i've heard of many chocoholics...

...but I ain't ever seen no 'chocohol'. We got an epidemic, people: people who like chocolate and don't understand word endings. They're probably 'overwork-aholled'.

-Demetri Martin, Comedian

I've taken up a lover and his name is chocolate (He has yet to meet the parents. But I think they'd approve). Over the past week or so, I've been lusting over chocolate desserts. Last Thursday, I made these delicious truffle tarts with a raspberry surprise in the middle. They are quite a fantastic way to use up that old box of Fudge-Os.

Today, some friends came over to bake these heavenly molten lava cakes. Rich and satisfying, these are best served straight out of the oven. We had a few timing issues, but this is a rather forgiving recipe. Although the bottom of the cakes were a little undercooked, those ooey gooey chocolate centres made us overlook the mistake. Now if only chocolate could hide all of our mistakes...

Butter, chocolate and egg yolks - just a heart attack waiting to happen

At this point, I was tempted to eat the batter itself!

Garnishing the molten cakes with strawberries...

All ready to eat!

I just love taking glamour shots of food.

Paula Deen's Molten Lava Cake

Ingredients (makes about 6 servings)

I've converted some of the weights to fit the metric system. Darn Imperialists.

• 170 g bittersweet chocolate
  
• 50 g milk chocolate
  
• 150 mL butter
  
• 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
• 1 1/2 cups icing sugar
  
• 3 large eggs
• 3 egg yolks
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 2 tbsp flavoured liqueur (we used Grand Marnier, but I'd also like to try it with Chambord)
  

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees F.
2. Grease 6 ramekins.
3. Melt the chocolate and butter in the microwave in 15 second spurts, stirring occasionally.
4. Whisk in flour and sugar to chocolate mixture.
5. Stir in eggs and egg yolks, blend at low power until smooth.
6. Add in vanilla and orange liqueur.
7. Divide the batter into the ramekins and bake for 17 minutes (the original recipe calls for 14 minutes, but ours were still a little too runny. This is the step the requires the most precision, so you may have to play around with your timing to get it right.)
8. Loosen the sides of the cake with a knife, and invert ramekin onto a plate.
   
9. Garnish with strawberries, and enjoy!