It was Courtney’s birthday on Saturday, and I decided I wasn’t going to ask him what he wanted for dessert this year.  I knew what he’d say: cookie cake!  And frankly, after four years of shoving store-bought cookie dough in a pan and baking it, I was looking for something a bit more complex.

I know what his favorite dessert actually is.  It all started with a cruise we went on several years ago for our friends’ wedding.  While Eddie and Amanda were celebrating their love, Courtney was celebrating his love for warm chocolate melting cake, which he had an unlimited supply of every night at dinner.  If we could have stayed on the boat, there’s actually a chance that Courtney might have gained some weight.

I tried to find a photo of warm chocolate melting cake from the cruise, but that was from before I started taking photos of everything we eat. Instead all I could find was this.

Anyways, I knew he wouldn’t think to ask for it, so I went ahead and found a recipe for warm chocolate melting cake.  The photos are not even close to blogworthy.  They were taken with a sticky iPhone after at least five beers.  Not to mention that the cake was so ooey gooey almost-raw delicious that it wouldn’t come out of the pan.  In fact it kind of looks like someone tried to eat it with their face.  However, the recipe is worth sharing.  Ridiculously simple, and really quite delicious.

 Warm Chocolate Melting Cake

From Top with Cinnamon

• 10 tbsp butter
• 1/2 cup cocoa powder
• 1 3/4 cup sugar
• 2 tsp vanilla
• 1 cup flour
• 3 eggs
• Powdered sugar, to top

Preheat you oven to 350 degrees F.  Grease a 6″ to 8″ cake pan, it needs to be quite deep. In a medium sauce pan, melt the butter. Stir in the rest of the ingredients. Pour into the grease cake pan, and bake for 30-45 minutes (should be 30-35 minutes for an 8″ pan, 35-40 for a 7″ pan or 40-45 for a 6″ pan; err on the lower end, you do not want to overcook!). Dust with powdered sugar and serve warm!