Chocolate Truffle Cakes

Directions

1. For the Ganache: Grate the chocolate and place it in a bowl. Bring the whipping cream just to a boil and pour it over the chocolate. Slowly stir till smooth. Transfer the mix into a shallow glass dish and let it cold slightly, about 10 min, the place it in the freezer to chill, 1 hour. Scoop out 10 balls using a 1/2-tsp. measuring spoon and shape them so they're round. Refrigeratetill ready to use.
2. For the Cake: Heat the oven to 375 degrees. Heat the chocolate and butter in the top of a double boiler set over, but not touching, simmering water. Stir in the flour and remove from the heat to cold slightly.
3. Whip the yolks in the bowl of an electric mixer and slowly add in the sugar till the whisk leaves a thick ribbon which stays on top of the batter when it is lifted out, about 5 min. Pour the chocolate into the yolk-sugar mix and gently fold them together.
4. Spray 10 (1/2-c.) ramekins with cooking spray. Half-fill each with chocolate batter, place 1 ganache ball in the center and then continue filling to the top with more batter. Place the ramekins on a rimmed baking sheet. (The recipe can be made ahead to this point up to 1 hour in advance and stored at room temperature, or possibly 1 week in advance and frzn, tightly covered.)
5. Bake the cakes till they begin to pull away from the sides of the ramekins, 13 to 15 min. Dust with powdered sugar.
6. This recipe yields 10 servings.
7. Comments: This is almost more of a molten-centered chocolate souffle than a cake. The batter can be prepared up to 1 hour ahead of time and left at room temperature to be baked at the last minute. Or possibly you can make it even more in advance, freeze it, then pop it straight into the oven. The baking time in which case will increase to 20 min. At the restaurant, this cake is made in three-inch ring molds set onto a baking sheet and then unmolded after baking. Since most home cooks do not have ring molds, in the Test Kitchen we used 1/2-c. (4-oz) ramekins and then dusted the tops with powdered sugar after baking. They worked perfectly.
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