Lava Cake

A close-up of a chocolate lava cake with melted chocolate oozing out, topped with a fresh strawberry. The dessert is served on a plate with a spoon and raspberries nearby.

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Prep Time15

Cook Time15

Chill time10

Total Time40

Course: Dessert

Cuisine: American

Servings:

Calories: 435kcal

Author: The Food Charlatan

Equipment

6 (4-ounce) ramekins (If you have 6-oz ramekins, see note)

Ingredients

For the ganache center:

1/3 cup semi sweet chocolate chips make sure they are high quality
1/4 cup heavy cream
1 tablespoon butter

For the lava cakes

10 tablespoons butter (1 stick + 2 tablespoons)
2 (4-ounce bars) bittersweet chocolate 8 ounces total*
1/4 cup dark brown sugar, packed
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt (use 1/4 teaspoon table salt if that's all you have)
1/4 cup all purpose flour spooned, leveled, and sifted
2 large eggs
3 large egg yolks
1/4 cup granulated sugar

For preparing the ramekins

1 tablespoon soft butter for greasing the ramekins
1 tablespoon cocoa powder for dusting the ramekins

Topping ideas

powdered sugar for dusting on cakes
raspberries
strawberries
vanilla ice cream
Whipped Cream
Hot Fudge Sauce
Salted Caramel Sauce

