Remember at the end of February when I said I intended on sharing a recipe for what I considered to be the greatest dessert ever? Well, here it is- unless you don’t like red velvet cake, of course- in which case please get far, far away from me. I will side-eye you into the next century.

A look at any of my birthday celebrations over the past few years is all the documentation anyone would ever need to see I love anything red velvet (and I only recently ran out of a limited edition red velvet-scented body wash that Bath & Body Works created a couple of months ago for the holiday season.) The only thing I may love more than the cake itself is miniature indulgent versions of it- or any dessert, really. I’m all about small- but satisfying- portions of cakes/pastries/sugary snacks. Less goes to waste and I’m less inclined to overeat/put myself into a food coma when I have a tinier serving on my plate.

When I first laid eyes on the recipe for these little, round and personal red velvet lava cakes- I knew I had to give them a try. How could I not?!

WHAT YOU’LL NEED:

* 3 tablespoons all-purpose flour

* 1 tablespoon cocoa powder

* Pinch of salt

* 4 tablespoons unsalted butter

* 1½ ounces semisweet chocolate

* ½ cup confectioners’ sugar, plus more for finishing

* 1 egg

* 1 egg yolk

* ½ teaspoon pure vanilla extract

* 2 teaspoons red food coloring

OKAY, HERE’S WHAT YOU DO:

1. Preheat your oven to 425°F. Lightly grease two ramekins (or two cavities of a muffin pan) with nonstick spray.

2. In a small bowl, whisk the flour with the cocoa powder and pinch of salt to combine.

3. In a medium-sized, heat-safe bowl, melt the butter and chocolate in 15-second intervals in the microwave until melted and smooth.

4. Stir in the confectioners’ sugar into the butter and melted chocolate mixture until well combined. From there- add the egg, egg yolk, vanilla extract and food coloring- and stir until well combined.

5. Add your now red-tinted concoction to the whisked flour, cocoa powder and salt. Mix thoroughly until there are no lumps.

6. Divide the batter evenly between the prepared ramekins. Bake until set at the edges but still soft in the center, approximately 13 to 15 minutes. Let cool for 3 to 5 minutes inside the pan, then un-mold each cake onto a plate.

7. Serve warm- immediately- and garnish with confectioners’ sugar.

8. Don’t burn the roof of your mouth as you inhale your serving of molten deliciousness!

These little cakes came out so much better than I could have ever anticipated- and the inside was cooked to gooey, warm and sweet perfection. I served these prior to Sunday night’s sit-down for the latest ‘Walking Dead’ episode and they were a big hit!

I can imagine that if you substitute a few of the ingredients, you could probably make all sorts of flavor variations of these cakes with minimal effort or disaster. I’m tempted to try my hand at a dark chocolate or more fruity/lemon version the next time!

… But not after I make a few more red velvet ones, first.

xx