Molten Chocolate Lava Cake Recipe

Molten Chocolate Lava Cake Recipe

Is there anything better than molten chocolate lava cake? It has the reputation of being basic, but if basic tastes like rich chocolate cake with a liquid, melty center, well, call me basic! I don’t really know why people hate on lava cake so much. Yeah, it’s a little over played, but I love desserts that combine hot and cold and a warm from the oven lava cake with creamy cold ice cream is my idea of awesome.

I made these for our friends at Collectively to celebrate their birthday and new site. Mike and I collaborate with the Collectively girls from time to time and they are super fun to work with.

This was my first time making lava cake and I was pleasantly surprised at how easily it came together. I used a best of Bon Appetit recipe. Most lava cakes get the lava by under baking, but I chose this recipe because the lava is actually melty ganache. You make a ganache, chill it, then pop it into the middle of your cakes. When you bake, the center gets molten and bonus, you’re not eating under baked cake! The only thing I wish I did differently was making sure I had enough ganache in each cake. Initially I thought I would get 9 mini cakes out of the recipe (the original calls for 4 six ounce ramekins) but when I was portioning out, I realized that I would only have enough batter for 6. But, in my haste for warm chocolate cake, I under portioned the ganache.

Sad face because these weren’t as molten as I wanted, but in the end I was pretty happy about these guys.

So, cheers Collectively! Here’s to a bright year ahead!

In a small saucepan, heat the cream over medium heat until it just comes to a simmer. Place 2 ounces of chopped chocolate in a bowl and pour the cream over, stirring until smooth and chocolate is completely melted. Place in the fridge for 1 hour, to firm up.

Preheat the oven to 425°F. You can either make 4 six ounce ramekins or 9 three and a half ounce ramekins. Lightly butter the ramekins and sprinkle with demerara sugar to create a light coating.

In a heatproof bowl, combine the remaining 5 ounces of chocolate along with the 6 tablespoons of butter. Set over a saucepan of barely simmering water, being careful not to let the water touch the underside of the bowl. Stir constantly until completely melted.

In a stand mixer, beat together the eggs and brown sugar until light, fluffy, and tripled in volume, about 4 minutes. Beat in the vanilla and then gently fold in the chocolate mixture. Fold in the flour and salt until smooth.

Divide the half of the batter among the ramekins. About 1/3 cup for the 4 ounce ramekins, and 2 tablespoons for the 3.5 ounce ramekins. Place a tablespoon of chilled ganache into the center of each half-filled ramekin and top with the remaining batter.

Bake until the tops are firm, but the cakes are still wobbly when jiggled, 13-15 minutes for the 4 ounce and 9-12 for the small. Let cool for 30 seconds before tipping onto plates and serving immediately. Enjoy!