When the urge for chocolate hits, make these little mini fudge cakes in your air fryer in minutes. You don't need a mixer, just a bowl and a whisk, and the cakes bake in 10-15 minutes. If you have any chocolate truffles on hand--like dark Lindor--they'd add tremendously to your mini cakes. Unfortunately, I don't keep such temptations around, so I usually use small, 1-inch squares of chocolate (like from a Hershey bar). Chocolate kisses or peanut butter cups also work just fine. The little cakes come out of the air fryer moist, not too sweet, and get extra depth of flavor from a bit of cinnamon and espresso powder. Nonetheless, if you don't like cinnamon or espresso powder (or are using peanut butter cups), leave the cinnamon and espresso powder out. The mini cakes are great warm from the air fryer with a scoop of ice cream. Enjoy!
Air Fryer Mini Fudge Cakes -- Makes 4
1 egg
1/4 cup of canola oil
1/2 cup of low-fat buttermilk (or use 1/4 cup of plain yogurt and 1/4 cup of milk)
1/3 cup of sugar
2 tablespoons of dark brown sugar
1/4 cup of cocoa powder
1/4 teaspoon of cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon of espresso powder
2/3 cup of all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon of baking powder
1/8 teaspoon of salt
4 squares of chocolate (about 1-inch square)
Confectioners' sugar, ice cream, whipped topping, and/or fruit (optional)
Coat 4 ramekins (3-4 inches round) with baking spray (the kind with flour in it) and preheat the air fryer to 320 degrees. To a medium mixing bowl (or a quart measure, which is easier), add the egg, canola oil, buttermilk, sugars, cocoa, cinnamon, and espresso powder and whisk them together well for a few minutes. Whisk in the flour, baking powder, and salt for a minute or so until you have a mostly smooth batter. Pour the batter into the prepared ramekins and push a 1-inch square of chocolate into the center of the batter in each ramekin, pressing the chocolate until it's submerged in the batter. Put 2 ramekins in the air fryer and cook them for 10-15 minutes or until they're firm to the touch on top and a pick inserted on the side of a cake (not the middle!) comes out with only a few moist crumbs and no wet batter attached. Let the cakes cool in the ramekins a few minutes before removing them to cool completely. Repeat the baking process with the remaining two ramekins of batter. Let the mini cakes cool in their ramekins for 5-10 minutes before turning them out. Serve the mini cakes plain, dusted with confectioners' sugar, or with ice cream, whipped topping, and/or fruit.
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