Falling Chocolate Cake with Raspberry Sauce

This is the dessert that built a thousand restaurant dessert menus in the 1990s and never got old, the original molten chocolate cake with a dramatic cracked top hiding a barely-set center that spills out when you break it open with a spoon. Twelve ounces of proper chocolate (not chips) melted with two sticks of butter is the foundation, and it’s worth using the best dark chocolate you can find because there’s nowhere for a lower-quality bar to hide.

Six eggs and only a half-cup of flour are what give this its signature texture, barely set middle with a cake-like ring around the edge.

The timing window is tight. Fifteen minutes in a 350°F (180°C) oven until the surfaces crack and the centers still tremble when you bump the pan. One minute too long and the center sets completely, turning a falling cake into just another chocolate cake.

Cool in the ramekins 5 to 10 minutes, which lets the edges firm up enough to turn out without collapsing. Run a thin knife around the edge before inverting onto warm plates.

Serve immediately with a scoop of vanilla ice cream and a pool of raspberry sauce, the whole point is the hot-cold-tart contrast.

Pro Tips

• Use room-temperature eggs, cold eggs can seize the melted chocolate
• Cool the chocolate mixture to room temperature before combining, hot chocolate cooks the eggs into scrambled bits
• These can be assembled in ramekins and refrigerated up to 24 hours ahead, just add 2 to 3 minutes of baking time from cold
• Serve immediately, the molten center sets quickly once plated

Variations

• Stir a tablespoon of espresso powder into the chocolate for deeper, darker flavor
• Add a splash of Grand Marnier or dark rum to the batter for a boozy lift
• Swap raspberry sauce for salted caramel for a different hot-cold contrast