Lava Cakes

We were coming home from dinner one day and thought about stopping somewhere to get lava cakes, but decided to see if we can cook them ourselves.  This recipe is super simple.  It takes longer to heat the oven than it does all of the other parts.


The recipe we found called for 6 oz ramekins, but we already had some 4 oz ones that we got at Costco, so decided to give it a try.  The first time we cooked them for 12 minutes as the recipe said, but the lava was mostly cooked, so we tried again with 10 minutes and they came out great.  Frankly, they may even be better at 8 minutes since the lava will likely flow better. There are other recipes where the lava may flow out like a liquid, but they appear to take a long time and a lot more steps to cook, so we will stick with this one.

 

Ingredients

1 stick (4 oz) unsalted butter
6 ounces of bittersweet chocolate (we use Ghirardelli's 60% Cocoa chocolate bars, which are 4 oz, so you need 1.5 ... better just buy 3 and make it twice).
2 eggs
2 egg yolks
1/4 cup sugar
1/8th tsp salt (a pinch)
2 Tbsp flour

Milk to drink with it, because it can be rich.
Raspberries, strawberries, or blueberries for the side.
Whipped cream if you want that on top or the side.
Powdered sugar for on top as well. 

 

Cooking Directions

Heat the oven to 450 degrees.

Use cooking spray to coat the inside of 4 four or six-ounce ramekins (we use 4-ounce ones). Put on a baking pan and set aside.

Fill double boiler pot about half-way and bring to a boil.

Break the chocolate into smaller squares. Cut up the butter into small cubes or slices to help it melt faster.  Put the chocolate and butter into the top of the double boiler (we use a pyrex bowl on top of a pot). Using a whisk, stir the chocolate and butter together until smooth.

In a medium bowl, beat the eggs, egg yolks, sugar, salt, and flour together, normally 2 and a half minutes on a medium/high setting. Or until the mixture is thickened and a little pale.

When the chocolate/butter is smooth, fold the chocolate into the egg mixture.  Spoon the batter into the ramekins.  If you use 4 oz ramekins, they will be mostly full (the cakes do rise a little bit, but not too much).  

Bake for 8-10 minutes, or until the sides of the cakes are firm, but the centers remain soft. Remove from the oven and let sit for 1-2 minutes.  Then cover the cake with an inverted plate and flip over (we use tongs to help this process, but you could just use an oven mitt).  After about 10-15 seconds, you should be able to remove the ramekins with a slight shake.  If they don't come out, flip back over and use a think knife or toothpick to run along the edges of the cake and try again.

Lightly dust with powdered sugar. Place fruit on plate and whipped cream if you choose. Add a tall glass of milk for the finishing touch. 


 

Ramekins going into the oven

Ramekins going into the oven

 

Ramekins coming out of the oven.  A slight rise.

Ramekins coming out of the oven. A slight rise.

 

Flipped on the plate

Flipped on the plate

 

Dust with powdered sugar and add whipped cream

Dust with powdered sugar and add whipped cream

 

Gooey center.

Gooey center.

 

 
 

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