Impress yourself and make this dessert! Using so few ingredients and put together quite quickly, you will see how easy these decadent and impressive Molten Chocolate Lava Cakes come together.
Here’s that special recipe I’ve been promising all week. Molten Chocolate Lava Cakes! What could be better for a Friday. Or any day for that matter. If you want a decadent chocolate dessert that feeds a few this one is great. But if you’re looking for something for more of a crowd, check out my Triple Layer Chocolate Ganache Cake.
I’ve been playing around with a few different methods over time and this one is fantastic. It’s so light and airy with delicious melted chocolate in the middle. The perfect date night treat. And the date can even just be yourself.
Keep reading to see how you can make these at home and get prefect results every single time.
Get all your ingredients ready
Always make sure you read the full recipe before starting any baking venture. You never know what surprises might be along the way. .
In this case make sure your eggs are at room temperature. Important. I’ll explain a little further along. And you can just head straight to the bottom to see the condensed version of the recipe if you’re a confident baker.
The full recipe will always be located at the end of each post. You can just scroll down to see it at the bottom
Let’s get going on our cakes
First, preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Do this first, so it’s ready when you have finished preparing the cakes.
Roughly chop the chocolate and add it to a double boiler with the cubed butter. Place it on the stove over medium heat and stir occasionally until it melts. This will take about 3 – 5 minutes.
Don’t have a double boiler, no problem. You can just as easily use a glass bowl set over a simmering sauce pan of water.
Greasing The Ramekins and Separating the eggs
Grease the ramekins completely, otherwise the cakes will stick and won’t come out easily after they’re baked. Then lightly dust with flour. Tip the ramekins over and tap the bottom to remove any excess flour.
Set them on the baking tray and set aside until ready to use.
You’re going to need 2 full eggs and 2 egg yolks for this recipe. It’s easier to separate eggs when they are cold. After you’ve separated the two eggs, bring them to room temperature. Usually after about 30 minutes they will be ready to use.
Importance of Room Temperature Eggs. This cake needs the eggs to reach full volume. They do this best if they are at room temperature. This cake relies on the eggs being whisked to get max air and volume.
Add the eggs and the egg yolks to a large mixing bowl. Start whisking and gradually pour in the 1/4 cup/50 grams of sugar. Keep whisking on high speed until the batter is light and fluffy, about 5 minutes.
Remember that melted chocolate? Time to pour it into the batter. Do this slowly and whisk on a low speed as you pour it in. You HAVE to do it slow so you don’t deflate the batter. Stir just until combined.
You should have a smooth and light batter. Add the two tablespoons of flour and gently stir until it’s just combined. Again, don’t over mix, you don’t want the batter to lose volume.
Pour the Batter and Bake the Molten Chocolate Lava Cakes
Pour the batter evenly into the four ramekins. Place the ramekins on the baking tray. Bake in the oven for about 7 minutes. Yours could be a minute or so more. Remember how I talk all the time about every oven looking different.
What you are looking for when they are ready to come out, is something that looks a little like a chocolate souffle. You will see in the picture below. Remove them from the oven.
Getting the Cakes out of the Ramekins
Not shown here, but gently loosen the sides with a small pliable spatula. Place a plate on top of the ramekin and flip it over. You may need to use a tea towel as the ramekin will be hot.
Gently pull the ramekin off the cake and you should be left with a perfect little cake. Hopefully, it turns out for you. Mine doesn’t look perfect here, but it’s getting dressed up so we don’t need to worry about that!
If your Molten Chocolate Lava Cake is completely set, it means your oven runs a little hotter than mine, and it will likely need to come out a minute earlier. They are still delicious when they are slightly more set.
You need to make these, they are delicious!
I dressed them up with fresh whipped cream and fresh strawberries. Oh and a little dusting of powdered sugar. Delicious and decadent!
This is a must make dessert that isn’t that difficult. You just need to pay close attention to the steps and take your time getting it right along the way.
Can you make these in advance
I’m sure this is what most people are wondering because who has this time when you are entertaining or having a special occasion. Nobody. Yes, you can! And here’s all you need to do.
Prepare the Molten Lava Cakes as per the recipe below. Pour the batter into the dishes, cover and refrigerate. Then take them out of the fridge about 30 minutes before you want to bake them.
So, it makes it easy to serve these at a dinner party. Baking time is so quick, your guests won’t even notice you left the table. Just pour them more wine!
That’s a Wrap
And that my friends, is the easy way to make Molten Chocolate Lava Cakes. You can make them too! If you aren’t sure about anything, just ask away in the submit form at the bottom. I’d be happy to help.
Have a great Friday and I’ll see you all next week. Enjoy the cake!
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Molten Chocolate Lava Cakes
Ingredients
- 4 oz semi sweet dark chocolate roughly chopped
- 1/2 cup butter cut into cubes
- 2 Eggs room temperature
- 2 Egg yolks room temperature
- 1/4 Cup sugar
- 2 Tablespoons all purpose flour
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Place the rack in the middle of the oven. Have ready a large baking tray. Grease and lightly flour 4 ramekin dishes.
- In a double boiler, or a glass bowl set over a saucepan of simmering water, add the chopped chocolate and butter. Stir until it melts, 3 – 5 minutes, and remove from heat.
- In a large bowl, whisk on high speed the eggs and egg yolks. Gradually add the sugar and whisk on high speed until it’s light and fluffy, about 5 minutes.
- Slowly pour in the melted chocolate and mix on stir speed until just combined, about a minute.
- Gently stir in the flour.
- Evenly pour into prepared baking dishes. Place all the ramekins on the baking tray and bake for about 7 minutes.
- Remove from oven. Use a small pliable spatula to gently loosen the cakes from the side of the ramekin. Place a plate on top of each ramekin dish and gently flip it over. Remove ramekin.
- Suggested serving with whipped cream and fresh strawberries. For best results, serve hot.
*A note on times provided: appliances vary, any prep and/or cook times provided are estimates only.
thanks for stopping by and hope to see you soon!
What size of ramekin should be used for this recipe?
Hey Sophie, I used 4 inch ramekins. I’ll put it in the recipe card, thanks for letting me know.