individual molten orange chocolate cakes

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I had another thing planned for this evening’s post, but all musings about other topics were pushed aside when I saw this little bit of information on Facebook.

Chocolate cake day! CHOCOLATE CAKE DAY!? Of course I had to jump onto this holiday bandwagon (probably created by Betty Crocker).

(Don’t you just love social media?)

But first, let’s talk about cake. Cake and I have a tumultuous relationship.

I like cake perfectly fine, but when it comes to my choice of desserts, cake will never make the top of the list. Mostly because, you never know what you are going to get with cake.

Is it going to be a moist, creamy, chocolatey explosion? Or is it going to be a dry, crumbly, brown piece of cardboard?

What I do love about cake? Frosting. Bring me a bowl of frosting. I also love the batter. I’d much rather just lick the bowl than actually bake the cake. Flourless cakes also rock. Anything that resembles a brownie wins (brownie) points with me. Cupcakes are awesome (especially chocolate cupcakes, duh). They have a great cake to frosting ratio (the cake should really just be a vehicle for frosting consumption). Plus they are adorable.

But just cake? Eh. I could take it or leave it. For me to truly love cake, it has to be a masterpiece. Really, something special. Dry, flavorless, crumbly cakes need not apply. I want it to be so moist and thick that it feels like a cheesecake. And so chocolately that it tastes like the fudge we got in Michigan.

So I’m stuck in a hard place. Of course I want to make a chocolate cake to celebrate National Chocolate Cake Day! But I also desperately desire the right kind of cake.

So what is the solution to my quandary?

Baking a cake that has a flow of melted, orange-flavored chocolate cascading from the center.

That’ll do.

Now this is a cake I can really get behind.

These cakes are easy enough to make on a Thursday night after work, and still have time afterward to photograph, write a blog post, run three miles, take a shower, make dinner and head to a 9pm tipoff of a basketball game (just in case you have the same schedule I do tonight).

These cakes are decidedly rich and decadent. You could even use four small ramekins to make mini treats that would satisfy any chocolate craving.

Even though I’ll be watching basketball, I cannot guarantee my mind won’t day-dream about these cakes. And that’s saying a lot for me and cake.

Individual Molten Orange Chocolate Cakes

(Adapted from Martha Stewart)

Cocoa powder for dusting ramekins
2 ounces semisweet chocolate
1/4 cup butter
1 large egg
1 large egg yolk
1/8 c. sugar
1 tsp. flour
Zest of one orange

Preheat oven to 450°. Grease two, 4 ounce ramekins and dust with cocoa powder, set aside.

In a double boiler, heat chocolate and butter until melted. Meanwhile, combine egg, yolk, sugar and orange zest in an electric mixer and beat until light and thick (about the consistency of whipped cream). Slowly stir in chocolate mixture. Add flour and stir to incorporate. Split evenly between the ramekins, place on a baking sheet at bake for 7-10 minutes, or until edges are set and middle is soft. Let rest for 5 minutes, run butter knife along edge and invert on plate.

Makes two servings.