I have always been fascinated with chocolate lava cake. Who came up with it? How does the center stay so gooey? What even is in the center? Well, now I know. Apparently two different people came up with it 6 years apart. I like the story about Chef Jean-Georges Vongerichten creating the chocolate lava cake because it came about as a complete accident. I think that this dessert, though often viewed as a major delicacy, should be normalized and eaten all of the time. Am I just saying that so I can eat it all of the time without guilt? Maybe. But the fact of the matter is that this cake is absolutely wonderful. It is easy to make, fantastically fanciful, and deliciously decadent. Any baker will be able to make this dish, and it comes together in less than 20 minutes.
The story of Chef Jean-Georges Vongerichen
“Moving to Restaurant Lafayette in 1987, Vongerichten, then 30, was making 500 moist chocolate cupcakes from his mother’s recipe for a private party, but amateurishly failed to adjust for putting that many cakes in an oven, which significantly decreases the temperature.
“After we served them, the maitre d’ came running to me shouting that the cake was not cooked,” Vongerichten recalls in a phone interview. “So I cracked open an extra cake and sure enough, it was oozing in the middle. I couldn’t believe I had just served raw cake!” But at the end of the night, he was invited into the party for a standing ovation. The Chocolate Valrhona Cake, named after the chocolate Vongerichten used, became a permanent fixture on the dessert menu the next day.” -via Thrillist
For your Chocolate Lava Cake
Now, I know Chef Vongerichten used Valrhona chocolate, and you can if you’d like, but really any chocolate will work. Ghirardelli Dark Melting Wafers and bittersweet chocolate from Callebaut have both worked for me. I would recommend sticking to dark or bittersweet chocolate though. I do not think that milk chocolate would give the cake the rich, stately, flavor it is known for.
How does the center stay molten?
For this recipe, the cake is molten and runny because it is literally just under-baked. Now, I know that might stress you out a bit, but honestly, it is okay. The eggs do get up to a temperature to kill all of their bacteria, and it is SAFE to eat. If you still feel squeamish about it, there is another way to get a molten center but I do not recommend it. You could add a chocolate ganache ball to the center of the dough and bake if for 5 minutes longer. This will result in a molten center that is not just under-baked cake, but TRUST ME, it’s better the under-baked way. The ganache ball route is underwhelming and can even result in a dry cake. So my advice to you is to suck it up, and enjoy the delicacy that this is.
Can this be gluten free?
YES! This dessert can be gluten free! Just leave out the flour and bake for 1-2 additional minutes! You can also substitute the flour 1:1 with gluten-free baking flour instead if you would prefer. Enjoy!
Chocolate Lava Cake
Ingredients
- 5 ounces Dark Chocolate
- 6 tablespoons Unsalted Butter
- 2 Eggs
- 2 Egg Yolks
- ¼ teaspoon Vanilla Extract
- 3 tablespoons Granulated Sugar
- 2 tablespoons All Purpose Flour
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 450°F. Butter and flour four 4 oz ramekins. Set aside.
- Over a double boiler, melt together your butter and chocolate, whisking together until smooth.
- While the chocolate and butter is melting, in a large clean bowl using a hand mixer (or using the whisk attachment for a stand mixer), beat the eggs, egg yolks, vanilla, and sugar together on high until very light and ribbony.
- Add the flour and chocolate mixture to the eggs. Using a rubber spatula, carefully fold together until the entire batter is one homogeneous chocolate color.
- Distribute evenly to your 4 prepared ramekins and place on a baking sheet. Bake in preheated oven for 10-12 minutes. Be careful not to over bake.
- Take the cakes out of the oven when they are done and let them sit for 1 minute before turning them out onto a plate. Be careful not to burn yourself.
- Dust them with powdered sugar, serve them with a scoop of vanilla ice cream, and dig in. Enjoy!
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