Let's start with a recipe from Kraft Foods. This is quick easy and delicious! It can be made the day ahead and only takes 14-15 minutes to bake.
Dark Molten Chocolate Cakes
1 pkg. (6 squares) BAKER'S Bittersweet Chocolate
10 Tbsp. butter
1-1/2 cups plus 1 Tbsp. powdered sugar, divided
1/2 cup flour
3 whole eggs
3 egg yolks
raspberries, if desired, for garnish
PREHEAT oven to 425 degrees F. GREASE 6 (6-oz.) custard cups or souffle dishes. Place on baking sheet. MICROWAVE chocolate and butter in large microwaveable bowl on MEDIUM (50%) 2 min. or until butter is melted. Stir with whisk until chocolate is completely melted. Add 1-1/2 cups sugar and flour; mix well. Add whole eggs and egg yolks; beat until well blended. Pour into prepared cups. BAKE 14 to 15 min. or until cakes are firm around the edges but still soft in the centers. Let stand 1 min. Run small knife around cakes to loosen; carefully unmold onto dessert plates. Cut in half. Serve warm topped with remaining sugar. Garnish with berries.
Now you didn't think I'd just leave you with that did you? Who doesn't like brownies?
Brownie Surprise
1 package family size brownie mix, prepared as directed
1 bag Reeses peanut butter cup minis
Follow the directions on the mix to prepare the brownies, preheating the oven as directed. Grab a mini muffin tray. Fill each cup about half full. Place a peanut butter cup in the center of each brownie. Top with remaining mix. Bake as directed on mix. Wonderful. You can have fun with this and place almost any mini size candy in the middle. Experiment!
Finally, my personal favorite, Creme Brulee! Don't be afraid of this recipe it's not as difficult as it may appear. The recipe is very detailed for those who may not be a food network junkie!
Creme Brulee
2 cups heavy cream
1/2 tsp. vanilla extract
8 large egg yolks
1/2 cup sugar
Pour the sugar into the egg yolks. Beat yolks until smooth. Heat the heavy cream until almost simmering (you can bring to a simmer and let it cool a minute). Add heavy cream to the egg yolks one tablespoon at a time while stirring vigorously. This will temper the eggs so as to not curdle them (or make scrambled eggs) when exposed to the heat of the heavy cream. When about 1/4 cup of heavy cream has been integrated into the yolks, pour the yolks into the heavy cream and mix until smooth. Now, using a fine mesh sieve, strain the custard mixture to remove any small clumps that may remain in the mixture. This step will help ensure a silky texture to the custard. Blend in the vanilla extract after the mixture has been strained. Pour the mixture into six to eight ramekins depending on size. (Makes a little more than eight four-ounce creme brulees.)I filled six four-ounce ramekins and two six ounce ramekins (the six-ouncers were not full).Place the ramekins in a baking pan. Pour boiling water into the pan (be careful not to get water into the ramekins), so that the water level is halfway up the sides of the ramekins. Cooking the custards in a water bath will provide a low even temperature for the custards to cook evenly and set properly. Place in an oven preheated to 250°F for about one hour. After an hour, check to see if the custards are done. We want them to be set on the outside edge, but jiggly (like jello) at the center. The easiest way to do this is to take a pair of tongs with food grade rubber bands wrapped around the ends to help grip the ramekins. Pick up a ramekin and shake to see if the centers jiggle. If only the center jiggles a little, it's done. If the whole thing is set, remove immediately - it'll be a little over done, but still delicious. If it's not done, just put it back in the water bath and check again in ten minutes. Once the custards are done, let them cool on a cooling rack to room temperature. This will let the custards finish cooking the centers on their own. Wrap the custards in their ramekins in plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least eight hours before serving.
About an hour before serving, remove the plastic wrap from each ramekin and use a paper towel to gently soak up any moisture that may have extruded from the custard tops. Pour about a teaspoon of turbinado ("sugar in the raw") sugar in the middle of each custard. Tilt the ramekin and gently shake to let gravity move the sugar around until the top surface of the custard is covered evenly with turbinado sugar. Using a kitchen butane torch, propane blow torch, or welding torch (whatever strong open flame you've got lying around), heat the sugar until it bubbles and changes color. With a small butane torch, I take my time and don't move from one side of the creme brulee to the other until the spot I've been working on has achieved the brown color that I want. This takes a little over a minute for each creme brulee. (The process is faster with a larger torch.) Don't worry about heating up the custard underneath, we'll refrigerate the creme brulee for a bit before serving. Do worry about lighting your kitchen counter on fire. I usually place the ramekin on a piece of aluminum foil placed over a cooling rack. NOTE: If you do not have a kitchen torch, just place under the broiler for a few minutes and sugar will carmelize on top. Be sure to watch carefully! Enjoy!
