Molten Chocolate Lava Cakes for Two
- Sweet
- Oven
Two small, deeply chocolate cakes with a soft, molten center, baked in the oven and served warm. A simple Valentine's dessert built on dark chocolate, butter and eggs.
- Total
- 29 min
- Prep 15 · Cook 12 · Rest 2
- Serves
- 2
- Difficulty
- Medium
You'll practice: Whisking · Folding
Instructions
-
Heat the oven to 200°C. Brush the insides of the two ramekins with the 10 g butter, then dust lightly with a little of the flour, tapping out the excess.
~5 min
The butter-and-flour coating creates a nonstick layer so the delicate cakes release cleanly from the ramekins without tearing.
-
Break the dark chocolate into pieces and put it in the heatproof bowl with the 80 g butter. Set the bowl over the saucepan of barely simmering water and stir until melted and smooth, then take it off the heat and let it cool for 2 minutes.
~2 min
Gentle indirect heat melts chocolate without scorching it, and cooling briefly stops the warm mixture from cooking the eggs when folded in.
-
Whisk the eggs and sugar in a bowl for 2 minutes until pale and slightly thickened, then whisk in the salt. Fold in the melted chocolate mixture, then sift in the remaining flour and fold just until no streaks remain.
~2 min
Whisking eggs and sugar builds air for lift, while folding gently preserves that air instead of knocking it out.
A quarter teaspoon of salt in the batter sharpens the dark chocolate so the cakes taste rich rather than flat.
Whisking Whisk eggs and sugar briskly until pale and thickened; the mixture should leave a brief ribbon trail. Stop too soon and the cakes lose lift.
Folding Use a spatula to fold in a figure-eight, lifting from the bottom and turning over gently. Stop as soon as no streaks remain to keep the air in.
-
Divide the batter between the two ramekins, filling them about three-quarters full, and set them on the baking tray.
~2 min
Leaving headroom lets the batter rise without overflowing, and the tray catches any drips and makes the hot ramekins easy to move.
-
Bake until the tops are set and the centers still wobble when you nudge the tray, 10 to 12 minutes. Do not bake until firm or the centers will set solid.
~12 min
The outside sets first while the center stays liquid; carryover heat finishes the middle, so pulling them early keeps the molten core.
The wobble is the whole trick: pull the ramekins out while the centers still jiggle like set jelly, because they keep cooking in the hot dish as they stand.
-
Let the cakes stand in the ramekins for 2 minutes, then run a knife around the edge and turn them out onto plates. Serve warm with the raspberries alongside.
~2 min
A short rest lets the cakes firm slightly so they hold together when unmolded, while the center stays molten.
