Molten-Chocolate-Centered Chocolate Cakes

This recipe comes from Bill Granger's cook book, Bills Open Kitchen. Being that he's Australian (let me give a shout out to all of my Aussie and Kiwi friends down under!), he calls it a "soft-centred chocolate pudding." Being that I am just an uncivilized-American, my idea of pudding is entirely different.

This is a simple recipe that's sure to win over the hearts of chocolate lovers on every continent!

Ingredients

7 oz good quality, dairy-free, dark chocolate
7 Tbs of non-dairy, non-hydrogenated, vegan butter
3 eggs, lightly beaten
1/2 cup sugar
2 Tbs all-purpose flour

Directions
Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.

Place chocolate and butter in a double boiler and stir until just melted. Or you can use a heatproof bowl over a saucepan of simmering water, making sure that the bowl does not touch the water. (Bill says, "The most important thing to remember when melting chocolate is not to overheat it. If the temperature is too high, your chocolate will end up with a grainy texture.")

In a bowl, mix the eggs, sugar, and flour. Gradually mix the egg mixture into the melted chocolate. Pour the mixture into four oven proof ramekins and place on a baking sheet. The recipe calls for 1-cup ramekins, but mine were closer to 1/2-cup size but the worked fine.

Bake until the edges are set, and the top is dry and cracked, about 15 minutes. Serve warm.

Side note: When I made the recipe, I used half 70-percent dark chocolate and half 85-percent dark chocolate. Wow, was it chocolaty, but not overly sweet.

Green Chile Jam

Like any good New Mexican, I can eat green chile on almost anything. Green chile is in my blood. I have frozen green chile in my freezer at all times, and when I run out it's time for a trip back to the Land of Enchantment. Although thanks to Chuy's Restaurant and Central Market, we now get Hatch green chile here in Texas too!

I've tried jalapeno jelly and chipotle jam. Why not green chile jam? So I picked up a packet of fruit pectin for making freezer jam.

I modified the recipe on the package a little, so as to not kill anyone with the spicy green chile. I think it's a delicious combination of sweet and spicy, and it certainly has a kick. I eat it on toast, crackers, biscuits, almost anything... and even sometimes by the spoon. However, most of my friends prefer to cut the spicy burn with something. For example, pour it over (non-dairy) cream cheese to use as a dip with crackers. Or use it as a relish on the side with meat.

Green Chile Jam
1 1/2 cups roasted, peeled and diced green chile (or you can use frozen), mild or hot depending on your preference
1 1/2 cups cucumber, peeled, seeded and diced (you can add more or less cucumber depending on how hot the green chile is)
1 cup water
1 1/2 cups sugar
1 package freezer jam fruit pectin (enough for four cups of fruit)

The directions on the package say to mix it all together and pour it into jars. I placed my jars in the refrigerator rather than the freezer and it set up ok.

So while most people would never think of green chile and dessert, to my green-chile-addicted-New-Mexican friends this one is for you!