MOLTEN CHOCOLATE STOUT CAKE WITH BACON CREME ANGLAISE

This recipe is dedicated to Ed Levine and Jeffrey Steingarten for one glaringly obvious reason: bacon.  Always pushing for a new application of the beloved stuff, these men have inspired me to try some eyebrow raising recipes, and here is the first of hopefully many.  Despite the Pig Candy adorning the little molten cake, the flavors here are very subtle, adding a smoky-maple hint to the creme anglaise.  Ditto with the stout in the cake, as it simply adds richness and a spicy, yeasty depth.  I additionally love this recipe because it is so easy and yet so impressive.  So maybe hide the pig candy away and try to puzzle friends with the mysterious ingredients, pushing this otherwise common dessert into uncharted territory.  Enjoy! 


Molten Chocolate Stout Cake

Ingredients:

1/4 cup soft unsalted butter, plus more for greasing
8 ounces bittersweet chocolate
1/2 cup chocolate stout (I recommend Young's)
1/2 cup sugar
4 large eggs, beaten with a pinch of salt
1/3 cup all purpose flour

6 individual 6-ounce custard cups, buttered or greased

Preheat the oven to 400F.

Melt the chocolate and add the butter and sugar.  Once the mixture is smooth add a little of the chocolate mixture to the egg mixture to temper it, then toss all of the egg mixture in and whisk until combined.  Add the stout and mix.  Add the vanilla and the flour and mix until smooth.  Pour into the ramekins and bake for 10 minutes, or you can make them ahead of time and refrigerate them, just be sure to cook them for an extra 2 minutes.

Once the ramekins are removed from the oven, place a plate on top of one of the ramekins and flip.  The cake should slide smoothly out.  If a little gets stuck to the bottom don't worry, that's what creme anglaise is for.

For the Creme Anglaise:

Ingredients

4 egg yolks

2 cups milk

1/3 cup sugar

1 piece of thick cut bacon

Cook the bacon in a pan until the fat is rendered but the bacon is not completely crisp.  Cut in half and set aside.

In a double boiler, scald the milk.  Separately, beat the eggs and sugar together.  Add a about a 1/ cup of the hot milk to the eggs, and whisk to temper.  Add another 1/4 cup and whisk again.  Then pour the egg mixture into the double boiler and whisk.  Add the two halves of bacon and stir the mixture until thick.  Taste as you go and remove the bacon when it has added a good amount of smokiness, but before it starts to taste like breakfast.  Once the mixture has thickened (meaning it coats a spoon), pour it through a sieve into a bowl in an ice bath, and whisk it to cool.  Refrigerate it until you use it or pop it into the ice cream mixer for some bacon ice cream (through, I'd add a tablespoon of maple syrup if you're actually going to make ice cream).  Enjoy!