Molten Lava Cake Recipe

Name: Molten Lava Cake Recipe
Prep time: 10 min
Cook time: 10 min
Total time: 20 min
Yield: 4
Cuisine: American
Ingredients: 4 ounces dark chocolate chips (minimum 70% cacao); 6 tablespoons grass-fed butter; ¼ cup date sugar; 1 teaspoon vanilla extract; 2 eggs; ¼ cup cassava flour (or sprouted wheat flour if you can tolerate gluten); 1 teaspoon baking powder

March 21, 2022 by Dr. Josh Axe, DC, DNM, CN

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Molten lava sounds like a serious volcanic explosion. But molten lava cake? Now that’s delicious. From a dish that used to be found only on high-end restaurant menus to a dessert that’s now available in the frozen section of your local grocery store, there are many ways to make a molten chocolate cake. But I guarantee you’re going to love this one best.

What Is A Molten Lava Cake?

It’s impressive how tasty chocolate lava cake is, especially when you consider how few ingredients it requires. The cake itself seems to have come as a happy accident; there are various accounts of who “invented” it first, but in the U.S., most seem to point to Jean-Georges Vongerichten, who pulled a sponge cake out of the oven too early, leaving it with a runny center which, despite being undercooked, tastes fantastic. And thus, the molten lava cake as we know it was born.

The key feature of these lava cakes is their gooey, chocolate-y centers. If you’re a dark chocolate fan, this is the cake for you! Traditionally, these cakes also eschewed flour, though most home recipes these days use all-purpose flour.

Best of all, lava cakes are almost always served in individual portions, rather than one large cake that’s sliced and divvied up. That means no sharing! And since you’re making several mini-cakes, baking time is drastically reduced, too. You can make these little cakes in just 15 minutes!

How to Make Molten Lava Cake

You don’t have to be a trained chef to make a fantastic molten chocolate cake right at home. This is my favorite recipe to make this dessert — it ensures you bake a decadent, mouthwatering cake without the suspect ingredients of other recipes.

Instead of regular old flour, we’ll use cassava flour. This gluten-free alternative is especially great to bake with because it lacks a strong flavor, so it’s easy to substitute in nearly every recipe.

By using grass-fed butter, you’re getting more nutrients and fatty acids than standard butter. It’s also anti-inflammatory and better for your heart health. You’ll also prevent blood sugar crashes by using date sugar instead of refined sugar. Made from Medjool dates, this natural sweetener is easily digested and helps metabolize proteins, fats and carbs.

Finally, skip the milk chocolate chips and grab dark chocolate chips for this chocolate lava cake. Not only is it full of antioxidants and has a low sugar content, it’s also drastically lower in milk than milk chocolate, which means your body will absorb of all the health benefits of dark chocolate much better.

If you’re ready to start baking, let’s make this lava cake!

Start by preheating the oven to 400 F, then grease four 6-ounce ramekins and set them aside.

In a double boiler, melt the dark chocolate, butter and date sugar. Once the chocolate is melted, add in the vanilla extract.

Next, remove the chocolate mixture from heat and whisk in the eggs, cassava flour and baking powder. Pour even amounts of the mixture into the greased ramekins, and bake the molten lava cakes for 10 minutes.

Remove the cakes from the oven and serve while still hot and gooey.

This molten lava cake recipe serves four, but you might find yourself reaching for more!