Screwed Up Caramel Lava Cakes

I hate it when something doesn't turn out right--especially when you have your mouth set on What It Was Supposed To Be. Of course, I was a bit distracted dog ruckus, laundry, good show on TV, packing, gift wrapping when putting these together and I did not bake them in the appropriate 'ramekin-sized' dish or time the baking or basically anything else.

So, I'm passing these along for you to make correctly and hope you don't have the attention span of a gnat like I do some days. These are similar to the chocolate lava cakes except this is a creamy, oozing caramel--if you do it right.

This is what it should look like baked in a ramekin. You decide--cute cupcake holders or schmoozing caramel cake.   Obviously, cupcakes are not ramekins and it will not ooze anything but raw dough if you cupcake Betty's cake recipe.  I should pay attention to my own words.

Screwed Up Caramel Lava Cakes

1 TBSP butter, melted
2 TBSP cinnamon graham crackers, crushed
3 eggs
3 egg yolks
3/4 c brown sugar
1 tsp cinnamon
1 c caramel topping (Smucker's jar is right at 1 c) Buy another jar in case you mess up...just sayin'
1/2 c flour
3/4 c peeled apple, chopped


Heat oven to 450 degrees. Pam six 6-oz ramekin or custard cups. Melt butter and combine with crushed cinnamon graham crackers. Press cinnamon crumbs in bottom of each ramekin. Bad idea: use cupcake pan

Beat eggs until well blended then beat in brown sugar. Blend in caramel topping and flour. Mix in apples and divide evenly in ramekins.

Place ramekins on cookie sheet and bake for about 15 minutes or just until sides and centers have set--no longer liquid--and tops are slightly puffy. DO NOT OVERCOOK! They will turn into large cupcakes sans lava.

Remove from oven and let stand 3 minutes, run knife around edge to loosen then invert onto individual plates--or bowls if you want to top with vanilla anything. Serve warm.  That vanilla anything is going to melt into that yummy caramel and put a big smile on your face.  Kind of like your Grandma's apple pie used to do when you were little.

If you overcooked these and now have crumby cakes, you can always buy another jar of caramel topping to drizzle and pretend you didn't screw up.  As Julia said, 'Nothing is lost.  You just have TO DO whatever you MUST DO to fix it and no one will no the difference.'  Love that woman.

Bon lavaétit

(Blaming it on the Big Dogs)