Of Dinner Parties and Warm Chocolate

It's cold today. It's cold in South Africa and my colleagues at work informed me that it snowed here...yes snowed...last week before my arrival. I was seriously looking forward to some warmer weather. June in New York felt like one April shower after another. My hands, feet and nose are cold and I can't seem to keep them warm...since we have no heat, I improvised and turned on the oven. A wonderful excuse to bake something!

My husband and I had a long distance relationship for three years. I was living in small studio New York and he was living in Boston. One of the things I loved about going to Boston (aside from seeing him) was access to a large kitchen. We used to throw these 'dinner parties' - I use the term loosely because they were casual nights filled with friends sitting on couches eating whatever we served them and in no particular order. K would be in charge of the savory - instructing me around the kitchen like his own personal sous chef and I would be in charge of the sweet.

One of my favorite, no fuss dinner party desserts is 'Chocohotopots' aka Molten Chocolate Cake from Nigella Lawson. I love warm, oozing and bubbly desserts served with cold, fresh ice cream. I've tried a number of variations - sometimes adding orange zest, flavored liquors, or mint but always served with vanilla bean ice cream or freshly whipped maple cream.

Chocohotopots
Adapted from Nigella Lawson

1 stick + 1 tbsp unsalted butter
4 oz semisweet chocolate
2 eggs
3/4 cup sugar
1 tbsp orange zest
3 tbsp all purpose flour

preheat oven to 400F
butter 4 ramekins with 1 tbsp butter

Either in a microwave or in a bowl suspended over a pan over simmering water, melt the dark chocolate and 1 stick butter, then set aside to cool a little.

In another bowl, mix the eggs with the sugar and flour with a hand whisk and beat in the cooled butter and chocolate mixture. Fold in the orange zest. Divide the mixture between the 4 buttered ramekins. Bake for about 20 minutes, by which time the tops will be cooked and cracked and the chocolate gooey underneath.