Or, at least they were supposed to be molten, but I’ll get to that later.

It’s Valentine’s Day next week and quite frankly, I haven’t celebrated this “holiday” in a loooooong time.  Not that the Husband and I don’t like to celebrate our love, but when you’ve been together 12 years, the desire to do it in a public way dictated by social mores, traditions and expectations is gone.  Also, I’m a total suck when it comes to doing loving things. The Husband is far more romantic than I am.  He’s always the one to craft elaborate plans to surprise me and make sweet things like collages, homemade cards, and meals.

The most romantic thing he’s ever done wasn’t on Valentine’s day but on my 30th birthday.  He had my friends take me out for a birthday dinner.  I thought it was super weird that it was just a girl’s night out and that he wasn’t coming to celebrate a milestone event with me.  When I got home, the lights wouldn’t turn on in our apartment and I saw what looked like the flickering of flames in the hallway.  I seriously thought our apartment was on fire.  I ran down the hall into our living room and saw that the entire room was full of candles and flowers.  Photos of the two of us were flashing by on our television. The Husband had set up an electric keyboard in the corner of the room and he was dressed up in a suit and bow tie. He played the piano and sang one of “our songs”, It Might Be You, originally by John Bishop from the Tootsie soundtrack, although the version we prefer is by Kai. I thought this was all just for my birthday, but after he finished singing, he got down on one knee and proposed.

After I said yes, he walked back to our front door and it turned out that all my girlfriends, the ones I had just finished dinner with, were there to celebrate the moment with us. Best surprise ever. The Husband had spent weeks figuring out the music to the song and learning how to play it. That’s how sweet and loving he is. Now picture the opposite of that and you get me. The poor guy definitely got the bum end of the deal here.

So, even though we don’t do anything uber special for Vday, there’s always room for chocolate and eating chocolate is always a cause for celebration. When I heard that this week the Sunday Supper team is cookin’ up aphrodisiacs and baking up sweets for their sweets, I knew I wanted to make something super decadent, rich, indulgent and chocolatey. Molten lava cake is one of my favourite things to eat and it’s been on my culinary bucket list for a long time. I took this opportunity to kill two birds with one stone and decided to make it.

This song was sung as I walked down the aisle. Enjoy, with a big slice of cake!

Chocolate Mint Molten Lava Cakes (adapted from Savory Sweet Life)

1 1/4 stick butter
1 cup chocolate (I used a Lindt mint chocolate bar and broke it up into small pieces)
1/2 cup flour
3/4 cup powdered sugar
3 large eggs
3 egg yolks
1 1/2 tsp peppermint extract *next time I’d use more extract because I found that the mint taste wasn’t as pronounced as I’d like. I’d try at least 2 1/2 teaspoons, especially if you’re not using mint flavoured chocolate. If you don’t mind the taste being subtle, then you can keep it at 1 1/2*

Garnish with whatever your heart desires – powdered sugar, ice cream, whipped cream, chocolate sauce, etc. I dusted mine with powdered sugar and added scoops of mint cookie ice cream.

Preheat your oven to 400 degrees F. Generously butter/grease/spray 6 ramekins or a muffin tin.

Melt the chocolate and butter together. I did this by microwaving them together in three or four 15 second intervals. Mix them together.

Add the flour and powdered sugar to the melted chocolate/butter and stir to combine.

Stir in the eggs and egg yolks. Add the peppermint extract and stir to combine.

Divide the batter evenly between the ramekins or muffin tin. The muffin tins will be smaller than the ramekins so you’ll probably end up making more than 6. Fill each tin 3/4 of the way.



Bake for 10 minutes but seriously, keep an eye on these babies. You do NOT want to overcook them as I foolishly did. They will be done as soon as the edges are firm and the middle is still sunken, runny and gooey. I read a tip online that if the lava cakes are domed in the centre, they’re probably overdone.

Remove the ramekins from the oven and allow to cool a few minutes. Run a knife around the edge of each and carefully invert onto a plate. Or you can serve the cake inside the ramekin.

I was cleaning the apartment today because it’s Chinese New Year tomorrow. Before Chinese New Year day, you’re supposed to clean your office and home, which is symbolic of sweeping away misfortune. There is to be no cleaning on New Year day because you’d be sweeping away all your good fortune. You’re not supposed to wash your hair either but I wouldn’t go that far. I mention this only because I was cleaning when my kitchen timer went off to tell me that it’d been ten minutes since my cakes were in the oven and I didn’t hear it. So, I over-baked them and damn was I disappointed. The very centre of the cakes were still liquidy but there was too much overdone cake. It was missing that gushing river of molten chocolate that these cakes are famous for and that I had been dreaming of. Le sigh.

Thankfully I had a pint of cookie mint ice cream to eat with my cake. Ice cream makes everything better.


The centres of the cake were phenomenal – exactly what I expected. Not too sweet and luscious silky smooth. If I baked them properly, they would have been perfect.

