Port Wine Molten Chocolate Cakes

This post is sponsored by Croft Port, one of the oldest port houses in the Douro Valley, Portugal. As always, all opinions and thoughts are 100% my own. Thank you for supporting the brands that help make Browned Butter Blondie possible.

Ready or not, the holidays are here! We are in the thick of it and I’m soaking up every minute of the latte-fueled hustle and bustle of the holiday season. Somewhere in between the ugly sweater parties, cyber Monday sales and Christmas card stuffing the tree was trimmed, the mistletoe was hung and my kitchen now looks a bit like a gingerbread cookie factory. We’ve seen the Grinch {more than once}, decked the halls, strung the lights and sang the carols over and over {and over} again. All good things.

With just twelve days until Christmas there is still so much merriment to be shared. We have gifts to wrap, packages to be sent, cookies to be baked and my little sugarplums will surely sing “All I Want For Christmas” while wearing Santa hats and tinsel scarves at least thirty five more times. I’m here for it. As long as I don’t have to brave another Target checkout line or find one more Pinterest-worthy way to hide the Elf on a Shelf {ours is named Jingles…naturally}.

All this good cheer and merry everything culminates on Christmas Eve, arguably the most magical night of the season. Cue the twinkly white lights, pretty party dresses and the familiar clink of glasses toasting to the most wonderful time of the year. Santa’s arrival down the chimney aside, the night before Christmas is the highlight of the holidays in our family. We gather all together for a night of love and laughter, and of course, good food.

I think we can all agree that the most magical night of the year deserves an elegant dessert to cap off the evening’s festivities. I always bake up something extra special on Christmas Eve and those near and dear to us know to save room dessert. If there is any occasion out of the 365 days gone by that calls for a bit of fancy, this is it. This year I’ll be baking up these Port Wine Molten Chocolate Cakes. I know, I know, I had you at molten {wink, wink}. These individual cakes are deceptively easy to make and are the definition of decadence. I’m a big fan of boozy desserts and this one will make all the 21 and overs in the family very, very merry.

These Port Wine Molten Chocolate Cakes are deliciously cakey on the outside and have a molten center filled with a Croft Tawny Reserve Port – infused chocolate sauce. To top it all off, the cakes are generously drizzled with a port and chocolate reduction and served with a swoosh of freshly whipped cream.  The rich, full bodied Reserve Tawny Port from Croft Port is full of caramel and nutty notes which pairs perfectly with any and all things chocolate. Need I say more? There is something so indulgent about a dessert that pairs wine and chocolate….it’s such a sweet after dinner treat worthy of the most special occasions.

To make this classic molten cake with a twist we start with the butter and plenty of high-quality chocolate. Emphasis on the high quality. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, don’t skimp on the chocolate. Good quality chocolate (I use 65-70% cacao or higher) is a must. Trust me on this. We melt the butter and chocolate over a double boiler. Meanwhile, beat the eggs and egg yolks with the sugar until they appear thick and pale. Next, stir the chocolate and butter mixture into the egg and sugar mixture, followed by the flour and a touch of salt. Simply spoon the batter into well buttered and lightly floured ramekins. Each serving gets a dollop of the port wine infused chocolate sauce and then is topped with more molten chocolate cake batter. Off to the preheated oven they go and in just ten short minutes, tah-dah…dessert is served!

You’ll want to enjoy these Port Wine Molten Chocolate Cakes fresh from the oven while the centers are still, well, molten. But before you do, drizzle a bit of the warm tawny port reduction onto the top of each cake and top with a scoop of vanilla ice cream or freshly whipped cream {my personal favorite}. It’s over the top indulgent and worth every single bite. If you’re feeling extra merry this Christmas Eve serve a glass of this silky-smooth Croft Reserve Tawny Port alongside dessert or as final nightcap.

Cheers to the holidays!!

