Winter-Spiced Molten Chocolate Cakes

I just had to have something chocolatey and dense today. What else is new, right? I was getting kind of sick of making hot chocolate. It just didn't taste the same anymore. So I decided to search for lava or molten chocolate cakes on epicurious and found a recipe I had made a few years ago: Winter-Spiced Molten Chocolate Cakes with Rum-Ginger Ice Cream. The title itself is enough to make your mouth water. Mmhmm. 

I didn't make the ice cream because that really would have been pushing it just to satisfy the craving of one person, namely myself, and I also decided to make just a half recipe (so 4 instead of 8 portions) to ensure no over-eating. I also left out the white pepper since I usually don't like pepper in my sweets. Although there are lots of ingredients in the cakes the recipe is really simple to make and the result is so delicious that any amount of work would have been worth it. 

Here's the recipe.

Makes 8

Ice Cream

1 pint vanilla ice cream, softened

2 tablesp. chopped crystallized ginger

1 tablesp. dark rum

Cakes

14 oz. bittersweet or semisweet chocolate, chopped

1 1/4 c. ( 2 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter

2 tsp. ground coriander

2 tsp. ground cardamom

1 tsp. ground cinnamon

1/2 tsp. ground cloves

1/2 tsp. ground white pepper

6 large eggs

6 large egg yolks

2 tsp. vanilla extract

3 c. powdered sugar

1 c. flour

Additional powdered sugar

Crystallized ginger strips

For ice cream:

Placed softened ice cream in medium bowl. Using plastic spatula, fold ginger and rum into ice cream. Transfer to airtight container. Freeze ice cream mixture until firm, about 4 hours. (Can be made 1 day ahead. Keep frozen.)

For cakes:

Generously butter eight 3/4-c. soufflé dishes. Stir chocolate, butter and all spices in heavy medium saucepan over low heat until melted and smooth. Cool slightly. Whisk eggs, egg yolks, and vanilla in large bowl to blend. Whisk in 3 c. powdered sugar, then chocolate mixture, then flour. Transfer batter to prepared dishes, filling to top and dividing equally. (Can be made 1 day ahead. Cover and refrigerate.)

Preheat oven to 425°F. Bake cakes until batter has risen above dish, top edges are dark brown, and centers are still soft and runny, about 15 min, or about 18 min. for refrigerated batter. Run small knife around cakes to loosen. Allow cakes to rest in dishes 5 min. Using hot pad and holding dish very firmly, place plate gently atop 1 cake and invert onto plate. Repeat with remaining cakes. Dust with powdered sugar. Top with crystallized ginger. Serve cakes with rum-ginger ice cream.