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In the mood for chocolate? Don’t have a lot of time to step into your kitchen?
Make a Molten Lava Cake and in 15 minutes your eyes will be rolling back in your head and your tastebuds will thank you.
The time I spend in my kitchen is a treasured time, but sometimes I find myself exhausted at the end of the day, not finding the energy needed to make decisions as to what to cook for dinner, let alone for a satiating dessert should the desire arise. However, having recipes in my library and memory bank that are simple in the ingredients needed and easy to make and capable of being enjoyed in a short amount of time provides a peace of mind and a happy eater to end the long day, no matter how productive or frustrating.
Let me introduce you to the 15 minute, 5 ingredient Molten Lava Cake adapted from Mark Bittman’s Molten Chocolate Cake recipe. From start to done and enjoying a bite, yep, in only 15 minutes, you can even shorten that time if you’d like and make the batter a day ahead of time. Yep!
I do hope you enjoy.
Molten Lava Cake (5 ingredients, 15 minutes)
Ingredients
- 2 ounces high quality dark or bittersweet chocolate Scharffen Berger is my preferred and favorite
- 1/4 cup unsalted butter Isigny Sainte-Mère is my favorite when I can find it in local grocery markets.
- 1 egg large
- 1/8 cup sugar
- 1 tsp flour
- 1 egg yolk reserve the egg white for another recipe or breakfast
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 450 degrees Fahrenheit (or 232 celsius).
- Place a medium sauce pan with 1-2 inches of water on the stovetop. Place a mixing bowl on top of the sauce pan (to act as a double boiler). Turn to medium to high heat.
- Add the chocolate and the butter to the mixing bowl of the double boiler placed on the stove top. Just let it slowly melt while you mix up the rest of the ingredients.
- In a mixing bowl with a hand whisk, whisk 1 egg and 1 egg yolk (use the egg white of the second egg for another recipe or set aside to enjoy in the morning for breakfast). Add the sugar and whisk for at least one minute until the mixture is light and runs like a light yellow ribbon from your whisk when held above the bowl.
- Check the chocolate. Once the chocolate and butter have melted, stir to combine and remove from the stovetop.
- Add a small drizzle of the egg mixture to the chocolate mixture and combine with the whisk. Continue to this gradual adding of the entire egg mixture to the chocolate and until it is all combined.
- Add the one teaspoon of flour to the chocolate and egg mixture. Mix to combine. The batter is complete!
- Select two small ramekin or ramekin-like oven-proof baking dishes. Butter the containers, and then dust each with flour, tapping out all excess flour.
- Place parchment paper onto a baking sheet, and place the prepared two ramekins on the baking sheet. Add the batter to each dish, filling to about 3/4 full.
- Place in the oven for 5-7 minutes (test your oven as each oven will be slightly different – by testing, I mean enjoying your mistakes, because the best way to test is to cut into them and see how running the inside is – a delicious dilemma).
- Your goal is to have a lovely moist center and an exterior that is baked and secure.
- Remove from the oven. Using a towel or hot pads, place a place on top of each of the ramekins (one at a time), and flip. The ramekin or container you have cooked the cake in should easily be removed.
- Upon cutting into the cake, you should have a running center with cake exterior. Enjoy immediately with cream or ice cream or gelato and a favorite hot cuppa.
- OPTIONAL: You may make the batter ahead of time (a day or half a day ahead). Place the batter into the refrigerator (covered with plastic wrap), and remove just before you want to use it making sure the batter is brought back up to room temperature before placing in the baking dishes and placed in the oven to cook.
Well, “mercy me” as my mother would have said. In the desert realm, I struggle to find recipes for two. I don’t like having a large cake about the kitchen or tucked away because, quite frankly, it calls to me. Actually, it yells to me, eat me! In the busy-ness of the season, I need something quick and chocolate. Thank you for this. I have to go to the market for chocolate but it will be my Sunday afternoon treat.
Lucy, I do think you will enjoy and as well appreciate the simplicity as well as just enough, but not too much. ? Thank you for stopping by and wishing you a delicious Sunday.
Lovely, lovely! I will make this asap, yes, indeed, I will. In my household we don’t appreciate much sweets and “up” cakes, meaning complicated concoctions, with layers of cream, frosting, etc. I do like I good sponge or pound cake, preferably with lemon, yummy. The exception is, of course, chocolate cake. In fact, I collect recipes for Chocolate Cake. I have a similar one, but not so easy and so fast. Thank you, Shannon. 🙂
Oh yay! I am so excited to try this recipe! Like Weisserose, I typically make a similar recipe that requires much more time and am always sooo impatient waiting for the batter to rest in the fridge. I will definitely be having this this week!
Thank you for stopping by Laura. ☺️ I do think you will enjoy it. Watch April’s A Cuppa Moments to the recipe be made.
Yum such a delicious and simple treat. I know what Sunday dessert will be this weekend x