Chocolatey gooey goodness

Attention all chocolate lovers who like very simple, easy recipes: This is the recipe for you!

While the picture may look intimidating, it's really a piece a cake. Literally, it's a piece of cake. Get it? Ha. Ok, moving on.

When I would flip through Martha's cookbook, I always passed this sucker because I didn't want to pipe in liquid chocolate to cupcakes - it seemed too difficult. But when my chocolate-addicted boyfriend instantly started drooling when he saw the recipe, I decided we could give it a shot. Turns out, you don't need to pipe in anything - just take it out of the oven before it's fully cooked. So it's a good thing I did try it because they are AWESOME! Even reheated the next day.

Now I'm craving chocolate.

Molten Chocolate Cake

Ingredients

4 tablespoons unsalted butter, room temperature, plus more for muffin tins
1/3 cup granulated sugar, plus more for muffin tins
3 large eggs
1/3 cup all-purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon salt
8 ounces bittersweet chocolate, melted (Erika's note: We added a bit more, close to 10 ounces)
Confectioners' sugar, for dusting
Whipped Cream, for serving (optional, I didn't have any so I put a dollop of ice cream on top)
Glass of milk (Erika's addition)

Directions

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Generously butter 6 cups of a standard muffin tin. Dust with granulated sugar, and tap out excess. Set aside.

In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream the butter and granulated sugar until fluffy. Add eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition. With the mixer on low speed, beat in flour and salt until just combined. Beat in chocolate until just combined. Divide batter evenly among prepared muffin cups.

Place muffin tin on a baking sheet; bake just until tops of the cakes no longer jiggle when the pan is lightly shaken, 8 to 10 minutes. Remove from oven; let stand 10 minutes.

To serve, turn out cakes, and place on serving plates, bottom sides up. Dust with confectioners' sugar, and serve with whipped cream, if desired.

pic via martha