Brownie Ice Cream Cakes

I had never made anything with ramekins before, but these caught my eye and before I knew it, I was putting these babies together for dessert one night. Take a bit of time when you assemble them to really plate these beautifully, and you'll get rave reviews.

6 oz bittersweet chocolate, chopped
1/3 cup butter
4 eggs, separated
2/3 cup granulated sugar
2 Tbsp cocoa powder, sifted
Raspberry sauce
1 cup raspberry sorbet

Grease eight 6 oz ramekins and line the bottoms with parchment paper. Set aside.

In a large bowl set over hot water (not boiling), melt butter and chocolate together until smooth. Set aside.

In another bowl over a saucepan of gently simmer water, whisk egg yolks with 1/2 cup of the sugar; cook, whisking constantly, until light and thickened, about 8 minutes. Fold 1/4 into the chocolate mixture; fold in remaining yolk mixture. Set aside.

In a large bowl, beat egg whites until soft peaks form; beat in remaining sugar, 2 tbsp at a time until stiff peaks form. Fold cocoa and 1/3 of the egg whites into chocolate mixture; fold in remaining egg whites. Spoon into prepared ramekins. Bake at 350 F for 20 minutes, until puffed and edges are set. Allow to cool.

Invert cakes onto dessert plates and remove paper. We topped ours with raspberry swirl frozen yogurt and Hershey's chocolate sauce.

Makes 8 servings
*original recipe is from Canadian Living