Instructions

Make the ganache center. In a small microwave safe bowl, add 1/3 cup semisweet chocolate chips and 1/4 cup heavy cream.
Microwave for 30-60 seconds until you can see small bubbles forming around the edge of the cream. Let sit for 1 minute, then whisk until completely smooth.
Add 1 tablespoon butter, let it sit for a minute, this whisk again until smooth.
Chill. Put the bowl of ganache in the freezer for about 30 minutes. Or put it in the fridge if you don't have room, for about an hour.
Shape the ganache. Once the ganache has been chilled for a while, check to see if it has hardened enough to shape. You want it to be hard enough to scoop into a ball shape, but not so frozen that you can't mold it. (Leave it out for a few minutes if it's too hard) Use a spoon or your hands to shape the ganache into 6 equal balls. Return the 6 balls to the freezer or fridge to chill.
Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F.
Make the cake batter. In a large microwaveable bowl, add 10 tablespoons butter and 2 (4-oz) bars bittersweet chocolate*, broken into pieces.
Microwave the chocolate and butter for 30 seconds, then stir. Continue heating in 30 second increments, stirring every time. When it is mostly melted but there are still a few lumps of chocolate, don't heat anymore, just whisk for a minute until all the chocolate melts and it is completely smooth.
Add 1/4 cup packed brown sugar to the chocolate.
Add 1 teaspoon vanilla and 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt. Whisk until smooth, making sure there are no lumps.
Use a spoon to add flour to a 1/4 cup measuring cup, then level off the top. (You don't want to pack it in.) Set a strainer over the bowl of chocolate and sift the flour into the bowl. Use a whisk to make sure it is combined well, but then stop once all the flour is incorporated. We don't want to over work the batter. Set aside.
In a large stand mixer or bowl, add 2 eggs and 3 egg yolks.
Add 1/4 cup granulated sugar.
Use the whisk attachment to beat the eggs and sugar on high speed for at least 3 minutes, scraping the edges halfway. The mixture should have lightened to a pale yellow color, and the egg mixture will come off the beater in ribbons.
Scrape the eggs into the bowl of chocolate and use a rubber spatula to fold it together. Do make sure that it is well combined (no more streaks), but do NOT over mix. Try not to deflate the beaten eggs too much.
Chill: Cover and chill the batter for about 10-15 minutes. It doesn't need to be cold (although it can be; you can refrigerate this batter overnight and make these the next day) but the batter should not be WARM going into the oven. Room temp or cold batter is great.
Prepare the ramekins: Use a paper towel or small sandwich baggie to cover your hand, then dip your fingers into some soft butter. Rub about 1/2 teaspoon butter into the bottom and up the sides of 6 ramekins. (1/2 teaspoon butter per ramekin!) Make sure there is a lot of butter in the bottom corners.
Use a sifter to sprinkle cocoa powder over the ramekins (I do this over the sink). Do a pretty heavy dusting so that the butter is completely covered. Tap out the excess cocoa powder.
Divide the chilled cake batter into the prepared ramekins. You can use a spoon, it's too stiff of a batter to pour. You want about 3.5 ounces of batter in each ramekin, even if you have larger ramekins.
Get out the chilled balls of ganache from the fridge or freezer. Use your hands to gently press each ball of chocolate into the cake batter. Do not press it all the way down to the bottom of the ramekin. You want at least 1/4 inch of batter in between the bottom of the ramekin and the ganache.
Use a spoon or offset spatula to smooth the cake batter over the ganache, so that it's completely covered. Add another little spoonful on batter on top if necessary, to make it flat on top. The ganache should not be poking out, make sure it's completely covered with batter.
Place the lava cakes on a baking sheet. (SEE NOTE about baking a single test cake first)
Bake the lava cakes at 325 degrees F for about 15 minutes. When it's baked and ready to come outlook for these cues:
1) The cake should look ALMOST cooked on top; it should be matte (not at all shiny) all along the edges. The very center of the cake (about the size of a quarter) can be shiny.
2) The edges will have risen up and pulled away from the edge of the ramekin.
3) When you gently shake the pan, the cake will jiggle in the center more than it's jiggling on the outside. (If the whole surface looks wobbly, leave it in a couple minutes longer.
Remove the cakes from the oven and set a timer to let them set up for 3 minutes. Prepare the serving plates.
Loosen edges. After 3 minutes, run a butter knife along the edge of each cake to loosen it from the ramekin.
Flip. Place a serving plate upside down on top of the ramekin. Hold the plate on top with one hand, and, using a kitchen towel to protect your other hand, flip the ramekin over. Count to 10, to let it settle, then carefully use the kitchen towel to lift the ramekin off of the lava cake. Repeat with all the cakes.
Dust each cake with a bit of powdered sugar shaken through a strainer. (or cocoa, if you prefer)
Garnish with raspberries or strawberries.
Serve immediately with vanilla ice cream or Whipped Cream, and don't forget the Chocolate Sauce or Salted Caramel Sauce if you really want to go over the top!!
Store leftover baked cakes in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 3 days. Reheat in the microwave for 1 or 2 minutes at 50% power, or in the oven set to 325 for about 7-10 minutes.
You can prep these ahead of time and bake later! Prepare the ramekins per the instructions above, then wrap tightly in plastic wrap. Store in the fridge for up to 24 hours or the freezer for up to 2 months. Make sure the batter is thawed and then set on the counter for 30 minutes before following the original bake time.
You can also freeze already baked cakes. Put the unmolded cakes on a lined pan and flash freeze for about 30 minutes, then transfer to a freezer ziplock bag. Leave on the counter for 3-4 hours, then reheat in the microwave for 1-2 minutes at 50% power or in to the oven at 325 for 7-10 minutes.

Notes

*For the 8 ounces of bittersweet chocolate in the cakes: you can use 1 cup + 2 tablespoons high quality bittersweet chocolate chips (I like Ghirardelli 60%).

RAMEKIN SIZE: I prefer to make these cakes in 4 ounce ramekins. Including the ganache center, each cake is about 4.5 ounces. You CAN make these in 6-ounce size ramekins, or even 7-ounce. But if you fill it all the way, GOOD LUCK FINISHING haha! These cakes are RICH. Even when baking in a 7 ounce ramekin (which I did several times) I still only filled it 4.5 ounces, because the larger cakes just don't get finished, usually.

SINGLE TEST CAKE: If you have time, I highly recommend baking a test cake before serving these to guests! Take notes on how long you baked it for. Every oven is so different, and gooeyness preferences vary. If you like a super gooey cake, you might only want to bake for 12 minutes. If you like a fully baked cake with a ganache center, bake more like 18 minutes.

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