Molten Chocolate Lava Cake

 

I have always been a fan of molten chocolate cake but had always been intimidated to even try making one. However, one day I saw these beautiful heart-shaped molds from one of our thrift stores and that gave me the idea that I should at least give it a try. I immediately purchased these pretty little cups 'cause not only were they so cheap, they were also brand new. I thought to myself, these would come in handy someday.

I searched on the web for a recipe for chocolate lava cake and found this very easy recipe from Tasty Kitchen. When I read it, I thought, I can do that. I didn't have a Baking Chocolate but I have always used regular chocolate when baking anyway 'cause I think it tastes much better so I substituted it with what was available in my pantry - a 70% Dark choco bar - pretty intense but that's how we like our choco here - bittersweet. I would say - it's quite a good recipe for the cake turned out very well.  It really worked - the center was soft and when I cut into it - the gooey chocolate center flowed out like a hot lava (it is actually smoother than what the photo shows).  What's more it's so easy to make and you don't even need a mixer to do it.  I have to say though that the edges of the cake are a bit crusty though the center was truly soft. I don't know if it's the baking time that made the edges a little crusty. Original recipe called for 13-14 minutes which I think is a little too long. I have seen other recipes which only call for about 10 minutes or less. I used 12 minutes exactly but I will try doing only 10 minutes next time so it will definitely be gooey in the center and hopefully not too crusty on the edges. But if you're not so fussy --- this is a very good recipe to try! Who cares about the crusty edges when you can put some vanilla ice cream on top of this cake and see it melt with the gooey choco lava! Yum!

Ingredients

4 pieces (squares) Bitter-sweet or Semi-sweet or just plain sweet Chocolate (this is a matter of preference)*

½ cups Butter, chopped into several pieces

1 cup Confectioner's or Powdered Sugar plus an extra 1-2 Tablespoon for dusting, separated

2 whole Eggs plus 2 Egg yolks

6 Tablespoons Flour

 

*Note: You can use Baking chocolate if that is what you prefer for easier measurement, but trust me real chocolate is much better. Do not be scared if you are off by an ounce or so. I don't think it would matter much. This is the chocolate I used because my hubby and I prefer dark and intense chocolate flavor...but your cake won't be so sweet so follow your sweet cravings. I used about 4 pieces (they are individually wrapped). You can find this at Aldi's and they are cheaper than Ghirardelli's but oh so good too!

 

Procedure

Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Grease/spray about 4 custard molds/cups or small ramekins with a non-stick spray and then place them on a baking tray (cookie sheet).

The next step requires melting the butter and chocolate. You can use the microwave to do so but I don't have one so I use the double boiler method to melt my choco and butter. If doing the double boiler method, place the butter and chocolate in a stainless steel bowl above a saucepan with barely simmering water. Make sure the bowl does not touch the water. Let the choco and butter melt.

Stir as the choco and butter melts and has become smooth in texture. A spatula is handy with this.

Add 1 cup powdered or confectioner's sugar then whisk together until smooth.

Add the 2 eggs and the 2 egg yolks then whisk together again until smooth.



Stir in the flour just until combined.

 

Divide the chocolate batter evenly among the 4 custard molds. Since it's Valentine's Day I used heart-shaped molds. 

 

 

Bake in the preheated oven for about 11-12 minutes, or until the sides are firm but still soft in the center. See photo below.

 



 

Let cool for about 2 minutes (set the timer so you won't forget!). Thereafter, invert the cakes onto serving plates. They should release very quickly. Dust with the remaining powdered sugar. Serve with some fruits on the side, if desired.

 

Serve immediately! Enjoy all that gooey chocolate goodness! And, yes this is so perfect with vanilla ice cream, too or even plain whipped cream!

 

If you like what you see and would like to receive new recipe updates we'd love you to subscribe to our posts and join our site. Also do like us in Facebook so you can get the latest updates and so much more. Thanks for visiting and happy browsing!

This recipe is featured at Ladies' Night Linky Party.