Just about every restaurant around has a version of molten chocolate cake on the menu, and many claim to be the original, but the cake that Jean-Georges developed at Lafayette Restaurant in New York is the most delicious, the one with the greatest contrast in textures. It’s the only dessert that stays on the menu year-round at Jean Georges. (The photograph is pages 144–145.)

　　

Ingredients

serves 8 on it¿s own or 16 as part of fourplay

　　

For the Cake

18 tablespoons (255g) unsalted butter, cut into pieces

　　8 1/2 ounces (250g) bittersweet chocolate (preferably Guittard Quetzalcoatl 72% cacao), chopped

　　5 large egg yolks

　　5 large eggs

　　1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons (125g) sugar

　　1/3 cup plus 1 tablespoon (50g) all-purpose flour

　　

To Serve

Chocolate Sauce (page 268)

　　Chocolate Crumble (page 213)

　　Vanilla Bean Ice Cream (page 220)

　　Crystallized Vanilla (page 186; optional)

　　Confectioners’ sugar (optional)

　　

For the Cake

Step 1

Butter eight 4-ounce ramekins or sixteen 2-ounce molds and dust them lightly with flour. Set the ramekins on a baking sheet.

　　

Step 2

Put the butter and chocolate in a glass bowl and melt in the microwave, using 30-second bursts. Stir until smooth.

　　

Step 3

Put the egg yolks and eggs in the bowl of a standing mixer fitted with the whisk. Beat at medium speed until frothy. Pour in the sugar and increase the speed to medium-high. Continue to beat until the eggs have tripled in volume.

　　

Step 4

Scrape the butter and chocolate into the eggs. Beat until well mixed, scraping the bowl once or twice. Sift the flour over the batter and fold it in gently.

　　

Step 5

Put the batter in a pastry bag and pipe into the ramekins. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate until you’re ready to serve the dessert or for up to 8 hours.

　　

To Serve

Step 6

Take the cakes out of the refrigerator to bring them to room temperature. Heat the oven to 475°F or 450°F on convection.

　　

Step 7

Slide the baking sheet into the oven and bake the cakes until the sides and tops are set, about 4 minutes for small cakes or 6 to 7 minutes for large ones. The centers will still be very soft.

　　

Step 8

Invert the ramekins onto dessert plates. Leave for about 10 seconds, then lift off the ramekins. Spoon a little chocolate sauce around each cake. Make a small pile of chocolate crumble to the side, and top with a scoop of ice cream. Garnish the ice cream with crystallized vanilla and the cake with confectioners’ sugar, if you want. Serve immediately.

　　Reprinted with permission from Dessert Fourplay: Sweet Quartets from a Four-Star Pastry Chef by Johnny Iuzzini and Roy Finamore. Copyright © 2008 by Johnny Iuzzini and Roy Finamore. Published by Crown Publishing. All Rights Reserved.Johnny Iuzzini,, executive pastry chef of the world-renowned Jean Georges restaurant in New York City, won the award for Outstanding Pastry Chef from the James Beard Foundation in 2006. This is his first book.Roy Finamore, a publishing veteran of more than thirty years, has worked with many bestselling cookbook authors. He is the author of three books: One Potato, Two Potato; Tasty, which won a James Beard Foundation award; and Fish Without a Doubt.__