Hot Choco Lava Cake

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5 from 6 votes

Hot Choco Lava Cake

A delicious chocolate cake baked in a ramekin with molten chocolate in it best served with icecream and chocolate sauce

Prep Time10

Cook Time15

Course: Dessert

Cuisine: American

Servings:

Calories: 571kcal

Author: Nisha

Ingredients

4 oz chocolate baking Ghiradellis or any other good brand (milk, semi sweet or dark)
½ cup butter 1 stick
4 eggs 2 full and 2 yolks (organic, pasteurized)
1 cup powdered sugar (not granulated)
6 tbsp All purpose flour
1 tsp vanilla essence optional
½ tsp coffee powder optional

Instructions

Pre-heat the oven to 425 deg F
Spray the ramekins with cooking spray oil or butter and dust it with cocoa flour.Line with small parchment rounds if needed.
Cut the chococlate into small piecs and transfer into a bowl .
Add the butter into the bowl and melt it using a double broiler or using 10 sec intervals in a microwave.
Use a whisk to mix and get a smooth brown chocolate sauce.
Beat the eggs, sugar and vanilla using a hand or stand mixer for about 1 to 2 minutes.
Add this to the cooled chocolate butter mixture.
Finally add the flour and coffee (if using) mix with a spatula until it is just combined.
Divide the batter into the 4 ramekins and bake for 12 - 17 mins .
The batter will rise and look cooked on the edges.
Cool for about 2 mins , run a knife around the edges and carefully transfer to your serving plate.
Dust it with powdered sugar .Serve with ice cream, strawberries or chooclate sauce .

Notes

Although it is very simple to make this cake, with very few ingredients, I made a couple of attempts to perfect it. The taste was always on the spot. How can a warm hot chocolate cake with molten lava go wrong in taste anyway?
The challenge was to get the cake out of the ramekins intact without the lava dripping or overcooking with no lava. There is always a possibility for this. To be on the safer side for first-timers, it is best to serve it in the ramekins themselves. Decorate with powdered sugar and serve with ice cream on the side.
The trick is to get the cooking (baking) time right, the earliest being 12 mins and up to 15 mins. The first time I took it out at 12 minutes, and it was perfect. But after transferring it to the plate, the cake was intact; however, the molten chocolate oozed out without cutting into it.
I next attempted 15 -17 minutes, and it worked out better. Place it in the middle rack of the oven while baking. If you are lucky, you may get it right on the first attempt. It also depends on the oven and the climate conditions.
The chocolate used should be of great quality, like Ghirardelli baking chocolate. It is better to avoid the chocolate chip that you normally use for cookies in this recipe, as the desired lava may not be obtained. They are designed not to melt easily. Use dark, semi-sweet, or milk chocolate, whatever you prefer.
I used ramekins to make this. You can also use a muffin pan or cupcake tray to make this, but I have not tried that.
Some use oven baking, microwave cooking, and even the Instant Pot to make this. I used the baking option, and it worked out great for me.
Make sure to spray the ramekins with non-stick cooking spray, butter, and dust with cocoa so it can help with easy unmoulding. Line with parchment sheet rounds in the bottom if you like, although not necessary.
If you plan to make the batter in advance, you can also refrigerate the batter in another container for up to 2 days and transfer it to the ramekins to bake, just before you serve it. I have not tried that, so I can not comment on how that will turn out. The batter should be brought to room temperature before baking.

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