Gluten Free Molten Lava Cake

Growing up I was never a chocolate girl (or a coffee girl, but that's a different story), but as I get older I've begun this ever growing appreciation for chocolate. From white, to milk, to dark, I do not discriminate.  My favorite? Milk. Nothing gets better than creamy, milky chocolate. It is definitely one of life's little pleasures.

My biggest gripe lately though has been the fact that chocolate usually comes attached to something I can't eat like cookies, or cakes, or graham crackers (mmm!), or ... well, you get the picture. As I now live with a major gluten allergy, I've had to be a little more creative in how I prepare my chocolate. Eating bars or chips of chocolate can only get you so far, and it's just not enough.

Today we splurged here at home and I made gluten-free molten lava cakes. Sounds fancy huh? But honestly, it's so incredibly easy and simple that they could be a daily luxury if you wanted them to be.

Ingredients:

4oz mini chocolate chips

4 tablespoons of butter (unsalted)

dash of vanilla extract

2 eggs

(recipe adapted and found on myglutenfreecookbook.blogspot.com)

Begin by melting the chocolate chips and butter together in a bowl. I just microwaved mine because I'm pretty lazy like that. Once melted, stir until smooth and creamy. Add in two egg YOLKS (keep egg whites for later), 2 tablespoons of sugar, and the vanilla extract to taste. Stir well. With the egg whites in another bowl, beat until soft peaks form and then add in the remaining 2 tablespoons of sugar. Continue to beat for another minute or so until all blended together. Next, combine the two bowls and stir together and then separate the chocolaty mixture into ramekins. I used two 5oz ramekins and two 3oz ramekins. Place the ramekins on a baking sheet, for easy transporting, and bake in a 375 degree, pre-heated oven for about 25 minutes. Let cool for a tad and enjoy! Oozy, gooey, chocolate goodness.

I topped mine with strawberries, fresh mint from my own garden (very proud of myself), and gluten-free Talenti chocolate chip ice cream. (Side note: I highly recommend the added ice cream. It combines with the chocolate cake for this semi-gooey, chocolaty, ice cream surprise) Amazing. Sat outside in the NY sun today and enjoyed. Tan + chocolate = a mini-vacation in my backyard.