Chocolate Lava Cakes Vanilla (Printable Version)
Warm chocolate cakes with molten centers served with creamy vanilla bean ice cream.
# What You Need:
→ Chocolate Lava Cakes
01 - 4 oz bittersweet or semisweet chocolate, chopped
02 - 1/2 cup unsalted butter, plus additional for greasing
03 - 2 large eggs
04 - 2 large egg yolks
05 - 2/3 cup powdered sugar
06 - 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
07 - 1/4 teaspoon fine sea salt
08 - 1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
→ For Serving
09 - 4 scoops vanilla bean ice cream
10 - Cocoa powder or powdered sugar, for dusting (optional)
11 - Fresh berries or mint leaves, for garnish (optional)
# How-To:
01 - Preheat oven to 425°F. Generously butter four 6-ounce ramekins and dust with cocoa powder, tapping out the excess.
02 - Melt chocolate and butter together in a heatproof bowl set over simmering water or in 30-second intervals in the microwave, stirring until smooth. Allow to cool slightly.
03 - Whisk whole eggs, egg yolks, and powdered sugar in a medium bowl until pale and thick, about 2 minutes.
04 - Stir melted chocolate mixture and vanilla extract into the egg mixture until fully combined.
05 - Sift in flour and salt, folding gently until just incorporated, avoiding overmixing.
06 - Divide batter evenly among prepared ramekins and place them on a baking sheet.
07 - Bake for 11 to 12 minutes until edges are set but centers remain soft and slightly jiggly.
08 - Let rest for 1 minute, then run a thin knife around edges and invert onto plates. Serve immediately with vanilla bean ice cream and garnish with berries, mint, and a dusting of powdered sugar if desired.
# Expert Tips:
01 -
- The whole thing takes barely thirty minutes but tastes like you spent hours in a French patisserie.
- You get that showstopping moment every single time—there's something almost ceremonial about that molten center.
- Four individual cakes mean everyone gets their own moment of indulgence, and leftovers (if they happen) are forgiving.
02 -
- The molten center depends entirely on not overbaking; use an oven thermometer because your oven's dial is probably lying to you, and watch the cakes closely in the final minute.
- Prepare your ramekins and ingredients beforehand because once you start this recipe, there's no pausing—everything happens quickly and needs to go into a hot oven immediately.
- If you chill the raw batter ahead of time (which you can), add one to two minutes to the baking time and start checking earlier because cold batter bakes unpredictably.
03 -
- Use a digital oven thermometer because oven temperatures are rarely accurate, and a 10-degree difference means the difference between molten and fully baked.
- Chill your baking sheet in the oven as it preheats so your ramekins sit on heat from underneath, which helps the bottoms bake faster and more evenly.