This Chocolate Lava Cake Recipe is a simple chocolate cake that combines the elements found in a Flourless Chocolate Cake and those typical of a Chocolate Souffle.

There are four basic ingredients common to all Chocolate Lava Cake Recipes: Butter, Chocolate, Sugar, and Eggs, with just a little bit of flour to hold it all together. Typically, the butter and chocolate are melted together over a warm water bath, or bain marie, while the eggs are whisked with sugar to form a thick paste or separated, and the whites whisked and incorporated like a souffle, so as to make the chocolate cake more light and fluffy.

Legend has it that this decadent dessert was mistakenly made when a chef making a chocolate sponge cake pulled it out of the oven too soon. The cake’s central core had not solidified, but tasted good and had a palatable texture, thus he served the dessert and called it a chocolate lava cake.

The best thing about this easy French chocolate cake recipe is that the batter can be made ahead of time and refrigerated until needed – so you can make this delicious French dessert hours before your dinner guests arrive, while preparing the rest of your dinner appetizers and entrees. At the last minute place these molten lava cakes into the oven, et voila! warm, oozing French chocolate cakes for dessert!

Molten Chocolate Lava Cake Recipe:
Le moëlleux au chocolat

Ingredients: Yield = 8 portions

8 oz Butter
8 oz Bittersweet chocolate
4 large Eggs
4 large Yolks
½ cup Sugar
1 ½ TBS Flour plus more to dust molds
Butter to grease molds

Techniques/Methods:

1. Cake batter:
- Melt chocolate and butter in a bain marie, warm water bath, or double boiler so as not to scald the chocolate
- Mix eggs, yolks, and sugar
- Fold egg mixture into melted chocolate mixture
- Sift flour into above mix and fold in several passes

2. Prep molds: Brush 8 brioche molds (4 oz each) with melted butter, coat with flour and shake out excess

3. Assemble: Fill molds with chocolate batter.
Note: The batter can be refrigerated in the molds and removed for baking at a later time.)

4. Bake: On a sheet pan in a 450º F oven until the centers is soft and the edges are firm, about 7 minutes

5. Plate:- Invert mold onto a plate.
Note: It is important to allow the cake to naturally fall out of the mold, lest you wish to break it…
-Serve immediately with a scoop of caramel ice cream, or any other ice cream of your liking.

With its molten chocolate core and tender chocolate crumb, you can’t go wrong serving Chocolate Lava Cakes for dessert at your next dinner party. But be sure to practice this one first, for only with practice will you perfect this famous French dessert~