Decadent Chocolate Lava Cake

Written by Roar Elias

Ever tried chocolate lava cake?

If you are not American, then you will probably not be familiar with a chocolate lava cake, but you may know about a chocolate fondant. Both of these are basically the same thing.

In fact to add to the confusion, this decadent treat is also know as a molten cake. Jean-Georges Vongerichten claims to have invented this, but Frenchman Jacques Torres argues he was the genius who created the lava cake. Mistakes happen in the kitchen all the time, just as they do in the workplace. However, often a lot is gained from it, just like with the chocolate lava cake. It just so happened that on this occasion, the oven was opened a little too early and this meant that the centre wasn't set. Instead, it created this wonderful velvety chocolaty sauce that ran out of the middle when you cut in half.

A chocolate lava cake is always baked in a ramekin and you can carefully take it out and serve it on a plate with some raspberries and a sprinkling of icing sugar. This is a gourmet dessert so you may as well make it look like that. As soon as your guests see a mint leaf on the side dusted with caster sugar along with a couple of berries, they will go "wow!" The method is easy. The trick is leaving it in the oven just long enough to create a sauce that doesn't overcook and become just another sponge cake. This is best served straight from the oven so it doesn't have time to settle down and carry on cooking.

You can add a variety of flavorings as well, such as something like coffee or a suitable liqueur, but most people don't like to combine too many flavors when it comes to this decadent dessert. It's really up to you.

Here is a great recipe, which has been tried and tested!

This is going to make 4 individual cakes

Ingredients

5 Tbsp butter
3.5 oz(100g) plain chocolate
3 large eggs
3 Tbsp sugar
3 Tbsp flour
2 tsp cocoa powder
pinch of salt

Directions

Melt the chocolate and the butter until they are completely combined.
Now you have to whisk the sugar with the eggs until you have a consistency that is light and fluffy.
Combine the eggs with the chocolate mix and whisk this until everything is combined.
-Sift in the rest of the dry ingredients and fold them in until they are combined.
Spoon this into 4 buttered 5oz / 150g ramekins. Knock the ramekins down gently on the table to make sure you have got rid of any air bubbles.
Place them in the refrigerator for 30 minutes.
Make sure the oven is set to 200 degrees C / 425 degrees F / gas mark 6
Get yourself a baking dish and fill it half way up with water. Now place the ramekins on here. This will ensure that your cakes don't curdle.
Bake for about 13-15 minutes. It depends on your oven, but watch this and give them a slight shake to see if they are wobbly.
Dust them with caster sugar and serve them warm. You can serve them as they are or you can turn them out.

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