Chocolate Chip Cookie Lava Cakes

A soft, chocolate studded cookie with a gooey chocolate interior.

“I’m going to try and be healthier,” she said. “I’ll cut down on the amount of sugar,” she said.

The she is me. And I will, I will. But everything in moderation, right?

This is one of those things that you must savor, probably in moderation. I’ll warn you, though, that’s not exactly easy.

First, there was the Salted Chocolate Chip Cookie. Then came those Salted Caramel Whisky Truffles. Today, I present you with the Salted Chocolate Chip Cookie Lava Cake, a decadent concoction that combines both recipes together into a mass of pure sin.

This dish primarily consists of a generously sized chocolate chip cookie filled with chocolate ganache (the base used to make the salted caramel whisky truffles). Unlike that recipe, this ganache base does not contain any salted caramel or whisky for the sake of simplicity.I used my favorite cookie recipe for the base because it’s quite thick and easy to work with. I added a touch of instant espresso powder to the cookie dough because it helps cut through the sweetness of the mixture. Optional, but highly recommended.

Here are some other key things to remember when making this recipe:

• The ganache must be refrigerated in order to assemble the lava cakes easily.
• The ganache dollops must be completely coated in the cookie dough before baking (see the recipe for more detail on this)
• I find that 15-17 minutes is the perfect time to bake these- any more and you’ll have a tougher exterior. Any less and the cookie dough may not be baked all the way through.
• While these do taste great chilled, in order for the center to be molten, the lava cakes must be served warm, either 5-10 minutes after having been taken out of the oven, or microwaved for several minutes.
• I don’t recommend removing these from the serving dish to plate. Because of how heavy they end up being, the cakes might collapse. In any case, I think ramekins look stylish.
• I love to serve these with any fresh berries because berries add a fresh, lighter taste to this rich dessert- and only work to enhance the flavor.
• Watch the video! Hopefully it will help you visually synthesize the method.

Okay, enough talking, let’s tackle this molten chocolate chip cookie lava recipe.

Chocolate Chip Cookie Lava Cakes

A soft, chocolate studded cookie with a gooey chocolate interior.

Yield: 8 servings

Prep: 30 minutes minutes

Cook: 15 minutes minutes

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Ingredients

For the cookie dough:

• ½ cup 115 g unsalted butter, softened
• 2 tbsp granulated sugar
• ¾ cup brown sugar
• 1 egg
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• ¾ tsp baking soda
• ½ tsp salt
• ¼ tsp instant espresso powder, optional
• 1 ¾ cup all-purpose flour
• 100 g just under 4 oz chocolate, chopped/chocolate chips

For the molten chocolate:

• 100 g just under 4 oz chocolate (dark chocolate is preferable), chopped/chocolate chips
• ⅓ cup 80 mL heavy cream

Instructions

• To prepare the chocolate interior, bring the heavy cream to a boil in a saucepan or in the microwave (30 seconds to 1 minute- check after 30 seconds).
• Pour the hot cream over the chopped chocolate and let it sit for 30 seconds. Then, stir till smooth.
• Place the ganache into the refrigerator for a minimum of 2 hours or until firm and malleable (or in the freezer for 30 minutes-1 hour).
• In the meantime, prepare the cookie dough by creaming together the butter and sugars.
• Add in the egg, and continue to beat.
• Add the baking soda, salt, vanilla and instant espresso (you could also add the espresso at the end like we did in the video). The espresso is barely noticeable, but it cuts through the sweet, vanilla scent of the cookie dough and does a fine job of bringing out that rich, chocolatey taste. You could bump it up to ½ tsp if you wish.
• Gradually tumble in the flour, making sure to scrape the bottom of the bowl to make sure everything is combined.
• Fold in the chocolate chips and chill the dough for 30 minutes. Refrigeration isn’t completely necessary, but it makes the dough far easier to work with once it’s time to assemble. You could do the chocolate mixture and dough the night before you plan to serve the dish.
• To finish the lava cakes, preheat the oven to 350 F (180 C), butter 8 ramekins (or 8 cups in a muffin tray lined with parchment liners) and dust with flour or sugar to prevent sticking.
• Divide the chocolate ganache mixture into 8 portions and keep them ready on a parchment-lined tray.
• Scoop ¼ cup sized mounds of the cookie dough (using a ¼ cup measure or an ice cream scoop) and divide into two parts.
• Flatten one of the parts with your fingertips and place one of the ganache balls on top. Cover with the other cookie dough part and roll into a ball, making sure the ganache is completely covered in cookie dough. This is why it is important to make sure the ganache is chilled thoroughly so that none of it seeps through the dough.
• You should end up with 8 cricket-ball sized rounds. Place each round into a ramekin/muffin cup.
• Bake for 15-17 minutes or until the tops are golden but the lava cakes are still soft to touch and very slightly jiggly in the centre. I like to sprinkle the tops with a little sea salt before serving.
• Also serve with berries (preferably raspberries or blackberries) and/or ice cream.
• If you want to remove the cakes from the ramekin/muffin tray (which is slightly more difficult and I don't exactly recommend it), cool the lava cakes completely, then run a knife around the edges and flip over. If the bottom of the cake sticks to the pan, leaving a hole, fear not- scoop the remnants back into the lava cake and flip the lava cake pretty side up/top with ice-cream to cover imperfections. No one will know. Heat in the microwave for 15 -20 seconds.

Notes

Adapted from my chocolate chip cookie recipe and my salted caramel whisky truffles.

Course: Dessert

Cuisine: American

Keyword: butter cookies, Chocolate, cookies, Dessert, Eggs, Vanilla

Looking for more chocolate chip cookie recipes?

• Brown butter chocolate chip cookies
• Vegan chocolate chip cookies
• Salted caramel chocolate chip cookie ice cream sandwiches