Chocolate Lava Muffins

It's not often, that I follow-up a dessert post with....Yes, another dessert post.  This one is for the chocolate lovers in the family.  

Lava muffins is a perfect description of what happens when your spoon hits the center of this warm muffin, it explodes with warm gooey chocolate.

Chocolate Lava Muffins

Makes 12

Recipe from Alton Brown

Ingredients:

8-ounces semisweet chocolate chips

1 stick butter

1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

1/2 cup sugar

3 tablespoons flour

1/4 teaspoon salt

4 eggs

Butter, to coat muffin tin

1 tablespoon cocoa powder

1 cup vanilla ice cream

1 teaspoon espresso powder

Directions:

Place a small metal bowl over a saucepan with simmering water.  Melt the chocolate and butter in the bowl.  Stir in vanilla.

In a large mixing bowl, combine sugar, flour and salt.  Sift these into the chocolate and mix well with electric hand mixer.  Add eggs one at a time, fully incorporating each egg before adding the next.  Beat at high until batter is creamy and lightens in color, approximately 4 minutes.  Chill mixture.

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.

Coat the top and each cup of  the muffin tin with butter.  Dust with the cocoa powder and shake out excess.  Spoon mixture into pan using a 4-ounce scoop or ladle.  Bake for 10-11 minutes.  Outsides should be cake-like and centers should be gooey.

While muffins are in oven, melt the ice cream in a small saucepan.  Stir in the espresso powder.  Serve over warm muffins.

Enjoy!