By Heather Yeargan

These cakes are great for a holiday dinner party because they are delicious, impressive, and easy! They can also be made ahead and refrigerated or frozen until ready to bake. The recipe is also easy to double for a larger crowd.

Ingredients:
For the cakes:
~10 Tbsp unsalted butter. If all you have is salted butter, leave out the pinch of salt
~8 oz chocolate. I like half bitter and half semi-sweet, but you can adjust the chocolate to your taste. If you prefer a darker chocolate, use more bitter sweet. If you’re more a milk chocolate lover, use more semi-sweet.
~1 ½ C powdered sugar
~½ C AP flour
~3 egg yolks
~3 whole large eggs
~1 Tbsp vanilla
~Pinch of salt

For the Grand Mariner whipped cream:
~1 C heavy whipping cream
~¼ C sugar
~1 oz Grand Marnier
~Orange Zest from one orange for garnish

Directions:
Preheat your oven to 425. Butter 4 8oz ramekins. Melt butter and chocolate together over a double boiler, or carefully in the microwave, stirring every 30 seconds to ensure the chocolate doesn’t burn. In the same vessel, stir in the powdered sugar and flour, just until incorporated, then the rest of the cake ingredients. Stir until fully incorporated and divide between the 4 ramekins. At this point you can wrap them well and freeze then up to 6 weeks or refrigerate them for up to 3 days. If you freeze them, allow time to thaw them in the refrigerator prior to baking. Bake at 425 for 10 – 12 minutes if room temperature, or 12-14 minutes if cold. The goal is for a cooked outside and hot, molten center! In the meantime, add all of the whipped cream ingredients to a cold bowl and whip to desired consistency, soft to stiff peaks. When the cakes are done, place a heat resistant dessert plate over the ramekin and carefully flip the cakes onto the plate. Top with the whipped cream and sprinkle lightly with orange zest.

From the kitchen of Heather Yeargan, an avid cook and family gatherer.