Aspiring Elephant

What is a Lava Cake or Molten Chocolate Cake?

Lava cakes, also known as Molten Chocolate Cakes, are French desserts that are made using butter, eggs, sugar, and chocolate. They are essentially mini chocolate cakes that are filled with a liquid chocolate core (chocolate lava). They take about 25 minutes in total to prepare, making these little circles of chocolate heaven the ideal dessert for all you busy people out there. So, here’s how I make a Lava Cake that actually contains molten chocolate lava and tastes incredible! If you are in the mood for other types of desserts that don’t contain chocolate, check out my recipes for apple galettes or apple cobbler!

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup butter
• 3/4 cup chocolate
• 2 eggs; 2 egg yolks
• 1/4 cup sugar
• 1/2 tsp vanilla paste
• 2 tbsp flour
• 1/4 tsp salt
• confectioners sugar (optional)

What should I bake my Lava Cakes in?

Once again I have leaned on one of my favorite brands to provide the right tools to make something delicious – Le Creuset. I like to use 8 oz cocottes. They are the perfect size for making Lava Cakes, and many other things. You can also use ramekins (washable or disposable) or even muffin tins.

How to Make

To start, pull out 1 stick (1/2 cup) of cold butter and place it in a microwave safe, medium size bowl, then add 3/4 cup of chocolate chips. Heat in microwave for 45 seconds to 1 minute to melt. Mix using a rubber spatula or spoon. It should look like rich, smooth chocolate at this point.

In a separate bowl, combine 2 whole eggs, 2 egg yolks, 1/4 cup sugar, 1/2 tsp vanilla paste, 2 tbsp all purpose flour, and 1/4 tsp salt. Whisk until combined.

Add in the chocolate and butter mixture then mix until just combined.

When it comes time to add the mixture to the ramekins or cocottes you have a couple of options here. If you want to be able to remove the lava cake and add to a separate plate you can use parchment paper. I like to cut out a small circle, roughly the size of the bottom of the cocotte, then another long piece that measure 2 inches thick and about 8 inches long, then place them inside the cocotte accordingly. If you do not have parchment, you can also coat the inside of the cocotte with butter and cocoa powder or flour. Although, I have had issues removing the cakes using this method, but it can sometimes work. The other option would be just to east the cake directly out of the cocotte, which will require no parchment.

Place parchment pieces inside cocottes and fill 3/4 of the way up. They tend to rise a little bit so make sure to give them some space at the top so they don’t over flow.

Bake at 450°F for 10 minutes. If you want a firmer middle, bake for 12-14 minutes. Take out of oven and let cool for 10 minutes before attempting to remove from cocotte. Dust with confectioners sugar (optional). Enjoy!