Mini Chocolate Cakes with Olive Oil and Himalayan Pink Salt
- Prep Time 0:30
- Cook Time 0:20
- Estimated Cost $14.50
- 3 Comments
My mom told me about an unforgettable dessert she had recently while on a trip to Santa Fe: a rich chocolate cake served atop a pool of fruity extra virgin olive oil and sprinkled with sea salt. “Oh, I am totally stealing that,” I told her. And as you can see, I wasn’t kidding. Rich dark chocolate, olive oil and salt? What could be bad?
One of the many wonderful things I’ve learned since I started living with my roommate Kristina (and there are many) is the magic of cooking with pink Himalayan salt. I can’t describe why or how, but it tastes so much better than regular sea or table salt. And, despite its exotic appearance and name, it costs a measly $1.99 at Trader Joe’s for 4.8 oz. with a built-in grinder, making it an easy and inexpensive way to give simple food a touch of expensive flavor. It’s truly the pink salt that puts this simple dessert over the edge. If you don’t have it on hand, feel free to use regular sea salt, but if you happen to be at TJ’s any time soon, consider dropping the $2 on a container of pink salt—you’ll thank me.
Ingredients
- 3/4 stick unsalted butter $1 for a stick
- 4 ounces semi-sweet chocolate chips $2 for a 12-oz. bag
- 1/8 cup unsweetened cocoa $4 for 6 oz.
- 1 cup sugar Pantry
- 1 egg $1.50 for 12
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract $4 for 4 oz.
- 3/4 cup flour Pantry
- 1/2 tsp baking powder Pantry
- 1/2 tsp Himalayan pink salt, plus more for sprinkling $2 for 4.8 oz.
- 1/3 cup fruity extra virgin olive oil Pantry
Directions
- Preheat oven to 350. Lightly grease 6 regular-size muffin tins (I used heart-shape ones because I thought they were festive--feel free to get creative).
- Fill a small saucepan about 2” high with tap water. Cover with a heat-proof bowl to create a double-boiler. Turn heat up to high and melt butter and chocolate chips in bowl, whisking frequently. Carefully remove bowl from pot and turn off heat.
- Transfer melted chocolate and butter into a mixing bowl and whisk in cocoa, sugar, egg, vanilla, flour and sea salt. Add about 1/2 cup water and whisk until mixture is very smooth.
- Pour into prepared muffin tins and bake 18-20 minutes or until top is shiny and few crumbs cling to an inserted toothpick.
- Cool until the cakes are warm, not hot. Gently remove them from their tins.
- To serve, pour a small pool of extra virgin olive oil onto a small plate and place a cake in the middle of it. Sprinkle the cake and oil lightly with the Himalayan pink salt and serve immediately.
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What They're Saying
Mary, on Oct 25, 07:13 PM, wrote:
I’ve never heard of such a thing as Pink HImalayan Salt. sounds fascinating. I wonder if I can source it here somewhere.
Summer, on Oct 27, 12:03 PM, wrote:
What do you mean by “fruity” extra virgin olive oil? Is this not your regular extra virgin?
https://lethbridgedentists.ca, on Jul 9, 02:03 PM, wrote:
Posts are all wonderful. Thank you for putting a lot of work into it.