Have you heard about the latest release from DreamWorks Animation, THE CROODS [1]? It hits theaters March 22nd and features the voice talent of Nicolas Cage, Emma Stone, Ryan Reynolds, Catherine Keener, Clark Duke and Cloris Leachman. It is definitely one I’m looking forward to sharing with my kids!
THE CROODS is a 3D comedy adventure that follows the world’s first modern family as they embark on a journey of a lifetime when the cave that has always been their home is destroyed. Traveling across a spectacular landscape, the Croods are rocked by generational clashes and seismic shifts as they discover an incredible new world filled with fantastic creatures — and their outlook is changed forever.
I was asked to create a recipe inspired by the film. Since I’ve only seen the trailer, I decided to read up a little bit more about the movie and learned that this family lives in a volcanic world. Of course my mind immediately thought of molten lava cake because my mind always seems to wander to something sweet. And so I made this Chocolate Caramel Molten Lava Cake.
I know this movie occurs before processed foods, before the Croods would have ever even thought of chocolate and caramel topped with whipped cream and toffee bits. Yet, I imagine if I asked them, “Who would like to try my molten lava cake?”, I would have gotten this response:
Fair enough.
And since you live in a world where these ingredients do exist, I own’t deny you the opportunity to make this recipe for your own family!
Ingredients
(10 servings)
4 squares semi-sweet chocolate (for baking, 1 oz per square)
1/2 cup butter
1 cup powdered sugar
2 whole eggs
2 egg yolks
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
6 tablespoons flour
10 chocolate caramel candies (Rolo), unwrapped
1 cup thawed frozen whipped topping or your favorite whipping cream
1/3 cup Milk Chocolate Toffee Bits (Heath)
Directions
Preheat oven to 425°F. Line muffin tin with 10 liners.
Melt chocolate and butter in large microwaveable bowl on high, until butter is melted. (Approximately 1 minute.) Stir with whisk until chocolate is completely melted.
Stir in powdered sugar.
Add whole eggs and egg yolks and vanilla and mix well.
Stir in flour and cinnamon until blended.
Fill baking cups halfway full of batter and add caramel candy, pressing down slightly. Top with remaining batter, filling approximately 2/3 full.
Bake for approximately 10 minutes or until sides of desserts are firm but centers are still soft. Let stand 1 minute.
Carefully loosen and invert into dessert plates, removing paper liner. Top with whipped topping or whipped cream and sprinkle toffee bits over the tops for garnish. Serve warm.
My five year old loves to help me bake and this recipe was easy to get him involved in the kitchen. He helped me unwrap chocolates, stir the ingredients and line our baking pan with cups. I ended up using a square baking pan for fun but you can just as easily use a round muffin tin.
The centers will still be soft when you remove them from the oven but it is very important not to over cook or your molten lava cake won’t have its gooey center. You can prepare this ahead of time if you aren’t ready to serve, as long as you refrigerate the batter and give it a chance to come to room temperature before you bake. (This may take about an hour.)
You can play around with different topping ideas but I loved how the toffee bits resemble rock, perfect for my THE CROODS inspired recipe.
This recipe is very quite decadent and sure to impress guests. Even better, it is absolutely delicious!
You can have more fun with this family movie via social media by following The Croods on Facebook [2] and Dreamworks Animation on both Twitter [3] and Pinterest [4]!