Make sure you visit all the other Sunday Supper participants this week for romantic culinary inspiration. Gung hay fat choy to everyone celebrating New Years today and happy Lovey-Dovey Day!

Make sure you check out the other #SundaySupper participants to see what they’ve made for our Valentine’s Day #SundaySupper!

#SundaySupper Valentine’s Day Breakfasts, Apps & Main Dishes:

• Asparagus, Clam & Bay Shrimp Pasta from Galactopdx
• Bacon Double Cheese Burger Bites from In the Kitchen with KP
• Cheese Stuffed Cannelloni from Curious Cuisiniere
• Garlic Shrimp Bruschetta from MarocMama
• Green Olive, Goat Cheese & Basil Crostini from Hip Foodie Mom
• Indian Shrimp Pulao from Soni’s Food
• Individual Beef “Phyll-ingtons” from Cupcakes & Kale Chips
• Ranch, Bacon and Cheese Crisps from Daily Dish Recipes
• Red Velvet Pancakes with Cream Cheese Frosting from Peanut Butter and Peppers
• Rissóis de Camarão | Portuguese Shrimp Dumplings from Family Foodie
• Spicy Red Cabbage Quiche | Veggie Quiche Recipe from Masala Herb

#SundaySupper Valentine’s Day Sweet Eats:

• Banana Bourbon Blondies from The Messy Baker
• Banana Cream Napoleon from Food Lust People Love
• Brown Butter M&M Cookies from Dinners, Dishes, and Desserts
• Brown Butter Rolo Toffee Chocolate Chip Cookies from Damn Delicious
• Chocolate Baumkuchen from Webicurean
• Chocolate Bread Pudding from La Cocina de Leslie
• Chocolate Chip Banana Cake with Banana Cream from The Lovely Pantry
• Chocolate Covered Bacon from I Run For Wine
• Chocolate Covered Stuffed Strawberries from Country Girl in the Village
• Chocolate Mousse from Mom, What’s For Dinner?
• Chocolate Roll filled with Nutella Cream from Basic N Delicious
• Chocolate Velvet Ice Cream with Cherry Sauce from Vintage Kitchen Notes
• Cinnamon Sugar Tortillas with Chocolate Sauce from The Roxx Box
• Coconut Sweetheart Cookies from Cindy’s Recipes and Writings
• Coeur a la Creme from That Skinny Chick Can Bake
• Cream Cheese Mints from Simply Gourmet
• Dark Chocolate Pomegranate Mousse with Coconut Cream from Sue’s Nutrition Buzz
• Dark Chocolate Raspberry Torte from Kelly Bakes
• #GlutenFree Chocolate Almond Cloudless Cake from Cooking Underwriter
• Heart Shaped White Chocolate Cakes with Raspberry Cream from Noshing with the Nolands
• Homemade Cherry Mash Candies from Juanita’s Cocina
• Maple-Date Bars from Diabetic Foodie
• Meyer Lemon Marmalade from Shockingly Delicious
• Mini Samoa Bundt Cakes from Ruffles & Truffles
• Molten Chocolate Lava Cake from Gotta Get Baked
• Peanut Butter and Jelly Cupcakes from The Meltaways
• Pistachio and Chocolate Souffle from Small Wallet Big Appetite
• Raspberry Custard Tart from Kudos Kitchen
• Raw Fudge Love from Mama’s Blissful Bites
• Red Velvet Cheesecake Brownies from Hezzi-D’s Books and Cooks
• Red Velvet French Macarons with White Chocolate Cream Cheese Filling from The Girl in the Little Red Kitchen
• Red Velvet Ice Cream Sandwiches from Cravings of a Lunatic
• Red Velvet Sandwich Cookies from Magnolia Days
• Red Velvet Sugar Cookie Bars from Chocolate Moosey
• Red Wine Cupcakes with Mascarpone Frosting from The Urban Mrs.
• Strawberry Shortcake! from The Foodie Army Wife
• Strawberry Valentine Cake Hearts from Ninja Baking
• Tres Leches Tea Cakes with Honey Riesling Soaked Fruit from Neighborfood
• Valentine’s Bakewell Tarts from Happy Baking Days
• Valentines Chocolate Apples from Big Bear’s Wife

#SundaySupper Valentine’s Day Drinks:

• Blood Orange Vodka Martinis from The Catholic Foodie
• Bloody Raspberry Cocktail from My Cute Bride
• Strawberry Gin Fizz from girlichef

#SundaySupper Valentine’s Day Tablescape:  A Romantic Table For Two Please from An Appealing Plan

Join the #SundaySupper conversation on Twitter today to talk all about Valentine’s eats and treats!  We’ll tweet throughout the day and share recipes from all over the world.  Our weekly chat starts at 7:00 pm ET and you do not want to miss out on the fun.  Follow the #SundaySupper hashtag, and remember to include it in your tweets to join in the chat.  Check out our #SundaySupper Pinterest board for more fabulous recipes and food photos!