This flourless molten chocolate lava cake is served up with a twist. A side of kumquat sauce makes a nice addition to to gooey melty warm chocolate cake.
A few weeks ago, I made molten chocolate lava cakes. As I pulled the last two out of the freezer, I was feeling a little guilty. I confess. I ate them secretly and out of sight from my now gluten free husband. So I decided to make more. This time gluten free. Why not? After all, I did have some leftover ganache from my mini coconut pies and shouldn't S get to have some chocolate cake too?

If you're celebrating passover next week then you'll love these gluten free cakes as well. So there you have it, my perfect excuses to make more chocolate lava cakes this week.

A professional from a culinary institute once said to me that the molten chocolate lava cake is one of the most overdone desserts on a menu. Can you blame the restaurant chefs? Who can resist it? (Not me! Especially when it's warm and paired with cold vanilla ice cream.)

Well, anyways just to be a little different, I've skipped the ice cream and paired mine with a kumquat sauce.

If you've never had kumquats before, you should give them a taste. They are the only citrus you can eat with the peel. The skin is actually the sweeter part while the inside is tart.

Pop one into your mouth and you get one unique sweet and sour taste. I thought it would go well with the chocolate cake since the cake would tame the sourness and the kumquat would cut the sweetness.

If you're like me and love the combination of dark chocolate and orange, you'll love this kumquat sauce. If not, you can always eat it with ice cream or your favorite berries!

And speaking of dark chocolate and orange, if you are a fan you definitely need to check out my dark chocolate and orange tart.

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Flourless Molten Lava Cakes With Kumquat Sauce

Yield: 12 mini cakes

Prep Time: 35 minutes

Cook Time: 20 minutes

Total Time: 55 minutes

This flourless molten chocolate lava cake is served up with a twist. A side of kumquat sauce makes a nice addition to to gooey melty warm chocolate cake.

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Ingredients

For the cakes:

• 5 oz bittersweet chocolate, chopped
• 5 oz heavy cream
• ¼ cup unsalted butter
• 6 oz bittersweet chocolate
• ½ cup plus 1Tbs almond meal
• 4 eggs, separated
• pinch salt
• ¾ cup sugar

For the kumquat sauce:

• 5 oz kumquats, about 25-30
• 6 Tbs sugar
• 1 ½ cup water
• 1 cinnamon stick
• 1 vanilla pod

Instructions

For the cakes:

1. Heat the cream to just a boil and pour it over the 5 oz of chopped chocolate in a bowl. Gently stir with a whisk until the ganache comes together. Place mixture in the refrigerator to cool. Once it becomes thicker, place the mixture in a piping bag and pipe out small mounds on wax paper. These will be the molten centers of your cake so size them according to your mold size. Refrigerate until ready to use.
2. Preheat the oven to 350°F. Lightly butter 12 mini cake molds and dust with cocoa powder. 
3. Melt the butter and chocolate together in a double boiler. Let it cool to room temperature and mix in the almond flour and egg yolks. 
4. In an electric mixer, begin whipping the egg whites at medium speed. Add the salt and then gradually add the sugar. Continue to whip the egg whites until they form soft peaks. 
5. Fold the egg whites into the chocolate mixture in three additions. Fill each mold with the batter to ¾ full. Gently push a ganache mound into the center of each cake.
6.  Bake the cakes for 10-12 minutes. *Cool slightly, unmold and serve warm.

For the kumquat sauce:

1. Quarter and remove seeds from the kumquats. Combine the kumquats and the remaining ingredients in a saucepan and simmer for 20 minutes or until the kumquats are soft.

Notes

*These cakes can also be cooled completely, unmolded, and stored in the refrigerated. Warm them slightly before serving to melt the ganache center.

Nutrition Information:

Yield: 12 Serving Size: 1 mini cake
Amount Per Serving: Calories: 353Total Fat: 24gSaturated Fat: 14gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 8gCholesterol: 87mgSodium: 47mgCarbohydrates: 29gFiber: 5gSugar: 21gProtein: 7g

This nutrition information is only an approximate provided for convenience and as a courtesy only. Information comes from Nutritionix, an automated nutrition calculator.

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