A couple of interesting things happened with this recipe.
First off, I didn’t think it would turn out. Like, at all. I’m not sure why I had such little faith in myself, but I didn’t think it would turn out.
But it did. And it was delicious.
Secondly, this is one of those recipes that actually came from an ad from a magazine, and I’m always torn as to whether they count as magazine recipes. (Obviously, I have decided on at least two occasions that they do, in fact, count.)
Lastly, this was a recipe that I decided to make (despite having already decided it would fail) almost solely because I already had one of the weird ingredients it called for. Kind of. This particular ad was for McCormick spices, and it called for something called Saigon Cinnamon. I knew I had (delicious) Penzey’s Vietnamese Cinnamon in my spice cabinet, and after a quick Google search to confirm that the former Saigon was, in fact, in Vietnam (it was), I decided that coincidence was too great, and that I had to make this, despite the fact that it would likely fail. (But you already know how that particular story ends.)
This recipe is actually surprisingly easy, so give it a try and impress your dinner guests. Or a date. Or your cat.
(Don’t give your cat chocolate, please.)
Molten Spiced Chocolate Cabernet Cakes
Makes 4 cakes
Recipe from McCormick
Ingredients
4 oz. semi-sweet baking chocolate
1 stick butter
1 Tbsp. Cabernet Sauvignon
1 tsp. vanilla extract
1 cup powdered sugar
2 eggs
1 egg yolk
6 Tbsp. flour
1/4 tsp. Saigon (or Vietnamese) cinnamon
1/4 tsp. ground ginger
Preheat oven to 425 degrees F and butter 4 6-oz. ramekins.
Microwave chocolate and butter in a large microwavable bowl for 1 minute. Whisk the butter and chocolate together until smooth.
Whisk in the wine, vanilla, and sugar until well-blended. Add eggs and egg yolk and mix. Add flour and spices and whisk until combined. Pour batter into ramekins and place ramekins on a baking sheet.
Bake 13 to 15 minutes until sides are firm, but centers are soft. Remove from oven and let stand one minute. Loosen the edges with a butter knife, then invert each ramekin onto a serving plate. Sprinkle with additional powdered sugar and serve immediately.
