Easy weeknight recipes: Mark Bittman’s Hot Lava Fudge Cakes

The latest installment in cookbook author Mark Bittman’s “How to Cook Everything” series brings kids into the kitchen. His forthcoming “How to Cook Everything Kids” cookbook (Harvest, $35), due out Oct. 15, is designed for youngsters ages 8 to 12, and it brims with kid-friendly fare — including these little chocolate cakes.

“There’s nothing babyish about these small chocolate cakes,” he says. The recipe is designed to be easy enough for kids to make themselves, yet sophisticated enough to please adults too, thanks to the surprise gooey warm fudge inside.

Hot Lava Fudge Cakes

Makes 4 individual cakes

INGREDIENTS

8 tablespoons (1 stick) butter, plus more softened butter for smearing

4 ounces dark chocolate, finely chopped

4 eggs

1/4 cup sugar

2 teaspoons all-purpose flour

1/4 teaspoon salt

DIRECTIONS

Smear four 4-ounce (1/2-cup) ceramic, glass or metal baking dishes with lots of softened butter. You want to see it covering the sides and bottom and in that crack where they meet.

Melt 1 stick butter in the microwave or in a 1-quart pot over medium-low heat. Take the butter off the heat and add the chocolate. Stir until it’s melted into the butter. Use a soft spatula to scrape the mixture into a large bowl and let it sit while you move on.

Crack 2 of the eggs into a medium bowl and add 2 more yolks. Add the sugar and beat with a whisk or an electric mixer until light and thick, about 1 minute (1 or 2 minutes longer by hand).

Add the egg mixture, flour and salt to the melted chocolate and whisk or stir until combined. Spoon the batter into the prepared dishes. (At this point you can refrigerate them for up to 3 hours; just bring them back to room temperature before baking.)

When you’re ready to bake, heat the oven to 450 degrees. Put the baking dishes on a rimmed baking sheet and bake until the cakes have puffed up a bit, the tops are no longer shiny and liquid, and the center of the cakes still jiggles slightly when shaken, 7 to 9 minutes. It’s way better to bake them too little than too much. Take the pan out of the oven and let the cakes rest for 1 minute.

Put a plate on top of each dish. Use a potholder and get some help to carefully turn the cake upside down onto the plate. Count to 10-one-thousand, then lift up the dish and eat right away.

— Mark Bittman, “How to Cook Everything Kids” (Harvest, $35, due out Oct. 15)