chocolates oozed out. It was divine. And you could eat 2 for the calorie intake of one! And that would be the point, wouldn't it?

Chocolate Lava Cakes with White Chocolate Centers

1/4 cup unsalted butter
12 ounces bittersweet chocolate (I love the Trader Joe's brand)
1/2 cup sugar
4 large eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/3 cup flour
1 -4 ounce bar white chocolate, broken into pieces
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit.
Line 6 - 3 ounce ramekins with parchment paper and grease thoroughly.

Melt the chocolate and butter together in a microwave oven, stirring every 15 seconds, until only small lumps of chocolate remain. Stir until smooth.

Beat the eggs and sugar together until pale. Stir in the vanilla. Beat in the chocolate mixture until smooth. Sprinkle with flour and stir, scraping down the sides until smooth.

Fill ramekins halfway and then add the white chocolate pieces. Top with more chocolate mixture.
Bake for 12minutes. Turn out onto a plate.
These are much more forgiving cakes than the plain dark chocolate. If you should over cook them and the centers are dry, the white chocolate saves the day by being all melted and runny!

All pictures and text are property of The Gypsy Chef.

Dinner with Debbie

My friend Debbie has a beautiful kitchen, and she has no qualms about sharing it. Several days ago she invited me over for a cook-a-thon. Our menu began with Petits Choux au Fromage, we had made these cute little cheese puffs at Jardins des Thevenets on our Cooking Holiday and thought they would be a nice beginning to our dinner.
Debbie had just bought a large cast iron Dutch Oven from Chef Central. Of course we had to use it What could be better than Boeuf Bourguignon on a rainy, autumn evening in White Plains? I brought my Mastering the Art of French Cooking and we went to work.
While we were at Jardins des Thevenets, Lynn had given me a cookbook, Delectable , written by a friend and fellow South African Marlene van der Westhuizen.
In it was a recipe for Molten Chocolate Puddings with a White Center. It fit the bill for the perfect chocolate dessert. They are too die for!
So we began by putting together the Bourguignon, then started in on the chocolate cakes, finished up preparing the Petits au Fromage.
When we handed a "straight from the oven" Cheese Puff to Nick.......well, you can see what happened!We began cooking for 5 people, but by the time dinner was ready the guest list had grown to nine, five teenagers and four adults. It had become quite a party.
While making the cakes, I was separating the egg yolks with my fingers. A trick taught to me at the CIA. Debbie opened a drawer and pulled out this nifty egg separator!
It was a snap to use and even sat on the edge of the bowl. I loved it! How cute is this? The perfect stocking stuffer......hopefully one of my kids is reading this.
She also had a candle we had bought at the candle maker in Charroux. Randy, another friend and fellow traveler remarked that they look like a "Girl Scout project"! Having been a leader for more years than I care to count, I have to agree. They may be short on looks but it was long on fragrance!
As the aroma of Boeuf Bourguignon filled the house, the kids began to arrive. We cracked open a bottle of Saint Pourcain that Debbie had bought for her husband Nick at Cave Famille Laurent.
Rich and flavorful, it brought back memories of eating, drinking cooking at Jardins des Thevenets.
It complimented the Bourguignon perfectly!
The teens ate, laughed and enjoyed themselves. This is Nick, Liz and Stephanie.
Katy,
Emmet, Tino and Nick. They all agreed the food was wonderful.
Everyone was waiting for the Chocolate Molten Cakes.To make them, we whipped up the batter. Filled the souffle dishes halfway and placed two pieces of white chocolate on top.
We then filled the dishes with the rest of the batter.
When they came out of the oven they looked similar to souffles.
Debbie and I couldn't wait to try them.
Since we had only made eight, we decided to share one.
It was luscious! A wonderful conclusion for a eventful French Cooking vacation. Having all the kids around made it very special. With half of them leaving for college next year, how many times will we all be able to have dinner together again? To quote Nick, Debbie's husband, "Isn't this what it's all about? Everyone enjoying food, conversation and company?" Yes, Nick, that is what it's all about! Thanks for sharing your kitchen!
Petits au Choux Fromage
Boeuf Bourguignon
Molten Chocolate Puddings with White Chocolate Centers

All texts and pictures are property of The Gypsy Chef

Musee d'Orsay, Where Masterpieces are Lurking Around Every Corner.

My dear friend Randy is a hedonist. He is like a cat who always finds the most comfortable place in the room. Paris was no exception, we traveled in taxis, ate in wonderful restaurants, drank delicious wines and traveled first class when we did ride the train. The day we decided to head to the Musee d'Orsay was no exception. After breakfast and a short nap we found ourselves in a taxi barreling along Quai de la Tournelle headed to the museum,
Once we bought our tickets and entered the Old Train station we were amazed by the beauty and expanse of the place.It was large, and full of natural light, perfect for viewing all our favorite masterpieces. This clock was only the beginning of the many beauteous things we saw.
These sculptures caught my eye last time I visited with my daughter, so I had to see them again.
There is something about the romance of the desert and a nomadic life that captures my imagination. Am I alone?
And of course, this is one of my favorite paintings. Given the opportunity I would have climbed on the back of this man's horse.
I always love standing behind this clock and viewing Paris through it's glass face.
In one of the many alcoves leading off the main hall, we saw this artist copying this painting.
I could have watched her all day.
I fell in love with Van Gogh that day. I had always liked his paintings, but that day his work struck a chord in me.

As we turned corners we kept seeing the world's most famous masterpieces one after another. Randy and I couldn't get enough.

Randy kept saying "Snap this one, snap that one!".By accident, while wondering around we found the Chat Noir exhibit. We both loved it.All the characters, and back drops cut out of black paper must have made an exotic theater experience.All this art had certainly piqued our appetite. We found the restaurant and a seat.
After ordering we toasted our friendship.
I had ordered a leek quiche, served with a side of rocket salad, it was superb.
Randy ordered the Lasagna, which you can see in a distance. Obviously I wasn't too enamored of it. However, it was tasty.
We had coffee to follow and a tasty chocolate covered almond.
It's so nice that a small sweet always accompanies coffee in France.
Especially when it's served by a handsome waiter. The restaurant had another huge clock that threw it's light over the dining room. It was a perfect place for lunch after a wonderful day at Musee d'Orsay.
I swear I will add a leek quiche recipe this afternoon!
All text and photos are property of The Gypsy Chef.