Feb 05, 2012
V-day has a few remarkable effects on society.
The first is causing the male half of hetero relationships to wander wide-eyed around lingerie stores*, awkwardly picking up bits of lace and string and thinking bloody hard about what size to buy because if they choose a large and his wife’s a medium there will be hell to pay.
*Note that this phenomenon takes place only once they’ve realized halfway through the 14th why they’ve been getting the stink eye – cold shoulder combo all day.
The second effect is making the single people exactly ten thousand times more likely to consume inordinate amounts of haagen dazs whilst binging on rom-coms and subsequently sobbing into their bubble bath.
The third effect is the widespread uncontrollable urge to make a thrillingly over-the-top chocolate dessert. I quite like this effect.
My contribution to societal chocolate titillation is this: fudgy cake topped with vibrant raspberries. Dessert at its sexiest.
First, you pack fresh (or thawed from frozen) raspberries into individual ramekins, and top them with a rich chocolate batter.
Then you bake them. This is where the magic happens. The raspberries and brown sugar melt into a luscious raspberry sauce that tops the cakes when turned over.
Serve warm. With a pile of softly whopped cream.
Is just me or is it gettin’ kinda hot in here tugs collar…
Chocolate Raspberry Upside-Down Cakes
Serve warm, with whipped cream or softened vanilla ice cream. Yields four individual cakes.
2 oz semisweet chocolate, chopped (or 1/3 cup chocolate chips) 1/4 cup butter, softened, plus more for buttering dishes 2/3 cup brown sugar, plus 6 teaspoons 3 cups frozen raspberries 2 egg yolks 1/2 tsp vanilla extract 2/3 cup flour 1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder 1/4 tsp baking soda 1/4 tsp salt 2/3 cup buttermilk
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Place chocolate in a glass measuring cup and microwave on 50% power for 1 minute. Stir, and continue in 30 second intervals until chocolate is half melted. Stir to melt fully. Set aside to cool.
- Generously butter four 1-cup ramekins and set on a rimmed baking sheet. Sprinkle 2 teaspoons of brown sugar in the bottom of each. Divide raspberries among dishes (about 3/4 cup raspberries per ramekin). Set aside.
- Using an electric mixer, beat together butter and remaining brown sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in egg yolks, then vanilla extract and cooled chocolate. In a separate bowl, combine flour, cocoa powder, baking soda and salt. With the mixer speed on low, add 1/3 of the dry ingredients to the butter mixture, beating to combine. Beat in 1/2 of the buttermilk, then repeat, ending with the last 1/3 of the dry ingredients. Increase mixer speed and beat 2 minutes more.
- Divide batter equally among ramekins, smoothing the tops with a spatula. Bake about 25 minutes, until toothpick inserted comes out clean or with just a few moist crumbs. Transfer ramekins to a wire rack to cool at least 20 minutes before serving. To serve, position a plate on top of the ramekin and use both hands to flip it over. Place it upside-down on a sturdy surface and knock the bottom a few times until you feel the cake release onto the plate. Replace any raspberries that were dislodged.
