Baby Chocolate Oblivions

The last time I made this cake was for the base of our wedding cake over five years ago.  I can remember the heating and beating of 18 eggs in my super sized Kenwood the day before the wedding.  Great fun, but not as much fun as assembling the cake at 5.00am the morning of the wedding!

My approach this time was not as exacting as five years ago... after all, I wasn't trying to impress 128 people with my wifely baking skills!  It is quite a simple recipe - chocolate, butter, a touch of sugar with folded in warmed, beaten eggs, baked in a bain marie.  I think I lost the plot a little bit with Rose's instruction to cover the muffin pans with a baking tray.  I was thinking myself very clever as I put the lid on the baking dish... which after the 15 minute baking time, wasn't so clever as it resulted in baby cakes that didn't wobble in their middles.  Their middles were quite taut, without a wobble or a quiver in sight.  I wasn't too worried, as I know that even overcooked, Rose's cakes are more than edible!

I didn't use a silicone muffin pan, and weirdly, I didn't grease the massive muffin pan that I used instead.  I definitely must be on holiday - very laxidaisical baking.  And the proof was in the pudding.  I had to warm the pan to remove the cakes, and of course the pan held tight to some of the cake.  My little cakes were less than perfect looking.  And the overcooking made for a denser texture - not unpleasant, just less creamy smooth than I remember.  In hindsight, the texas muffin pan was a mistake.  I think a mini muffin pan or even the one that we used for the Barcelona bars would be a much better idea because these cakes are very very very rich.

These cakes were served up with a scoop of strawberry ice cream.  That ice cream was really needed to cut through the richness.  They were a bit too rich for the men in particular.  Those that were accustomed to eating chocolate (ahem) were able to finish off a half serve of those massive texas muffins, but only if paired with the strawberry ice cream.  There was alot of stomach holding and groaning after they were eaten, so maybe a quarter serve would have been ample.  As an aside, you will be relieved to know that the dog ate none of these little cakes - chocolate being a dog killer and all.