I will always associate big ship cruising with culinary indulgence. This, like all major life lessons, I learned from my parents. We took a few cruises while I was growing up, and I'll never forget how my dad ordered his courses each night.
The actual items he ordered, I no longer remember. I do, however, remember the two key words: "followed by," as in "cream of broccoli, followed by Caesar salad, followed by stuffed mushrooms, followed by filet mignon, followed by scallops, followed by chocolate cake a la mode."
I replayed this childhood memory during a recent sailing on the Carnival Imagination from its new home port of Long Beach, Calif. In the span of two days, I managed to eat three servings of Carnival's famous warm chocolate melting cake __ that means I ate one serving before lunch time. In my defense, I had just learned how to make the chocolate cake in a private tutorial with the kitchen staff. Declining a sample would have been rude __ another lesson I learned from my folks.
Carnival Imagination's head chef explains that each night, Carnival prepares two vats of chocolate cake. // © 2014 Mindy Poder
Though a potentially dangerous recipe to have lying around for daily dinners, the warm chocolate melting cake can be a great tool for travel agents who want to treat prospective clients to a sample of Carnival's culinary offerings.
The following recipe yields four individual servings, but be sure to make extra. Whether a marathoner or a grazer, everyone seems to be able to make room to "follow" their meals with a serving of this cake __ in fact, each Carnival ship serves an average of 900 warm chocolate melting cakes per day.
Ingredients:
6 oz. dark chocolate (Pro-tip: Carnival uses dark chocolate bars sourced from Lucerne, Switzerland)
6 oz. butter (Pro-tip: Carnival uses Anchor unsalted butter from New Zealand)
4 eggs (one per serving)
1.5 oz. sugar
2 oz. flour
Method:
- Melt the chocolate and butter
- Whisk the eggs and sugar for a few minutes, then add flour
- Add the egg mix to the melted chocolate, mix and stir
- Pour the mix in individual ramekins
- Bake directly in the oven at 390 F for 14 minutes (Pro-tip: If you'd like the edges to be a bit crispier, leave the cake in longer. If you prefer gooey chocolate cake, take it out sooner.)
Note:
Make sure that the eggs are at room temperature and that chocolate is warm enough while making the mixture.
Serving Tips:
Don't forget to serve with vanilla ice cream and a fruit garnish. This dessert pairs well with coffee.
