Gordon Ramsay's All-Time Favorite Dessert: 'The Liquid Center Is Sublime

British chef Gordon Ramsay is best known for haranguing kitchen staff with a tirade of unsavory expletives. But when it comes to his favorite recipe, he only has good things to say about his ambrosial chocolate fondant cake, which he duly celebrates for its heavenly consistency. "Whenever I'm asked for my favorite recipe, this is the one," Ramsay told Red Online. "It has a divine melting texture, and the liquid center is sublime."

A chocolate fondant cake is also known as a lava cake or chocolate coulant cake. At its heart, it's a small dessert baked in a ramekin that has a melting chocolatey middle, which oozes out when it's split open. This decadent dessert features all the same core ingredients as a regular chocolate cake, such as butter, flour, eggs, sugar, and chocolate. However, the way these ingredients are combined is what lends the finished bake a sumptuous texture and a yielding but dramatic middle. For instance, the eggs and sugar are whisked together until pale and thick before a mixture of melted butter and chocolate is folded through. Finally, a small measure of flour is incorporated into the batter before it's baked; just until the perimeter is set and the center has a small wobble. Whisking the eggs until voluminous creates a light and airy batter that rises ever so slightly without the need for a raising agent, and the small amount of flour produces a cake that has just enough structure with a moreish fudgy quality.

If you're out of chocolate, you can usually swap it for cocoa powder in many cake recipes. However, in this case, the dark bitter chocolate is the star of the show and a fundamental requirement to creating that distinctive oozing middle and rich flavor. The high-quality chocolate also imbues the batter with an intensely dark color and complex aroma that can't be replicated with cocoa powder alone. Pairing the dessert with a scoop of vanilla ice cream provides a touch of extra sweetness, but you can serve it with plain crème fraiche instead if you want the sophisticated flavor of the bitter chocolate to shine.

The most important thing about making chocolate fondant cake is to keep an eye on it as it bakes; leave it in there for a couple of extra minutes, and you'll lose that squidgy molten middle. You should also be ready to eat it as soon as it comes out of the oven to ensure the center doesn't cook through in the residual heat as it sits. Much like a soufflé, a lava cake will deflate with time, so while it's hot, run a knife around the edge to release it and turn it onto a plate before serving immediately.