Port Wine Molten Chocolate Cakes

5 Stars 4 Stars 3 Stars 2 Stars 1 Star No reviews

• Author: Browned Butter Blondie
• Prep Time: 25 mins
• Cook Time: 10 mins
• Total Time: 35 mins
• Yield: 6 1x
• Category: Dessert

Print Recipe

Pin Recipe

---

Description

Rich, dark chocolate molten cakes filled with a from-scratch port wine chocolate sauce make for a decadent dessert for the most special of occasions. Topped with an extra serving of chocolate sauce and freshly whipped cream, this chocolate and wine lover’s dessert is the definition of indulgence.

---

Ingredients

Scale 1x2x3x

For Cakes:

• 8 TBSP (1 stick) unsalted butter
• 8 ounces dark chocolate, roughly chopped (I use 65% cacao or higher)
• 2 large eggs
• 1 large egg yolk
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 4 TBSP all purpose flour
• 1/4 tsp kosher salt

For Port Wine Chocolate Sauce:

• 6 ounces semisweet chocolate, finely chopped (use quality chocolate, not chocolate chips)
• 1/2 cup light corn syrup
• 1/2 cup tawny port (I use Croft Reserve Tawny Port)
• 1/4 cup cocoa powder
• 1/4 cup granulated sugar
• 2 TBSP unsalted butter
• 1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
• 1/4 tsp kosher salt
• 1/4 cup additional tawny port to thin the chocolate port sauce for tops of cakes
• freshly whipped cream

Cook Mode Prevent your screen from going dark

---

Instructions

For Cakes

1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees.
2. Lightly grease the inside of 6 ramekins with butter and sprinkle with all purpose flour to coat. Turn upside down and tap bottom of ramekins to shake out any extra flour.
3. Set aside.
4. In a medium bowl over a double boiler on low heat, melt chocolate and butter together.
5. Stir often to be sure mixture does not burn.
6. Once butter and chocolate are melted and smooth, remove from heat and set aside to cool slightly.
7. Meanwhile prepare chocolate sauce and set aside to cool.
8. Next, in a medium bowl, mix eggs and sugar on medium speed using a hand mixer, about 3 minutes.
9. Mixture should be thickened and pale.
10. Using a rubber spatula, fold in the melted chocolate and butter mixture.
11. Add flour and salt and mix gently until completely combined.
12. Using a small measuring cup, divide the batter among the 6 prepared ramekins, reserving a bit for the tops of cakes.
13. Add about a teaspoon of the port chocolate sauce to the center of each ramekin and then top with remaining batter to cover.
14. Tap ramekins on countertop to remove any air bubbles.
15. Set ramekins evenly spaced on a baking sheet and place in oven for 9-10 minutes.
16. Cakes should pull away from edges of ramekins when ready but center will not look completely set.
17. Remove from oven and let sit 1-2 minutes.
18. Invert ramekins onto serving plates and tap to release. If cakes stick to inside of ramekin, use a plastic or dinner knife to run around the edge of the cake to loosen.
19. Top cakes with port wine sauce and freshly whipped cream.
20. Serve warm.

For Port Wine Chocolate Sauce

1. In a small saucepan, combine all ingredients except the vanilla.
2. Over low heat, melt the ingredients together, stirring occasionally.
3. Once melted, increase heat to medium and stir often.
4. Bring the mixture to a slow boil and then reduce to a simmer for about 3 minutes.
5. Remove from heat and stir in vanilla.
6. Mixture should be somewhat thick and will continue to thicken as it cools.

For Additional Sauce

1. To make a pourable sauce for tops of cakes, add 1 cup already prepared port wine chocolate sauce to a small saucepan with an additional 1/4 cup tawny port wine.
2. Heat over low heat for 3-4 minutes until mixture is thickened, but pourable.
3. Pour over warm molten cakes immediately.

---

Notes

Port chocolate sauce can be made ahead of time and set out to soften before adding to individual cakes before baking.
Extra port wine chocolate sauce can be tightly covered and refrigerated. Rewarm before serving.
Cakes are best served immediately.