Chocolate Lava Cake
This one always gets a reaction at the table. A rich chocolate cake with a centre that stays molten, made from a handful of pantry staples and baked in just 10 minutes. It looks like a restaurant dessert but there’s nothing complicated about it.
The only thing that really matters here is timing. Pull them out when the edges are set but the middle still looks soft — if you’re not sure, take them out a minute early rather than a minute late. Underbaked is an easy fix, overbaked isn’t.
Serve them straight away with a bit of mascarpone cream and some fresh berries. This isn’t one you can make ahead and reheat, but the batter itself can be prepped the night before if you want a head start.
Chocolate Lava Cake
CHOCOLATE · DESSERT · MEDIUM
A Showstopper Dessert With Barely Any Effort
It looks like something you'd order at a restaurant, but it's really just melted chocolate, a few eggs and a quick whisk. No mixer, no fancy equipment required.
The whole thing bakes in about 10 minutes, so it's a genuinely good option when you want a proper dessert without tying up the oven all night. Great for finishing off a dinner party.
You can prep the batter the day before and just bake it fresh when you're ready to serve, so most of the work can be done well ahead of time.
Chocolate Lava Cake
Ingredients
- 180 g Dark Chocolate Chopped
- 120 g Unsalted Butter
- 35 g Plain Flour All-Purpose
- 70 g Icing Sugar
- 2.5 g Sea Salt Flakes
- 2 Eggs
- 2 Egg Yolks
Serving & Garnish
- Fresh Mint To Serve
- Strawberries To Serve
- Raspberries To Serve
- Mascarpone Cream To Serve
- Cocoa Powder For Ramekins
Method
- Preheat oven to 220°C (430°F).
- Brush 4 large ramekins with the melted butter and dust generously with cocoa powder.
- Add the roughly chopped dark chocolate and unsalted butter into a saucepan. Place over low heat and gently stir until melted and smooth.
- Add the whole eggs, egg yolks and icing sugar into a mixing bowl. Whisk together until pale and creamy. Add the flour and salt and whisk until fully incorporated. Add the melted chocolate and butter mix and combine until everything is smooth.
- Evenly pour the batter into the greased ramekins. Place them onto a baking tray and bake for 10-12 minutes or until the edges are just set. Remove and let cool for 10 minutes.
- To serve, place a plate over the top of the ramekin and flip upside down to pop out the lava cakes. Serve with mint, strawberries, raspberries and mascarpone cream. Dig in.
Awesome recipe, and congratulations for the new website 🥳 looks amazing and very well organized. I especially like the table of contents for the recipes, in alphabetical order.
Hello, Joana! Thank you so much. It’s an amazing feeling finally having it launched. I hope you enjoy everything on here and I will be continuously adding to it too.
Omg Jack!!
WOW!
Going to have to be done !
When you write your book I will be the first to buy it !
This one is truly incredible and is a great little treat. I’m in the process of completing the pages that have been added to the website so far then I’m getting straight into writing my first ebook. Thank you so much, Heather.
Hi Jack,
Great recipe! I served the cakes as a special dessert tonight for my family to much satisfaction. A winner that we’ll return to again!
One thing, the video has a 10.5 min cook time and 1 min rest, the instructions above have 12 min and 10 min, respectively. Based on the results tonight the video is correct? Cheers!
Hey Lukito, Great to hear that. Yes the video is correct. Apologies for any confusion.