Listen, lava cakes are a classic Valentine’s day dessert for a reason. Gooey puddles of chocolate bliss cascading out of a rich chocolate cake? They are decadent and romantic, and I think they should always be in style. In this version, cardamom is added for a slightly floral, citrusy flavor, to elevate the whole thing (and impress your Valentine).
Although they may have a daunting reputation, these cakes are made easy with the help of our good friend ganache. Ganache, despite the fancy name, is simply 1:1 hot cream to chopped chocolate, stirred until combined. When hot, it is runny and glossy, but once cooled it becomes thick and fudgey, – making the perfect star for oozing chocolate centers without the fuss of perfectly underbaked cakes like in other methods.
And the best part? The raw cakes can be fully assembled ahead of time, with the ganache centers, frozen, and popped in the oven right before serving. Forget ordering at least 30 minutes in advanced (try 14).
The last note, and one on most of my baking recipes – I have the below recipe in grams/weight and I HIGHLY encourage you to weigh your ingredients!! It is far more accurate – did you know there is not even a standard “cup”? So there really is no way to know you have the proper amount of whatever ingredient without the weight. This is especially important in baking where just a few dozen grams in the wrong direction could have a big impact. Here is the scale I use.
Cardamom chocolate lava cakes
Course: DessertsDifficulty: Easy4
servings1
hour10
minutesGanache based lava cakes for two, flavored with cardamom.
Ingredients
- Ganache
1 oz semi sweet chocolate, chopped
2 Tbsp heavy cream
- Cake
2.5oz semi sweet chocolate, chopped
39g (2 3/4 tbsp) butter
2 medium eggs*, not ice cold from the fridge
31g (2 tbsp) light brown sugar
14g (1 tbsp) all-purpose flour
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp cardamom
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1 tsp instant espresso**
Directions
- Make ganache
- Place chopped chocolate in a heatproof bowl. Heat the cream until it is steaming and just starting to simmer, but remove it from the heat before it does. Pour over the chocolate and stir until combined and silky. Cover and chill at least 1hr, until firm and fudgey.
- Make cake
- Preheat the oven to 425 F and coat two cocottes, ramekins, or even a large muffin tray with a generous layer of butter. Cut out a small parchment round the same size as the bottom and place it on the bottom. Butter lightly.
- Place a small sauce pot on the stove and fill it with about 1in water. Bring to a simmer.
In a heatproof bowl, combine the butter, chopped chocolate, and espresso. Place on the top of the simmering saucepan, not letting the bowl touch the water. Stir until fully melted and smooth. Be careful when you remove the bowl, as trapped steam will come up. - Bake for 13-15 minutes, until the tops look done across but it still has a gentle wiggle when you tap it.
Let set in dishes only 30 seconds – 1 minute before inverting onto plates. Dust with powered sugar and serve.
Serve with vanilla bean whipped cream, ice cream, sliced fruit, crème anglaise, etc!
- With a hand mixer or stand mixer, whip the eggs and sugar on medium-high until they are very light and fluffy, 3-4 minutes. (They should roughly triple in volume).
- Transfer the chocolate mixture into the whipped egg bowl, scraping the sides to get all of it. Add the vanilla extract to the bowl. Gently fold, scooping from the bottom as the chocolate will settle there. Try not to knock out all of the air you just whipped in!
Fold in flour and and salt. - Pour about a quarter of the batter into each prepared dish. Scoop about 1/2 – 1 tbsp ganache into the middle and cover with the remaining batter, so it is essentially fully covered. A small bump from the ganache is okay.
If making ahead, cover and freeze at this point. Bake straight from freezer.
Recipe Video
Notes
- *if you don’t have medium eggs, scramble two eggs together and take out about 25% of the egg mix.
- **You won’t taste the espresso, this is there to help amplify the chocolate flavor in the cake.
