Rev: Molten Chocolate Cakes w/Pistachio Cream, 10/02

[JHolcomb]

Made these for dessert tonight. They were ok, but I think they needed some changes to be considered good. Mine didn't get done enough---at 9 minutes in a 450 degree oven they were burnt on the top and far too "molten". They plopped onto the plate more like a pudding cake---a thin layer of cake on the top with batter underneath. Also, the flavor of pistachio cream, which was good on its own, was completely overpowered by that of the chocolate. It was pretty pointless, IMHO. The flavor of the cake itself was good, I just think it could be better. Personally, I think the Bittersweet Chocolate Souffles (jan/feb 02 maybe) are much better and easier to get right!

[valchemist]

Finally a review on these! I had been waiting to hear how they were. Thenks! Has anyone else tried them?

[foodfiend]

Thanks for the review. I thought I might make these for a special dinner (i.e. date situation), but they seem sophisticated. But if they're not tasty, then I won't bother.

[JHolcomb]

Originally posted by foodfiend
Thanks for the review. I thought I might make these for a special dinner (i.e. date situation), but they seem sophisticated. But if they're not tasty, then I won't bother.

They are tasty, I just think they need a little more work ;). Oh, one plus--they are pretty easy to make for something that seems pretty sophisto. Personally, I would experiment with oven temp and cooking time before I served these to company.

[cherylopal]

i just had these at a dinner party sat night and it was very goooood! :) never knew she did cooking light! she did add more pistachios to the sauce.
cheryl

[Laurielee]

I made these for a dinner party and the everyone really liked them. They were actually overcooked just a bit. I did not like the cream sauce at all but the cake itself was yummy Everyone else thought the sauce was mild tasting and liked it Also the sauce came out pea green. Very unappitizing looking. The picture shows a preety caramel color. I dont know how they arrived at that color when they also show the pistachio butter and the next page the same green color.

[lkarnold]

Laurielee - I got the pea green sauce, too. My husband called it baby poop green. I'm not a great cook, so I was sure I did something wrong, but feel better that I wasn't the only one.

My husband thought they were too eggy, said they tasted like chocolate scrambled eggs. I thought they were good, but they didn't look like the picture, almost like they were cooked too long, but I thought they tasted OK.

I doubt I'll make them again, since my husband was unimpressed.

- Lisa

[Pico]

Darn. I was really intrigued by these guys last fall and was considering making them for an upcoming occasion... Disappointed to see these lackluster reviews! On the other hand, I'm glad I didn't discover the pea green sauce on my own. ;)

['lil cooker]

I made these tonight and wasn't too impressed. I was enticed by the beautiful photo in The Best of Cooking Light 4.

First, after grinding up 1 c. of pistachios in my mini Cuisinart, I had 1 cup of pistachio paste!! The recipe gives instructions for using a total of 1/2 cup. Perhaps I should have used the heavy-duty machine to make my butter!

I did not have trouble with these setting, probably since I had an extra 1/4 cup of pistachio butter in the batter.

The family gobbled them up, but I just didn't think this was that special, so didn't finish mine. The pistachio sauce was pretty good - maybe I'll serve it over leftover sour cream pound cake in the freezer.

I agree, the Bittersweet Chocolate Souffles from 2003 are much better!

[LaurenP]

Could some one post the Bittersweet chocolate soufles 2003, I/ve been wanting to try a molten dessert. TIA

[Kuvy]

Yes, me too, please!!:D

['lil cooker]

Bittersweet Chocolate Souffles




INGREDIENTS:
Cooking spray
2 tablespoons granulated sugar
3/4 cup granulated sugar, divided
1/2 cup Dutch process cocoa
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1/8 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup 1% low-fat milk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 large egg yolks
4 large egg whites
1/8 teaspoon cream of tartar
3 ounces bittersweet chocolate, finely chopped
1 tablespoon powdered sugar


INSTRUCTIONS:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Coat 8 (4-ounce) ramekins with cooking spray, and sprinkle with 2 tablespoons granulated sugar.

Combine 1/2 cup granulated sugar, cocoa, flour, and salt in a small saucepan. Gradually add milk, stirring with a whisk until blended. Bring to a boil over medium heat; cook until thick (about 3 minutes), stirring constantly. Remove from heat; let stand 3 minutes. Gradually stir in vanilla and egg yolks. Spoon chocolate mixture into a large bowl; cool.

Place egg whites in a large bowl; beat with a mixer at high speed until foamy. Gradually add 1/4 cup granulated sugar and cream of tartar, beating mixture until stiff peaks form. Gently stir one-fourth of egg white mixture into chocolate mixture; gently fold in remaining egg white mixture and the chopped chocolate. Spoon into prepared ramekins.

Bake at 350 degrees for 15 minutes or until puffy and set. Sprinkle with powdered sugar.



NUTRITIONAL INFO:
calories: 206 carbohydrates: 34.1 g cholesterol: 55 mg fat: 5.5 g sodium: 75 mg protein: 5.2 g calcium: 33 mg iron: 1 mg fiber: 2.3 g

YIELD:
8 servings


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['lil cooker]

Tip that works GREAT - I don't have Mastercook, but many of the CL recipes are on the homepage. Just type in keyword(s) from recipe, and it MAY come up IF it's in their database. This one was in there, along with some other reviews.

[Pico]

Mmm, those souffles sound great, but does anyone have a more "molten" chocolate dessert? Something along the lines of the pistachio things, only tastier? :)

[JennieL]

I've made the moulton cakes several times. I love the cake, but am not crazy about the sauce. It was too sweet for the already sweet cake. I would rather have a raspberry sauce. I've had good luck with the cooking lite souffles (I think one was called Chocolate Truffle Souffle?, but they are not liquidy like the moulton lave cake.:)

[JennieL]

Here's a link to lava cakes on epicurious.com (Hopefully the link will work) Has anyone tried either of these?


Epicurious lava cakes (http://www.epicurious.com/s97is.vts?action=filtersearch&filter=recipe-filter.hts&collection=Recipes&ResultTemplate=recipe-results.hts&keyword=lava&queryType=and)

[sherri]

Here is a link to the foodtv.com recipe for molten chocolate cake. I haven't tried it, but it sounds good!
http://www.foodnetwork.com/food/recipes/recipe/0,,FOOD_9936_22261,00.html

[Svadhisthana]

Here is another recipe. Chocolate Lava Muffins from Good Eats: http://www.foodnetwork.com/food/recipes/recipe/0,,FOOD_9936_21729,00.html

I've made these and they are both easy and very good. He serves his with melted vanilla ice cream as the sauce. I skipped that step and they were still yummy.


Crystal

[LaurenP]

I made the epicurious Chocolate Espresso Lava cakes with espresso whipped cream (minus the whipped cream - it was a trial run)

I did't have the ramkins co I used a muffin tin and didn't butter the tins. Some poped right out, others stuck. Some where molton some not. ALL where delicious!!! I'm goiing to give them another try Oct 18 for a small dinner party. I'll up date then.