We all love chocolate. Dark chocolate, milk chocolate or white chocolate, you name it. Still, chocolate is more than a tasty sweet; it’s a wonderful ingredient for more complicated chocolaty desserts. The best of them all? The lava cake, of course.

We won’t lie; making lava cakes is not particularly easy if you want to get restaurant-quality results. After all, achieving a firm crust and a melted chocolate core is no easy feat. Pastry chefs often place a solid chunk of frozen chocolate ganache inside these deserts, which melt beautifully in the oven. That’s a pro move right there.

The good news? There’s an easy way of making lava cakes at home, and they’re just as lovely as the ones served in fancy restaurants.

Why Make a Lava Cake?

Lava cakes are individual desserts with lots of flavor and the smoothest, runniest of textures. They’re the perfect example of a decadent dessert and always rise to the occasion at the most memorable dinner parties.

Making lava cakes at home is an excellent way of treating your friends and family with a restaurant-quality dessert that will leave them wanting more. And there’s more: these beauties are ready in less than an hour!

Serve your lava cakes with chocolate or vanilla ice cream straight out of the oven or drizzle them with chocolate syrup for an extra layer of chocolate goodness. This is one good dessert recipe to have up your sleeve.

What Goes into a Lava Cake?

To make lava cakes at home, you need dark chocolate, the real deal. So, get yours from a bakery supply store. You can also use semi-sweet or milk chocolate for a milder dessert.

You’ll also need flour, eggs, vanilla extract and sugar. That’s about it! A tablespoon of cocoa powder will give your lava cakes a lovely look and help you unmold them from their ramekins.

If you’re ready, let’s check out our easy recipe for chocolate lava cakes. The gooiest and glossiest chocolate filling awaits, so let’s get started! Make these deserts shortly before serving for the best results. After all, lava cakes are best straight out of the oven while the chocolate core is still warm!

Lava Cake Recipe

Servings: 6

Prep time: 25 minutes

Cooking time: 15 minutes

Total time: 40 minutes

Ingredients:

·      4 oz butter, plus more for greasing

·      1 tbsp cocoa powder

·      3 eggs

·      1/2 cup granulated sugar

·      4 oz dark chocolate

·      ¼ cup all-purpose flour

·      1 tsp vanilla extract

Directions:

1.     Preheat the oven to 350°F and grease 6 ramekins with butter. Dust them with cocoa powder and set them aside.

2.     In a mixing bowl, combine the eggs and sugar until smooth.

3.     Melt the dark chocolate in the microwave in 30-second pulses until soft and glossy.

4.     Add the chocolate into the egg mixture and incorporate the flour and vanilla extract.

5.     Pour into the ramekins and bake for 10-15 minutes until the edges are cooked, but the center is still soft.

6.     Unmold carefully and serve.

7.     Alternatively, dust with confectioner’s sugar and serve with vanilla ice cream.