Chocolate Lava Cakes
The molten centre of these chocolate lava cakes will melt the heart of any Valentine.
The creation of lava cakes is said to be the result of a chef who messed up the amount of flour as he was making a cake. I'm not sure if that is true, but however these wonderful, chocolaty cakes came into being it was blessing in disguise. Any chocolate lover would surely agree there is nothing quite like piercing the outer layers of a lava cake and seeing all that chocolate spill forth.
Naturally, the key to the best tasting lava cake is using the best ingredients possible. High-quality chocolate and the best butter you can find will make a huge difference.
This recipe is designed to be dairy-free, gluten-free, and suitable for ovo-lacto vegetarians. However, if you're not concerned about it being dairy-free, swap the plant-based butter for real creamery, grass-fed, free-range herd butter. It costs a pretty penny, but not a lot is needed. The richness it adds does make it worth the extra pennies.
This recipe makes two lava cakes, but can easily be doubled, or more, for larger groups.
Ingredients
(Makes 2 servings)
1/4 cup unsalted plant-based butter, plus more for greasing the ramekins
2 ounces semisweet chocolate, chopped
1 large egg
1 large egg yolk
1/8 cup monk fruit sweetener (or granulated sugar)
1 teaspoon cassava flour, plus more for flouring the ramekins (or all-purpose flour)
fruit or berries to garnish (optional)
Directions
Preheat oven to 450°F / 230°C then grease and lightly flour 2, 4-ounce ramekins, or other small cake moulds. Set aside.
In a small mixing bowl, add the chopped chocolate and butter. Place the bowl over a pot of slowly boiling water to create a bain-marie and melt. Remove from the heat just as the last of the chocolate starts to disappear and stir to combine.
While the chocolate and butter melt, begin the rest of the cake batter. In the bowl of a stand mixer (or in a mixing bowl with a hand mixer) add the egg, egg yolk, and sweetener. Beat on medium-high until the mixture becomes light and thickens. Add the flour and beat until just combined.
Add the melted chocolate and butter to the egg mixture in a slow steady stream stirring with a silicon spatula until combined. Pour the batter equally into the ramekins, and using a sheet pan, slide the ramekins into the oven to bake for 8 to 10 minutes. Remove from the oven and carefully invert the ramekins onto plates. Let set upside down for 10 to 15 seconds before lifting off the ramekins.
Serve right away with an optional sprinkling of powdered sweetener, or fruits, berries, ice cream, or whipped cream.
Nutritional Information Per Serving:
total calories = 336.5 | total fat = 25.76g | saturated fat = 10.56g | cholesterol = 189.5mg | sodium = 216.5mg | net carbohydrates = 29.93g | dietary fibre = 2.38g | sugars = 12.05g | protein = 6.48g
