To coat a ramekin with flour or cocoa powder, butter it and fill it with sifted cocoa powder or flour and rotate so that the ramekin’s sides are coated. Pour any excess cocoa powder or flour into the next ramekin.

To coat buttered molds with flour or cocoa powder: put the flour or cocoa powder in one of the molds and rotate it so that it leaves a light coating on the bottom and sides. Transfer the excess to the next mold by inverting the powder-coated mold and giving it a good tap to loosen any excess powder.