The Ultimate Chocolate Lava Cake screams out CHOCOLATE!  The intense chocolate flavor of the airy, warm cake and the smooth, hot, creamy molten chocolate center makes the differing textures burst out and kiss you ~ right on the lips!  Oh my goodness… this is such a romantic dessert…  

I don’t think I should say anything else, except ~ Bon Appétit!  

Ultimate Chocolate Lava Cake 

Ultimate Chocolate Lava Cake is the perfect Gluten-Free dessert for Valentine’s Day and special dinners.  Of course, it goes without saying (easy-to-make) Ultimate Chocolate Lava Cake is THE BEST, the most fabulous make-ahead dessert you could ever make for Thanksgiving, Christmas, New Year’s Day and Easter.  In fact, every “chocoholic” will be “in love” with you after taking just one bite!

Serves 6
Ingredients
1 1/3 cups semi-sweet chocolate chips
5 tablespoons butter; plus butter for ramekins (see Lynn’s Notes for Dairy Free)
3 eggs, separated
1/4 cup granulated sugar, divided

Directions
1.  Preheat oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit.  Generously butter six small ramekins (4 – 4 1/2 oz. size) or custard cups.


2.  Over very low heat, in a medium sized saucepan, melt together the chocolate and butter; stirring constantly.  As soon as the butter melts, remove from heat.  Whisk in the egg yolks and 2 tablespoons of the sugar.


3.  Place egg whites in large mixing bowl; beat until foamy.  Gradually beat in remaining 2 tablespoons sugar into the whites.  Beat just until soft peaks fold over when the beaters are lifted. 


4.  Stir 1/3 of chocolate-butter mixture into whites mixture.  Gently fold in remaining chocolate mixture until completely combined.  Divide evenly between ramekins.  You can cover them with plastic wrap at this point and refrigerate up to 24 hours before baking.

5.  Place the ramekins on a baking sheet so it’s easy to pull them out of the hot oven.  Bake 10-12 minutes until puffy.  The edges will look firm and the center should look a little moist.  (Bake 14-16 minutes if refrigerated).  Cool 3 minutes.  

You can serve your gluten-free Ultimate Chocolate Lava Cakes right in the little ramekins, or run a knife around the edges and invert cakes onto dessert plates.  Serve hot with Vanilla Whipped Cream or ice cream. 

 

Lynn’s Notes:
Chocolate: Use a high-quality brand of Semi-sweet Chocolate Chips of course!  I use Guittard or Nestle Chocolate Chips
 

Make Ahead Note:  Once you spoon the chocolate/egg mixture into the ramekins; cover them immediately with plastic wrap and refrigerate up to 24 hours before baking.  I almost always make my Ultimate Chocolate Lava Cakes the day before.  When it’s time for dessert; I simply preheat my oven for 10 minutes; then bake them.  This make-ahead dessert always gets, “ooh’s and ahh’s.”  Your family and friends will think you have taken French Cooking Lessons!

Dairy Free:  Replace the 5 tablespoons of butter with your favorite baking “dairy-free butter.”  Also, note that semi-sweet chocolate chips may contain dairy ingredients in them; read the labels.  You can find completely dairy-free chocolate chips at most Natural Food Stores ~ however, they are quite expensive compared to regular chocolate chips (sigh!)

How to make Bittersweet Chocolate Lava Cakes: 
You may want to make your Chocolate Lava Cakes even more intense; so here’s how I make Bittersweet Chocolate Lava Cakes for dark-chocolate lovers!  I simply add 2 tablespoons of cocoa.  Here’s the recipe again, adding the cocoa:



Bittersweet Chocolate Lava Cake 

Serves 6
Ingredients
1 1/3 cups semi-sweet chocolate chips
5 tablespoons butter; plus butter for ramekins (see Lynn’s Notes for Dairy Free)
3 eggs, separated
1/4 cup granulated sugar, divided
2 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder

Directions
1.  Preheat oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit.  Generously butter six small ramekins (4 – 4 1/2 oz. size) or custard cups.


2.  Over very low heat, in a medium sized saucepan, melt together the chocolate and butter; stirring constantly.  As soon as the butter melts, remove from heat.  Whisk in the egg yolks and 2 tablespoons of the sugar.


3.  Place egg whites in large mixing bowl; beat until foamy.  Combine remaining 2 tablespoons sugar and unsweetened cocoa powder; gradually beat the sugar/cocoa into the whites.  Beat just until soft peaks fold over when the beaters are lifted. 


4.  Stir 1/3 of chocolate-butter mixture into whites mixture.  Gently fold in remaining chocolate mixture until completely combined.  Divide evenly between ramekins.  You can cover them with plastic wrap at this point and refrigerate up to 24 hours before baking.
5.  Place the ramekins on a baking sheet so it’s easy to pull them out of the hot oven.  Bake 10-12 minutes until puffy.  The edges will look firm and the center should look moist.  (Bake 14-16 minutes if refrigerated).  Cool 3 minutes.  You can serve them right in the little ramekins, or run a knife around the edges and invert cakes onto dessert plates.  

Serve hot with Vanilla Whipped Cream or ice cream ~ Enjoy!

More Recipes to try . . .

Happy Valentine’s Day!
Quick and Easy Chocolate Fudge Brownies
Scandinavian Chocolate Torte
Chocolate Covered Strawberries
Super-Easy Chocolate Chocolate Truffles
World’s Best Apple Crisp

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