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Things started out perfectly.
I first saw these molten chocolate peanut butter cakes on Food and Wine and couldn’t resist trying them, even though I’d never made a molten cake or soufflé before.
Are these really like a soufflé? I’m not sure. They both use ramekins, and I like to believe I’m brave enough to tackle a soufflé. So I dove in with confidence.
Then things got strange: the butter I bought seemed to vanish from my fridge. I truly had it over the weekend, and then poof — it was gone. I have no idea where it went, but it certainly wasn’t in the refrigerator when I needed it.
Despite the missing butter, I pressed on. The idea of mini chocolate cakes with gooey peanut butter sounded heavenly. And because they’re small, it’s perfectly acceptable to have more than one — chocolate plus peanut butter plus multiples equals pure joy.
I assembled the batter with a few adjustments of my own, mostly using less butter than the original recipe called for. Spoiler: that wasn’t my best idea.
Who uses less butter for a molten cake? Apparently I do. In my defense, I tried to compensate by reducing flour, sugar, and eggs as well — in short, I barely followed the recipe and mostly made it up as I went along.
The cakes smelled amazing while they baked. I couldn’t resist peeking into the oven several times because I wasn’t sure how to judge doneness. The recipe mentioned cracked outsides and a jiggly middle, but my cakes stayed jiggly the whole time and still looked underdone.
Here’s what I ended up with: a crusty top and a spongy interior, but not the molten peanut butter center I’d hoped for. Clearly some of the timing and ingredient adjustments worked against me.
I probably baked them a touch too long, and not using enough butter certainly changed the texture. Still, what’s a baker to do?
Eat them, of course. I couldn’t let them go to waste. Even imperfect, they were delicious — chocolatey and satisfying, if not exactly lava-filled.
So if you ever need someone to sample a baking experiment that didn’t go to plan, I’m available. I can’t stand to see a good dessert wasted.
If you want the original recipe, it’s from Food and Wine — and I’m sure it will work beautifully, provided you have enough butter on hand.