Every Valentines Day we make dinner together at home and I wanted to make something special this year for our daughter because she is such a picky eater. However, like her mother, she never says no to chocolate. This is such a quick and easy dessert that is sure to impress any Valentine! They can even be assembled ahead of time and then you just pop them in the oven while you are eating dinner. Serve them warm with vanilla ice cream or with this festive strawberry sauce.

Ingredients

For the Cake:

four 6-ounce ramekins (preferably heart shaped if for Valentines Day!)
1 stick unsalted butter
3 ounces good quality bittersweet chocolate
3 ounces good quality semisweet chocolate
2 eggs
2 egg yolks
1/4 cup sugar
Pinch of salt
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour

For the Strawberry Sauce

1 (12-ounce) bag frozen strawberries, thawed
1/3 cup powdered sugar
1 teaspoon fresh lemon juice

Directions

Preheat the oven to 450°. Butter and lightly flour four 6-ounce ramekins. Tap out the excess flour. Set the ramekins on a baking sheet.

In a double boiler, over simmering water, melt the butter with the chocolate. In a medium bowl, beat the eggs with the egg yolks, sugar and salt at high speed until thickened and pale.

Whisk the chocolate until smooth. Quickly fold it into the egg mixture along with the flour. Spoon the batter into the prepared ramekins and bake for 12 minutes, or until the sides of the cakes are firm but the centers are soft. Let the cakes cool in the ramekins for 1 minute, then cover each with an inverted dessert plate. Carefully turn each one over, let stand for 10 seconds and then unmold. Serve immediately.

Strawberry Sauce:

Put the strawberries, sugar and lemon juice in a large bowl and blend with an immersion blender until smooth. You can also place all the ingredients into a blender and blend until smooth.

Make Ahead

The batter can be refrigerated for several hours. Bring to room temperature before baking.