Mini Molten Chocolate Cakes with Toasted Marshmallow Milk Stout Caramel Centers

By Kaitlin Hill

If you are celebrating someone special in your life this Valentine’s Day, there is no better way to show your love than with chocolate and beer. My Mini Molten Chocolate Cakes with Toasted Marshmallow Milk Stout Caramel Centers combine rich chocolate cake with the creamy marshmallow flavor of Toasted Marshmallow Milk Stout Caramel for a dessert that is truly decadent. This recipe can even be made a day in advance and baked off just in time for dessert. Topping the cakes with whipped cream and raspberries dresses them up and balances the richness, resulting in a truly memorable treat.

Ingredients:

For the Toasted Marshmallow Milk Stout Caramel:

1/2 cup of granulated sugar

2 tablespoons of Toasted Marshmallow Milk Stout

1 teaspoon of honey

1/2 cup of heavy cream, at room temperature

1/2 tablespoon of unsalted butter

Pinch of salt

For the chocolate cake batter:

2/3 cup of unsalted butter, cut into cubes

4 ounces of bittersweet chocolate, chopped

1/4 teaspoon of salt

1/4 teaspoon of instant coffee powder

4 eggs, at room temperature

2/3 cup of sugar

1/2 cup of flour

Optional Garnish:

Whipped cream

Raspberries

Grease six 6-ounce ramekins with butter and place a small circle of parchment paper in the bottom of each ramekin. Butter the parchment paper and set the ramekins aside. 

To make the caramel, place a small saucepan over medium heat and add the sugar, Toasted Marshmallow Milk Stout, and honey. Don’t stir but swirl the pan to coat the sugar in the beer. Cook over medium heat, without stirring, until the sugar is dissolved. Continue cooking until the color of the mixture deepens to a light amber.

Turn the heat to low and add the cream and butter. Using a spatula, stir to combine. Be careful the mixture will bubble up.

Turn the heat back to medium and continue to cook for 3 – 5 minutes until the mixture thickens slightly. Stir in the pinch of salt.

Pour the caramel into a heatproof dish and transfer to the refrigerator to chill and thicken for 30 minutes.

To make the cake, place the butter, bittersweet chocolate, salt, and instant coffee powder in a heatproof bowl.

Melt the mixture over a double boiler or in the microwave in 30-second increments, until the chocolate and butter are completely melted. Stir to combine into a smooth consistency. Set the chocolate aside to cool while you prepare the other ingredients.

Place the eggs and sugar in a large bowl and, using a hand or stand mixer, beat for 5 – 7 minutes on high power until the mixture is pale in color and thick enough to fall back on itself in ribbons when lifted with a spoon.

Using a spatula, gently fold in the flour until no dry pockets remain.

Follow the flour with the cooled chocolate mixture and fold gently being careful not to deflate the batter. Continue folding the chocolate in until there are no streaks of chocolate or egg left and the batter is completely homogeneous.

Fill the prepared ramekins two-thirds of the way full with the chocolate cake batter. Place a heaping teaspoon of caramel into the center of each ramekin.

Cover the caramel with more cake batter, filling the ramekins nearly to the top.

When ready to bake, preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Place the ramekins in the preheated oven and bake for 15 minutes until the tops are just set but a little wobbly.

After 15 minutes, remove the ramekins from the oven and let sit for five minutes. After five minutes, turn the cakes onto serving plates. If the cakes are reluctant to come out, carefully run a butter knife around the edge. Top with whipped cream and raspberries, serve warm and enjoy!