The Chocolate Lava Fondant is an iconic delicacy with a liquid “lava” heart: the ideal dessert recipe for chocolate lovers!
Here’s an iconic dessert that is the pure definition of decadence: chocolate fondue! It gets its name from its liquid “lava” center, which flows like a volcano when you dig into it with a fork. Are you a chocolate lover who licks the batter off the spatula while baking? (Blame.) Then you’re going to fall head over heels in love with this one. It turns out it’s not as complicated as you think! But there are a few things you need to know in order to create this classic chocolate dessert.
History of Lava Cake
Lava Cake, Chocolate Lava Cake, or Molten Lava Cake is a chocolate cupcake that is intentionally underbaked so the center is still runny. Made with chocolate, butter, sugar and eggs, it is cooked in a ramekin or small bowl.
There are several chefs who claim to have invented the idea. The best known is chef Jean-Georges Vongerichten, who says he created it in 1987 after taking a chocolate cake out of the oven too soon and liking its gooey center. In any case, it was Vongerichten who popularized the cake in the United States and soon around the world.
Tips for melting chocolate lava cake
Lava cake is easy to make but difficult to perfect. Trust us, we’ve made this recipe too many times to count because we’ve perfected it! Here are three important things you should know to make the best lava cake:
- You will need 6 ounce ramekins. This classic lava cake requires a special baking pan. Be sure to get it, because the cooking time depends on it. (Need ramekins? Here’s a link to our 6-ounce ramekins.)
- The cooking time is extremely sensitive. You should pull the cakes when they are just cooked on the outside but still melted on the inside. This will take some practice depending on your oven, so don’t worry if you don’t get it right the first time.
- Carefully follow the demolding instructions. As soon as the cakes come out of the oven, bake them again in the ramekins. So you need to let them sit for an exact number of minutes for the outside and top to set.
Other than that, it’s great fun! The dough is quick and easy to prepare and a perfect theatrical dessert for chocolate lovers. Shape the cakes, dig and watch this lava flow!
Why These Chocolate Lava Cakes Are better
We researched an incredible amount of lava cake recipes while testing this recipe. The classic recipe uses a lot of chocolate and butter. But we’ve tweaked and tweaked this recipe to perfection to even taste it better with less wealth. Here’s what makes this lava cake recipe great:
- It tastes like chocolate cake batter. Most classic recipes taste like melted chocolate, but that’s not good Great. These melted lava cakes taste like chocolate cake batter licked off a spoon.
- It’s equally decadent, with half butter and chocolate as the standard recipe. The standard recipe is too rich for us. Also, we hate using 1 ½ whole candy bars for the recipe (because we want to eat the bar too!). This recipe only uses ½ candy bar for 4 servings.
Ingredients for Molten Lava Cake
Most molten lava cake recipes call for a massive amount of butter and chocolate. This recipe uses half the amount of a standard lava cake recipe, so brings in some elements of a standard chocolate cake. Here’s what you need:
- Bitter chocolate bar (60%) or baking chocolate bar: Do not use chocolate chips! They are formulated differently and make a very thick paste. You can also use a semi-sweet candy bar if you prefer. You will need 2 ounces or half a 4 ounce bar.
- butter without salt
- eggs
- granulated sugar
- Cocoa powder without sugar
- all purpose flour
- baking powder
- Kosher salt
- milk
Tips for demoulding!
The annoying part of a lava cake: taking it out of the mold! You need to squeeze it out of the baking dish without sticking and it should be just cooked on the outside but runny on the inside. Here are a few tips:
- Butter the ramekins and place a circle of parchment paper on the bottom. This will ensure the cake slides easily and doesn’t stick to the bottom. We struggled with sticking in our recipe tests, but the parchment nailed it!
- After cooking, wait 2 minutes. Important: The cooking process continues here!
- Run a sharp knife around the edge of the cake. This will loosen the cake from the sides.
- Turn a cake onto a plate (with a hot pad), wait 10 seconds, then remove. The cake should stand out on the plate. Remove the circle of parchment: the top of the cake will either bake straight or a small circle of lava will be revealed.
