These chocolate molten lava cakes are a dangerous thing. Why, you ask??
Well, when you find the best chocolate lava cake recipe and it only takes a few ingredients, plus it’s the best texture, plus it’s naturally gluten-free, PLUS it only takes like 15 minutes from start to finish…yeah, that’s dangerous. I may or may not have made it multiple times just this week.
This recipe uses some of my must-have kitchen tools!
I got the recipe from the always-reliable Smitten Kitchen…she calls them chocolate puddle cakes, and she’s not wrong, because they are ooey gooey.
Texturally they’re more along the lines of my flourless chocolate cake or a more sturdy chocolate soufflé, rather than cake-y or “fondant” as the Brits say (which I’m not mad at). It’s a beautiful delicate texture that’s a blast to cut into.
I’ve included a lot of notes along with the molten lava cake recipe below, not because it’s difficult but because there are a few choices you can make based on your tastes.
For instance, I prefer them less sweet (closer to 1 tablespoon of sugar rather than 2 tablespoons) and I do prefer to put a little dollop of something in the middle to cut the intensity of the chocolate.
I give you a bunch of ideas on that in the recipe notes, but some of my favorites are peanut butter, my unique peanut butter balsamic caramel, and tart cherry jam (with lemon zest in the batter). It’s endlessly adaptable!
Side note, I’ve also developed a single-serving version of this recipe which is delicious (and dangerous)!
Check out some other of the best gluten-free dessert recipes around!
So let’s get started…heat your oven to 450 F and prep your ramekins. I tried cutting corners on ramekin prep and had them stick every time, so don’t skip or half-ass this.
Legitimately this is the most annoying part of this whole recipe…brush two 6-ounce ramekins or baking cups with melted butter, making sure not to miss any spots. Spoon a little cocoa powder in each and pat it around so it coats the bottom and sides, then knock the excess out.
I’ve found through trial and error that I get the best outcome from melting a tiny bit of butter (not cooking spray!) and using a silicone brush to apply it up the sides and on the bottom. Then…there’s no elegant way to get the cocoa powder in there. Just go for it.
In a medium heatproof bowl, put 4 tablespoons of butter and the chocolate pieces and melt them about two-thirds of the way. You don’t want it all the way melted because it will be too hot to add the egg.
There are two ways you can do this, either in the microwave or set over a pot of simmering water—I do the microwave, about 15-20 seconds at a time and stirring in-between.
Good quality chocolate is important here (something like Guittard or Ghiradelli works fine), and you want something at least 60% dark (I’ve found the sweet spot is 60-73% cocoa, and around 71% is my preference).
Whisk until it finishes melting and then whisk in the sugar and salt.
Whisk in the egg and beat it until mixed in, and THEN add a good 20 to 30 extra times. This ensures that the mixture is smooth, glossy, and lightened a bit. DO NOT SKIP THIS. It makes a huge difference in your final cake texture.
The first pic below is before, and the second pic is after the extra stirs…it’s smoother, glossier, and pulls away from the side a bit.
Finally, add the cocoa powder and whisk until combined. You can also flavor the batter with citrus zest, espresso powder, extracts, or anything else that strikes your fancy (but doesn’t change the batter consistency). You can get creative with whatever you have on hand.
Divide the batter between the two prepared ramekins. You can just go with a straightforward chocolate lava cake, or you can put a spoonful of almost anything inside the center.
In that case, all you have to do is spoon half the amount of batter into the ramekin, add a centered dollop of your filling, and spoon the remaining batter on top.
Peanut butter is my favorite, and I’ve done tart cherry jam (with lemon zest in the batter) as well as my peanut butter balsamic caramel (YUM).
Bake 7 to 9 minutes (7 will be the most molten in the center, 9 still plenty gooey; mine always need 8 or 9 minutes). Transfer to a cooling rack for 1 minute.
I take my mini offset spatula or a butter knife and very lightly go around the edge of the cake, just to loosen it more cleanly before turning it out.
Then (wearing pot holders), place a small dessert plate over your first ramekin. Flip it onto the plate, count to ten, then lift the cup off. Repeat with the second cake.
Dust with powdered sugar and serve as-is or with berries, barely sweetened whipped cream, or a little ice cream. Eat immediately.
The texture on these chocolate lava cakes is absolutely magical, a delicate, airy, and bittersweet chocolate lava cake that’s perfect for any occasion.
You can make the batter and fill the prepared cups, then refrigerate until you want to bake them. They go into the oven directly from the fridge, but will need to bake 1 to 2 minutes longer.
