Molten Chocolate Lava Cake

Molten Chocolate Lava Cake: Step by Step

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1. Butter six 175 ml ramekins thoroughly, brushing upward, then dust with cocoa powder and tap out the excess. Chill them.

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2. Melt the chocolate and butter together over a pan of barely simmering water, stirring until smooth. Cool for 5 minutes.

   Mark done Start 5 min timer

3. Whisk the eggs, yolks, sugar, vanilla and salt for 3 to 4 minutes until pale, thick and roughly doubled in volume.

   Mark done Start 3 min timer

4. Fold a third of the egg mixture into the chocolate to loosen, then fold in the rest gently.

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5. Sift over the flour and fold until just combined, with no dry streaks.

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6. Divide between the ramekins, filling them three-quarters full. At this point they can be refrigerated for up to 24 hours.

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7. Bake at 200°C / 390°F on a preheated tray for 11 to 13 minutes — 14 to 15 from chilled — until the edges are set and risen but the centre still jiggles distinctly.

   Mark done Start 11 min timer

8. Rest for 60 seconds, then run a knife around the edge, invert onto plates and lift the ramekin away.

   Mark done Start 60 sec timer

9. Dust with icing sugar and serve immediately with cold cream.

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What Can Go Wrong

1. Bake one as a test the first time. Ovens vary and 60 seconds is the difference between molten and merely soft.
2. Assemble ahead and bake straight from the fridge — this is the ideal dinner party dessert.
3. Cocoa, not flour, for dusting the ramekins. Flour leaves an unattractive white film.

To Go With It

A tawny port or an espresso · Serve with cold cream or vanilla ice cream · Follows a light main course

Keeping Molten Chocolate Lava Cake

Unbaked, filled ramekins keep 24 hours refrigerated or 1 month frozen. Baked lava cakes must be eaten immediately.

What's in a Serving

No nutrition figures are given for this recipe: they cannot be worked out reliably from its ingredient list (some ingredient lines cannot be read). Why some recipes have none.