Other than that, it’s big fun! The batter is quick and easy to whip up, and it’s a theatrical dessert that’s perfect for chocolate lovers. Unmold the cakes, dig in, and watch that lava flow! Are you a chocolate lover licks the batter off spatulas when baking? (Guilty.) Then you’ll be head over heels for this one. Turns out, it’s not as tricky as you think! But there are a few things to know to fail-proof this classic chocolate dessert. There are several chefs who claim to have invented the idea. The most well known is Chef Jean-Georges Vongerichten, who says he created it in 1987 after he pulled a chocolate cake out of the oven too soon and loved its gooey center. Either way, it’s Vongerichten who brought the cake to popularity in the US and soon around the world.
Bittersweet chocolate (60%) bar or baking chocolate bar: Do not use chocolate chips! They are formulated differently and make for a very thick batter. You can also use a semi-sweet chocolate bar if you prefer. You’ll need 2 ounces or half a 4-ounce bar. Unsalted butter Eggs Granulated sugar Unsweetened cocoa powder All-purpose flour Baking powder Kosher salt Milk
You’ll need 6-ounce ramekins. This classic lava cake requires a special baking dish. Make sure to get these, because the bake time depends on it. (Need ramekins? Here’s a link to our 6-ounce ramekins.) The bake time is extremely sensitive. You’ve got to pull the cakes when they’re just baked on the outside but still molten on the inside. It takes a little practice based on your oven, so don’t worry if you don’t get it right the first time. Follow the unmolding instructions exactly. Once you take the cakes out of the oven, they still bake in the ramekins. So you’ll need to let them sit an exact amount of minutes to get the outside and top to firm up.
Tips for unmolding them!
The nerve-wracking part of a lava cake: unmolding it! You’ll need to get it to release from the ramekin without sticking, and it needs to be just baked on the outside but liquid on the inside. Here are some tips:
It tastes like chocolate cake batter. Most classic recipes taste like melted chocolate, which is good but not great. These molten lava cakes taste like the chocolate cake batter you lick off a spoon. It’s just as decadent, with half the butter and chocolate as a standard recipe. The standard recipe is too rich for us. Plus, we hate using up an entire 1 ½ chocolate bars for the recipe (because we want to eat the bar, too!). This recipe uses only ½ chocolate bar for 4 servings.
Butter the ramekin, and add a circle of parchment paper at the bottom. This ensures the cake will easily slide out and won’t stick to the bottom. We had issues with sticking in our recipe testing, but parchment did the trick! After baking, wait 2 minutes. This is important: the cooking process still continues here! Run a sharp knife around the edge of the cake. This releases the cake from the sides. Invert one cake onto a plate (with a hot pad), wait 10 seconds, then pull it back. The cake should release onto the plate. Remove the parchment circle: the top of the cake will be either just cooked over or have a small circle of lava visible.
More chocolate desserts
Are you a chocoholic like we are? Here are a few more chocolate desserts we love:
If the first cake collapses with too much lava, wait another minute or two before unmolding the next cakes. The cakes will continue cooking in the hot ramekins. But do not leave the cakes in the ramekins too long: they will cook through and lose the lava. If the cake doesn’t have enough lava, next time bake the cakes for 1 minute less time. It’s tricky to get perfect because all ovens vary! Don’t worry: you’ll get it next time.
Go for soft and gooey Chocolate Chip Cookie Bars or Fudgy Olive Oil Brownies. Try this decadent Flourless Chocolate Cake or a two-tiered Vegan Chocolate Cake. Go for a Chocolate Zucchini Cake or try single-serving Chocolate Mug Cake. Make Chocolate Mousse (or Easy Chocolate Mousse). Opt for Chocolate Covered Strawberries or Chocolate Covered Bananas.
5 from 2 reviews **This recipe is easy to make as a half recipe: it’s a great dessert for a dinner for two!