This works totally fine, though after extensive testing I personally think that making it fresh has a *marginally* better texture.
Other easy & delicious GF chocolate treats you’ll love:
- Chocolate, Cinnamon, & Almond Loaf Cake
- Chocolate Almond Tartine (cake!) with Jam Swirls
- A Flourless Chocolate Cake I Actually Love
- Not GF, but try these lemon white chocolate lava cakes
The recipe is below, and don’t be put off by the detailed instructions and notes…this really is EASY and super fast. But the details matter quite a bit in the final product (and you can make some choices based on your tastes), so I’ve tried to give as much instruction as possible.
Original recipe from Smitten Kitchen
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The Best Easy Chocolate Molten Lava Cakes (Naturally GF)
These amazing molten lava cakes are the easiest chocolate lava cakes around...they only take a few minutes to make and are naturally gluten-free.
Ingredients
- 4 tablespoons (55 grams) of unsalted butter, cut into chunks, plus more for dishes
- 2 teaspoons of cocoa powder, plus more for dusting (I prefer Hershey's Special Dark)
- 3 ounces (85 grams) of bittersweet chocolate, roughly chopped (see notes)
- 1/8 teaspoon of fine sea salt or a couple pinches of flaky salt
- 1 to 2 tablespoons (13 to 25 grams) of granulated sugar (see notes)
- 1 large whole egg + 1 large egg yolk (ideally room temp)
- Optional: fillings or flavorings (e.g. citrus zest)
Instructions
- Heat oven to 450 F.
- Brush two 6-ounce ramekins or baking cups with melted butter, making sure not to miss any spots. Spoon a little cocoa powder in each and pat it around so it coats the bottom and sides, then knock the excess out. I tried cutting corners here and had them stick every time, so don't skip this (and yes, butter seems to be much better than cooking spray).
- In a medium heatproof bowl, put 4 tablespoons of butter and the chocolate pieces and melt them about two-thirds of the way. There are two ways you can do this, either in the microwave or set over a pot of simmering water---I do the microwave, about 15-20 seconds at a time and stirring in-between. You don't want it all the way melted because it will be too hot to add the egg.
- Whisk until it finishes melting and then whisk in the sugar and salt. Whisk in the egg and beat it until mixed in, and THEN add a good 20 to 30 extra times. This ensures that the mixture is smooth, glossy, and lightened a bit. DO NOT SKIP THIS. It makes a huge difference in your final cake texture. See pics above for what it looks like.
- Finally, add the cocoa powder and whisk until combined.
- Divide between the two ramekins. If you're adding a filling, see notes below on how to do this.
- Bake 7 to 9 minutes (7 will be the most molten in the center, 9 still plenty gooey; mine always need 8 or 9 minutes). Transfer to a cooling rack for 1 minute. I take my mini offset spatula or a butter knife and very lightly go around the edge of the cake, just to loosen it more cleanly.
- Then (wearing pot holders), place a small dessert plate over your first ramekin. Flip it onto the plate, count to ten, then lift the cup off. Repeat with second cake. Dust with powdered sugar and serve as-is or with berries, barely sweetened whipped cream, or a little ice cream. Eat immediately.
Notes
- Use a *quality* chocolate for this, as it comprises a huge amount of the flavor and texture. Guittard, Ghiradelli, and others are good.
- The sugar can be flexible here depending on your taste and the type of chocolate you're using. My preference is using a solidly bittersweet chocolate (70 to 72%), and in that case I use 1 tablespoon of sugar, maybe a tiny bit more because I like it less sweet. With a more semisweet chocolate (~60%), you could use even less.
- If you’re using salted butter, you can skip the additional salt, or just add a pinch of flakes for crunch.
- You can put a spoonful of almost anything inside that you wish to merge with the molten center, and I almost always do this. All you have to do is spoon half the batter into the ramekin, add a centered dollop of your filling, and spoon the remaining batter on top. Peanut butter is my favorite, and I've done tart cherry jam, my peanut butter balsamic caramel (YUM), and you can get creative.
- You can also flavor the batter with citrus zest, espresso powder, extracts, or anything else that strikes your fancy (but doesn't change the batter consistency).
- You can make the batter and fill the prepared cups, then refrigerate until you want to bake them. They go into the oven directly from the fridge, but will need to bake 1 to 2 minutes longer. This works fine though after extensive testing I'd still say making it fresh has a *marginally* better texture.
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