Molten Chocolate Lava Cake
The ultimate chocolate dessert: A soft chocolate cake with a molten chocolate interior.
We have this Italian restaurant in Poland that serves lava cake with a scoop of ice cream and a drizzle of raspberry compote. Sometimes they’ll overcook the dessert but when they cook it just right, it’s quite the spectacle. Warm chocolate lava oozes from within.
For the amount of attention lava cake gets for its complexity- a velvety lava interior buried within a rich chocolate cake- it couldn’t be easier to make. And today, I’m going to give you a simple yet DELICIOUS chocolate lava cake recipe.
If you’re looking for an impressive dessert that can be put together within minutes, look no further.
As always, simplicity does come at a cost (albeit a small one). You’ll need to make sure you beat the eggs well- this will give the cake exterior a soft, airy texture- a perfect complement to that dense lava within. In addition- possibly the most important step- the baking. 7 minutes is perfect for me, you could get away with baking it for two more minutes, but no more. Overcooking a lava cake means cake sans lava. You’ll still end up with a delicious chocolatey dessert- but it won’t be a molten chocolate cake.
There’s a reason why lava cake has won over most hearts. And with this molten lava cake recipe, you’ll have all the power.
Molten Chocolate Lava Cake
Ingredients
- 100 g (4oz) unsalted butter
- 100 g (4oz) bittersweet (dark) chocolate, broken up
- 2 large eggs
- 2 egg yolks
- ¼ cup (50g) sugar (I used brown)
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 2 tsp all-purpose flour
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 230 C or 450 F.
- Generously butter 4 ramekins or small bowls and dust with cocoa powder or all-purpose flour, tapping out any excess cocoa or flour.
- In a microwave safe bowl, add the chocolate and butter. Microwave stirring every 30 seconds for about 2 minutes or until smooth. Then set aside. You can also do this step over a double boiler.
- Beat the eggs, vanilla and sugar using a whisk or electric mixer until the mixture has doubled in volume. It should be pale and fluffy. This takes about 5 minutes.
- Fold in the chocolate-butter mixture and all-purpose flour until well-combined.
- Divide the mixture among the 4 ramekins. At this stage, you can cover them with clingfilm and chill for several hours before baking, or you can bake them immediately.
- Bake the lava cakes for 7 minutes. They should have puffed up slightly and should jiggle when shaken.
- Let the cakes cool for 1-2 minutes, then serve immediately.
- To serve, run a knife through the edges of the ramekin and invert onto a plate.
- Dust with sugar or cocoa and serve with berries, ice cream or whipped cream.
Looking for more desserts to wow a crowd?
Just made this and it turned out great.
I used two large eggs and one large egg yolk, white sugar, salted butter.
Served it with salted caramel sauce.
You are definitely right, 7-9 minutes max.
I second guessed myself and baked for a minute too long.
Still ended up with awesome chocolatey cakes with just a slightly gooey centre, enough to make me want to try again and get it molten!!
This is a keeper recipe.
Thank you so much!
glad you liked it! I like the suggestion with the egg yolk:)