This is the third of three in my series on chocolate desserts, and it's one of my favorites. I've played with this recipe enough to have it be in a very good place, simple and easy, quick assembly, great texture and flavor. A restaurant owner at one of my former professional gigs once told me he had a “foolproof” recipe involving chocolate, and proceeded to prove himself wrong in the kitchen one day.  I learned from him the lesson there is no such thing, and we used to joke about not always having a fool around when you needed ...   more »

    I love making desserts, and really do enjoy working with chocolate, even though I do not often eat desserts, or chocolate, for that matter. However, I am asked more often for chocolate dessert ideas than for any other recipes (seafood recipes are the second most requested, by the way). My last recipe post here was the first of three chocolate ideas I'll be sharing with you, and it matched chocolate with lemons. This week, I've matched it with oranges, and the result is something a little different once again. It's a tart, and for those who are truly ambitious, ...   more »

    I've received a number of requests recently for something chocolate, everyone's favorite dessert, and thought I'd pull a few recipes from my book in response.  There are thousands of chocolate dessert recipes available online, though, and I don't want to be just another pretty face in the crowd.  I have three to share that are a little different, and will publish them one at a time.

    This first one pairs chocolate with lemon, a match not often seen on a menu.  These individual cakes are easy to make, and offer a light and airy finish to any meal.  They should be served warm, with a large dollop of freshly whipped cream.  If you are really ambitious, candy some lemon rind for garnish.
 


For Six Servings   
1 cup all purpose flour
3 tb lemon zest
1 tb lemon juice
2 tb poppy seeds
4 large egg yolks
1/2 cup granulated sugar
14 tb unsalted butter, melted (1 3/4 sticks)
5 large egg whites
3 oz bittersweet chocolate, cut into 1/2 ounce pieces
 
Preheat your oven to 400 degrees.  You'll be using 6-6oz ramekins for these cakes.  Rub the insides and bottom of them with butter, dust with granulated sugar and put them on a cookie sheet.
 
In a bowl, mix the flour, zest and poppy seeds.  In another bowl, whip the egg yolks and sugar together until creamy.  In a third bowl, whip the egg whites to soft peaks.
 
Fold the flour mix into the yolks and sugar, and add the melted butter and lemon juice.  Blend well.  Gently fold in the egg whites until full incorporated.  Portion the cake mix among the ramekins.  Gently push a piece of the chocolate into the center of the batter in each ramekin.  Cook for 15 minutes.
 
    Again, these should be served warm, and with freshly whipped cream.  I always add a little confectioner's sugar and vanilla extract to heavy cream before whipping - - in this instance, though, you could add some lemon extract.  If you needed another flavor with this dessert, or another color for the place, you could put a little raspberry puree, or melba sauce, on the plate, and put the cake in the sauce.
 
    Chocolate, but slightly different.  It will melt during the cooking, and will ooze out when your fork opens the sponge-like cake.  Nice flavors, and with that little surprise inside.  I think your guests will be impressed, and you'll never have to tell them how easy it was to make.  Enjoy!
 
The next chocolate recipe will be a flourless cake that is nonetheless light and oh so good with ice cream.  Check back soon for that one.