Bug Fix: Too much lava vs. not enough lava
What if you have too much lava or not enough lava? Here are our tips:
- When the first cake collapses with too much lava, Wait another minute or two before shaping the next cakes. The cakes continue to bake in the hot molds. But don’t leave the cakes in the molds for too long: they will cook and lose the lava.
- When the cake doesn’t have enough lava, next time bake cake 1 minute less. It’s hard to be perfect because all ovens are different! Don’t worry: next time you’ll get it.
Lava cake for two
Can you make lava cake for two? You bet! This recipe is easy to make as a half recipe. Simply divide all amounts below in half: we formulated it to work perfectly as a half recipe. It’s the perfect dessert to end a meal for two, such as Valentine’s Day or a romantic dinner!
More chocolate desserts
Are you addicted to chocolate like us? Here are some other chocolate desserts we love:
This melted chocolate lava cake recipe is…
Vegetarian. For gluten free use gluten free flour.
The description
The Chocolate Lava Fondant is an iconic delicacy with a liquid “lava” heart: the ideal dessert recipe for chocolate lovers!
- ¼ cup butter without salt
- 2 ounces Dark chocolate bar (60%) or dark chocolate bar (do not use chocolate shavings!*)
- 2 eggs
- ⅓ cup granulated sugar
- ¼ cup Cocoa powder without sugar
- 6 tablespoons all purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- ¼ teaspoon kosher salt
- ¼ cup milk
- Preheat the oven to 450 degrees Fahrenheit.
- Fold a piece of parchment paper in half and then in half again to make four layers. Draw the bottom of a baking dish on the parchment paper and cut out 4 circles. Use butter to grease the bottom and sides of the ramekins. Place the circles of parchment paper on the bottom of the ramekins and also grease the parchment paper.
- Cut the butter into pieces and break the chocolate into small pieces. Place them in a glass measuring cup or bowl. Microwave for 30 seconds, stir, then microwave for another 20-40 seconds until completely melted while stirring. Let cool while you prepare the rest of the dough.
- In a larger bowl, beat the eggs with a whisk until well combined and fluffy. Then add the dry ingredients and milk. Whisk until smooth, then slowly add the butter and chocolate mixture, stirring until just incorporated and smooth.
- Pour the batter evenly into the four ramekins. Place the ramekins on a baking sheet and bake for 11 minutes (or 10 minutes if cooking on high). The cake should have risen, cracked at the top, and be just a little fluffy when you tap the center lightly with your finger. (11 minutes is perfect in our oven.)
- Remove from the oven and let the cakes rest for 2 minutes (it’s important to be precise here, the cakes are still baking in the ramekins). Carefully run a sharp paring knife around the outside of the cake to loosen it from the baking dish. Using a heating pad, turn out a lava cake onto a plate (careful, the molds are hot!). Wait 10 seconds before gently removing the baking dish to loosen the cake, then remove the top circle of parchment paper. The top of the cake will either bake straight or a small circle of lava will show up. If the cake collapses with too much lava, wait another minute before removing the other cakes as they will continue to cook in the hot casserole dish. (But don’t leave the cakes in the ramekins for too long: they will cook well and lose the lava!) If there isn’t enough lava in the cake, the next time you make the recipe, reduce the cooking time by 1 minute.
- Sprinkle with powdered sugar and serve immediately, opening the cake with a spoon and draining the lava.
Remarks
*Chocolate chips don’t work well because they’re formulated not to melt (they make an extra thick batter). Resist the urge to replace them! Most candy bars come in 4 ounce bars, so 2 ounces is half a bar. You can substitute the semi-sweet chocolate if you like.
**This recipe is easily prepared as a half recipe: it makes an excellent dessert for a dinner for two!
- Category: Dessert
- Method: Cooked
- Kitchen: American
- Diet: vegetarian
Keywords: Lava Cake, Chocolate Lava Cake, Molten Lava Cake
