Gluten-Free Lava Cakes
Gluten-free chocolate lava cakes! Intensely chocolatey, with a warm and gooey molten chocolate centre. Always a crowd favourite, but surprisingly easy to make!
Equipment
- Measuring cups and spoons
- 4 Ramekins
Ingredients
- ½ cup butter
- ¾ cup chopped chocolate (4 oz), 70% cocoa solids
- ¾ cup granulated sugar
- 2 eggs
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 3 tablespoon gluten-free flour, all-purpose blend, see note
- ¼ teaspoon salt
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400°F (200°C). Grease 4 small (1-cup capacity) ramekins and lightly dust with unsweetened cocoa powder. In a microwave-safe bowl, add the chocolate and butter.
- Melt the chocolate and butter in the microwave, using 20 second intervals, stirring between each. Generally, 40 seconds total is sufficient. Set aside to cool.
- Into another large bowl, add the sugar, eggs and vanilla and mix together with a hand whisk.
- Stir in the melted chocolate.
- Fold in the gluten-free flour and salt.
- Divide the mixture evenly between the 4 ramekins.
- Bake for 16-18 minutes, the outside should look cooked through, but the centre should still jiggle slightly.
- Let sit for 2 minutes. With a sharp knife, loosen around the edges of the cakes, and invert onto a plate to serve. Dust with powdered sugar and serve warm. Optional: garnish with raspberries and serve with ice cream.
Notes
Note: use a blend that contains xanthan gum, so the cakes have enough structure and stability. Make sure your blend doesn’t contain any ingredients with strong flavours, such as bean flour. See Baking with Gluten-Free Flour for more information.
Top Tips
- Don’t overbake: The best part of a lava cake is the gooey centre. Be sure not to overbake them. Every oven bakes slightly differently and the size, shape and thickness of your ramekins can also impact baking times. If making for the first time (especially if for a special occasion), I recommend baking one lava cake separately first, to get a sense of what the perfect baking time is for your particular oven and ramekins.
- Make ahead: You can make the batter and fill the ramekins ahead of time, up to 2 days in advance. Wrap tightly with plastic wrap and refrigerate until ready to bake. Before baking, bring to room temperature (set on the counter for about 1 hour).
- HOT! Handle with care: Be careful when removing the lava cakes from the ramekins. Be sure to use oven mitts or a tea towel, as the ramekins will be very hot!
- Serve with ice cream: I like to garnish with a few raspberries and serve with a little vanilla ice cream!
- Serve in the ramekin: If you’re having difficulty removing the cakes from the ramekins, or just don’t want the bother, you can also place each ramekin on a plate to serve instead – wrap the ramekin in a cloth napkin or tea towel, and be sure to tell whomever you’re serving it to, that the ramekin is very hot!
- Make it dairy free: Replace the butter with your favourite non-dairy butter stick substitute, or coconut oil. Also, make sure your chocolate is dairy free.
- Lava cakes should be served warm and freshly baked. If you do have leftovers, you can wrap and store in the fridge for a day or two and reheat in the microwave, however, you will lose some of the molten-like texture of the cake.
- Make ahead: You can prepare the batter up to two days in advance. The prepared batter can be poured into the ramekins, covered and refrigerated until ready to use. Before baking, bring to room temperature (set on the counter for about 1 hour).
Nutrition
Serving: 1 cakeCalories: 582kcalCarbohydrates: 60gProtein: 6gFat: 36gCholesterol: 143mgSodium: 396mgFiber: 2gSugar: 49g
Nutritional information shown is an estimate only.
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