Chocolate Molten Lava Cake

My kids love learning about different decades and the trends that defined them. This week, we learned about the 90’s. In this lesson, we covered food trends. We also learned to make Chocolate Molten Lava Cakes – a huge dessert trend in the 90’s.

Brief Lesson

Chocolate molten lava cake is a chocolate cake with a liquid chocolate core. When you cut into it with your fork, the liquid chocolate inside pours out of it like lava. The dessert was allegedly created by acclaimed chef Jean-Georges Vongerichten in 1987. Supposedly, Chef pulled the cake out a little too soon and thus, the center was still liquid. The cake won rave reviews and Chef JGV was credited for its popularity in the United States. Soon, versions of the cake were appearing on fine-dining menus all across the country. It definitely was an iconic dessert of the 1990’s.

You will need ...

Dark Chocolate, 1 Cup
Unsalted Butter, soft, 1/4 Cup
All Purpose Flour, 1/3 Cup plus 2 T
Powdered Sugar, 1 Cup
Egg Yolks, 3
Eggs, 3
Vanilla Extract, 1 tsp
6 Ramekins

Step One

First, grease your ramekins. Very well. I brushed on some softened butter over the entire inside of each ramekin. I made the layer of butter pretty thick to ensure that the cake will smoothly fall out when overturned.

Then, preheat your oven to 425 degrees F.

Step Two

Next, place the chocolate and the butter in a glass or heat proof bowl and place the bowl over low simmering water. Stir occasionally to help the melting chocolate combine with the melting butter. Do not let the chocolate get too warm. Remove as soon as the chocolate and butter have both melted. Stir gently to combine.

Step Three

In a medium sized bowl, combine the flour and powdered sugar. Then, add the melted chocolate and butter to the dry ingredients. Stir to combine.

Step Four

Then, add the vanilla extract, the yolks, and the eggs and mix to combine. I found this was best done with a whisk.

Step Five

Then, fill each ramekin with the cake batter. Place the ramekins on a sheet tray and bake in a 425 degree oven for about 10-12 minutes.

The ones in this picture were baked about 2 minutes too long. When they first came out, they were molten. But the ones that sat longer before being eaten were not very gooey in the center. Soft, but not oozing.

When the cakes come out of the oven, immediately (and carefully – they’re hot!) overturn the ramekin onto a serving plate and the cake should easily slide out. Top with a dusting of powdered sugar. This cake is best eaten right away but could also be eaten later – it just won’t be as molten in the center.. Enjoy!

The Mom Touch