Molten Chocolate Lava Cakes
What says "I love you", better than chocolate? Not much that I know of. Come to think about it...nothing. Nothing says "I love you", better than chocolate. So, when I want to really treat myself AND satisfy my chocolate addiction, then this recipe is my go-to. It's really easy to make...it takes less than twenty minutes for the entire process. There are very few ingredients that are required...actually less than ten. Lastly, it's so freakin' good. Chocolate to the tenth degree. A baked cake on the outside and molten fudgy chocolate in the middle. God, I'm salivating just thinking about it. It doesn't get much better than that. So, whether you're treating yourself with a girl's night in or you're treating your loved one, these molten chocolate lava cakes are definitely something you're going to want to try.
REASONS YOU SHOULD TRY THIS RECIPE:
- Only requires a few ingredients
- Get your chocolate fix satisfied quickly because this only takes ten minutes to make
- Full of intense chocolate flavor
HOW TO MAKE MY MOLTEN CHOCOLATE LAVA CAKES:
- First, you know me and my Ghirardelli baking bars. Not the candy bars, but the bars that you can melt or use in your baking. Ghirardelli tastes great and it's relatively cheap. I get the 4-ounce baking bars from Walmart for about $1.98. You can't beat that. To begin, you're going to want to melt your chocolate and butter together. I just place them in a bowl together and microwave them in about 30-second increments. You can also place them together and melt them over a double boiler if you have that kind of time. Once fully melted, set aside to cool to room temperature.
- Next, you want to place your eggs in a medium to large bowl. Begin whisking for a few minutes. You can also use a stand mixer with the whip or paddle attachment. After whisking for a few minutes, add in your sugar all at once and whisk until the mixture becomes thicker and paler in color. Whisking by hand it took about ten minutes. By machine, it should only take about five or six minutes. This process is similar to any custard-based recipe. We're mixing the eggs and sugar until a "ribbon" consistency. Once it reaches the appropriate "ribbon stage" where the mixture forms a ribbon stream of egg mixture when you lift the paddle or whisk up, then you can whisk in the instant coffee granules, vanilla and oil. Whisk in for just a minute or two.
- Now, pour in all your melted chocolate all at once. At this point the chocolate should be about room temperature before adding in. Whisk until combined.
- Next, dump in the flour all at once. Begin to gently fold in the flour until just combined. Don't overmix!
- Now your batter should be all ready to go. Just note that the lava center will be more fudgy. If you want it in a slightly more liquid form, add the appropriate amount of milk to the batter, along with the oil, vanilla, salt and coffee granules and mix in.
- Prep your ramekins by buttering them well. Place about a tablespoon of flour in each and tap around the inside of the ramekin until it's well coated with butter and flour. Tap out the excess. Prep a baking sheet with parchment paper or a silicone liner. I like to do that just in case anything spills over, however you can use a plain baking sheet. There shouldn't be an issue. Place your ramekins onto the baking sheet.
- Preheat your oven to 375°F. Pour your chocolate cake batter into each ramekin as evenly as you can. Make sure you use a rubber spatula to get all that chocolaty goodness out of the bowl. Once both ramekins are filled, gently tap onto the table or baking sheet and shake to remove excess air bubbles.
- Bake at 375°F for about 7-9 minutes. The outer edges should appear baked, but the center should still be slightly jiggly.
- Let the cakes cool for only a couple of minutes in the ramekin. After two minutes, carefully invert onto a plate. Be careful, it will still be hot. Key point: once you invert onto a plate, do not lift up to unmold until after a couple of minutes. If you don't wait those two minutes, then it won't unmold properly.
After unmolding the cake, you can enjoy, decorate as you please, and enjoy warm!
MORE GREAT LEBANESE RECIPES:
SHOP MY BAKING ESSENTIALS:
https://www.amazon.com/shop/fayesfood
Molten Hot Lava Cakes
Ingredients
- ¼ cup unsalted butter plus more for buttering the molds
- 3 ounces bittersweet or semisweet chocolate you can also do one ounce of each variety. Use good quality chocolate.
- 2 whole large eggs
- ⅛ cup sugar
- very small pinch of salt
- very small pinch of instant coffee granules I use the Nescafe Taster's Choice Light House Blend
- ½ teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
- ½ teaspoon milk ** optional to make center slightly more liquid form
- 1 teaspoon flour for the cake plus more for dusting the molds (you can also use cocoa powder instead for dusting the ramekins)
Instructions
- Place butter and chocolate in a bowl together and microwave them in about 30 second increments. You can also place them together and melt over a double boiler. Once fully melted, set aside to cool to room temperature.
- Next, you want to place your eggs in a medium to large bowl. Begin whisking for a few minutes. You can also use a stand mixer with the whip or paddle attachment. After whisking for a few minutes, add in your sugar all at once and whisk until the mixture becomes thicker and paler in color. Whisking by hand it took about ten minutes. By machine, it should only take about five or six minutes.We're mixing the eggs and sugar until a "ribbon" consistency. Once it reaches the appropriate "ribbon stage" where the mixture forms a ribbon stream of egg mixture when you lift the paddle or whisk up, then you can whisk in the instant coffee granules, vanilla and oil. Whisk in for just a minute or two.
- Now, pour in all your melted chocolate all at once. At this point the chocolate should be about room temperature before adding in. Whisk until combined.
- Next, dump in the flour all at once. Begin to gently fold in the flour until just combined. Don't overmix!
- Now your batter should be all ready to go. Just note that the lava center will be more fudgy. If you want it in a slightly more liquid form, add the appropriate amount of milk to the batter, along with the oil, vanilla, salt and coffee granules and mix in.
- Prep your ramekins by buttering them well. Place about a tablespoon of flour or cocoa powder in each and tap around the inside the ramekin until it's well coated with butter and flour or cocoa power. Tap out the excess. Prep a baking sheet with parchment paper or a silicone liner. I like do that just in case anything spills over, however you can use a plain baking sheet. There shouldn't be an issue. Place your ramekins onto the baking sheet.
- Preheat your oven to 375°F. Pour your chocolate cake batter into each ramekin as evenly as you can. Once both ramekins are filled, gently tap onto table or baking sheet and shake to remove excess air bubbles.
- Bake at 375°F for about 7-9 minutes. The outer edges should appear baked, but the center should still be slightly jiggly.
- Let the cakes cool for only a couple of minutes in the ramekin. After two minutes, carefully invert onto a plate. Be careful, it will still be hot. Key point: once you invert onto a plate, do not lift up to unmold until after a couple of minutes. If you don't wait those two minutes, then they won't unmold properly.
- After unmolding the cake, you can enjoy, decorate as you please and enjoy warm!
Video
Notes