These lava cakes have been a staple in my family since my awesome sister-in-law introduced them to us about 10 years ago (maybe even longer?). They were always a go-to for dinner parties I hosted and friends always wanted the recipe and were blown away by how simple they are. These are a perfect dessert to make for Valentine’s Day; stay in, make these, drink wine, be happy.
But after I figured out I can’t have gluten or cow’s dairy, I stopped making them, which is shame because they are stupid delicious. I realized recently that they really don’t have that much flour and I thought I may be able to sub Earth Balance for the butter. So, I set out to make a gluten-free and dairy-free version.
Tommy gave the GF/DF version two thumbs up and said he never would have known if I hadn’t told him.
However, if you don’t need gluten or dairy free, just use regular (unsalted) butter and all-purpose flour; it’s much cheaper. 🙂 Tip: the hardest part is removing it from the ramekin so they don’t break. I’ve learned over the years a few tricks for success, so make sure you follow step #7 in the numbered instructions.
Dark Chocolate Lava Cakes
I listed the directions twice intentionally – I like to see recipes with pictures as an overview, but then when I make it, I don’t like having pictures breaking up the directions. Hence, the directions 2x. 🙂 Hope that helps you!
- Preheat oven to 400*
- Using a small piece of butter, rub the inside of the ramekins so they are lightly coated with butter. Use a paper towel to spread if necessary – you need a thin layer of butter entirely coating it. Place a teaspoon or so of sugar in each ramekin and twirl to coat the butter with sugar. Dump out any excess. This is a step you can’t skip or else they’ll stick!
- Melt the butter and chocolate in the microwave, stirring every 30 seconds. It should take 60-90 seconds to be fully melted. If you want to go all fancy, you can use a double boiler to melt, but ain’t nobody got time for that. Whisk to combine the butter and chocolate once fully melted.
- In second bowl, whisk the eggs, sugar and flour. Slowly add the chocolate mixture. SLOWLY. If you dump it in all at once, you’ll curdle your eggs. Ew, grow.
- Pour a little chocolate mixture, whisk. Pour a little more, whisk. Etc. (Full disclosure: I just wrote whiskey instead of whisk. Guess what I want now?)
- Divide into ramekins – fill about 2/3 of the way up, definitely not to the top. You’ll regret it if you do.
- Bake in the preheated ovenfor 13-15 min. Put the ramekins on a small baking sheet to simplify things.
- They should puff up a little on the sides and still look slightly uncooked in the middle.
- Let sit for one minute and then place a small plate on top of each ramekin, and while holding the plate in place, flip the ramekin over onto the plate. (Be careful – you’ll need to use a towel or pot holder that allows you to grip the ramekin well.)
- Before removing the ramekin, tap it with a butter knife a few times and let it sit for another minute. Now you can remove the ramekin, and it should slide out nicely and look lovely.
- If you accidentally drop the ramekin on a lava cake and break it, you have to eat it in addition to a pretty lava cake. That’s the rule. Hence, I ate two lava cakes when I made these. True story.
Hope you love these as much as I do!
Dark Chocolate Lava Cakes
Makes 5 delicious lava cakes. This recipe doubles well for a crowd too!
- 4 oz bittersweet choc (I always use 1 bar of Ghiradelli)
- 1/4 lb unsalted butter (1 stick) + extra for greasing ramekins
- Use Earth Balance if dairy free is necessary. They sell it in sticks for baking.
- 3 whole eggs
- 3/4 cups sugar + extra for dusting ramekins
- 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
- Use gluten-free all purpose flour blend if necessary. I used King Arthur’s Gluten Free Multi-Purpose flour
- Preheat oven to 400*.
- Using a small piece of butter, rub the inside of the ramekins so they are lightly coated with butter. Use a paper towel to spread if necessary – you need a thin layer of butter entirely coating it. Place a teaspoon or so of sugar in each ramekin and twirl to coat the butter with sugar. Dump out any excess. This is a step you can’t skip or else they’ll stick!
- Melt the butter and chocolate in the microwave, stirring every 30 seconds. It should take 60-90 seconds to be fully melted. If you want to go all fancy, you can use a double boiler to melt, but ain’t nobody got time for that. Whisk to combine the butter and chocolate once fully melted.
- In second bowl, whisk the eggs, sugar and flour. Slowly add the chocolate mixture. SLOWLY. If you dump it in all at once, you’ll curdle your eggs. Ew, grow. Pour a little chocolate mixture, whisk. Pour a little more, whisk. Etc. (Full disclosure: I just wrote whiskey instead of whisk. Guess what I want now?)
- Divide into ramekins – fill about 2/3 of the way up, definitely not to the top. You’ll regret it if you do.
- Bake in the preheated oven (400 degrees) for 13-15 min.
- Let sit for one minute and then place a small plate on top of each ramekin, and while holding the plate in place, flip the ramekin over onto the plate. (Be careful – you’ll need to use a towel or pot holder that allows you to grip the ramekin well.) Before removing the ramekin, tap it with a butter knife a few times and let it sit for another minute. Now you can remove the ramekin, it should slide out nicely and look lovely.
- Dig in. oooh & ahh at the lava. Serve with ice cream. (I served mine with Arctic Zero mint chocolate chip; vanilla or coconut milk ice cream are other favorite pairings!) I go light on ice cream because I don’t like it to compete with the rich, chocolaty taste. But load up if that’s your thing!!
Notes:
- Bring all your ingredients at room temperature before beginning, especially the eggs.
- Ghiradelli does have a small amount of dairy. If you need to be 100% dairy free (e.g. you’re vegan, can’t have ANY dairy for a severe allergy), be sure to use a different dark chocolate that suits your needs. I haven’t tried other brands.
8 Comments
Cara's Healthy Cravings
atSuch a great dessert! I think I made a version of these last year for Valentines. I love them warm chocolate lava mixed with ice cream, it’s dreamy!
Ashly hutcheon
atPerfect!! Looks so familiar! ?
melissa
atYUM. also hilarious. I would buy your cookbook just because of your writing haha
Teri [a foodie stays fit]
athaha! Thanks! 🙂
lynn @ the actor's diet
atI swear, Lava Cakes never get old!
Amy M
atThese were easy and delicious! Your 10 minute goat cheese frittata was also a big hit. Thanks!
Teri [a foodie stays fit]
atI’m so glad you liked the recipes! Thanks for letting me know! 🙂
RLR
atI’m making these for my birthday next week! Four people – four lava cakes – no leftovers to tempt my raging sweet tooth! I love lava cakes, but haven’t had any since going gluten free. Yay!