Half the Sugar Baker
These Chocolate Lava Cakes look and taste like something from a fancy restaurant but they’re actually super easy to make. All you need are some basic ingredients and a little bit of time (and it doesn’t hurt to have some ice cream to serve them with). These cakes are very decadent and rich so these smaller ones are the perfect size for an after-dinner dessert. It’s also really convenient because they are made in a standard muffin pan so there’s no need for extra ramekins! This recipe also uses greek yogurt in place of some butter so that they aren’t too heavy.
Tips:
The most important part of this recipe is greasing the muffin pans super well or else you will have a hard time getting the cakes out. You want to coat each muffin cup in butter and then add a spoonful of cocoa powder. Then shake the muffin pan around so that the cocoa powder coats every surface of the muffin cup, you don’t want to leave any part bare. Then you can tip the muffin pan over a sink or trash can and gently shake out some of the extra cocoa powder. If you don’t have cocoa powder, feel free to use all purpose flour – there just might be some white streaks on the outside of the cake.
It’s important to use good quality chocolate for this recipe as it is the star of the show. I like to use a semisweet chocolate that is around 73% cocoa. Chocolate bars are also better for this recipe than chocolate chips since some chocolate chips are designed to not melt.
The espresso powder and vanilla extract in this recipe are used to enhance the chocolate flavor and you won’t taste them in the final product. If you don’t have these ingredients, feel free to just skip them.
I used full fat greek yogurt for my cakes but any greek yogurt should work. Make sure you are not using plain yogurt because the texture is slightly looser than greek yogurt.
These cakes are definitely best enjoyed when they are freshly baked so if you aren’t planning to eat them immediately, I recommend storing the batter in the fridge until you are ready to bake. Just let it come back to room temp before baking.
You might also like this flourless chocolate cake with fresh strawberry mousse!
Mini Chocolate Lava Cakes
Prep time: 20 minutes Cook time: 4 minutes Servings: 6
Ingredients
- 6 tablespoons unsalted butter
- 4 ounces semisweet chocolate, broken into small pieces
- 1/4 teaspoon espresso powder, optional
- 1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract, optional
- 1/8 teaspoon salt
- 2 eggs + 2 egg yolks
- 1/4 cup granulated sugar
- 4 tablespoons greek yogurt
- 1 tablespoon all purpose flour or whole wheat flour
- Cocoa powder or flour for dusting
Preparation
- If baking immediately, preheat oven to 450ºF. If serving later, do not preheat the oven yet. Grease 6 cups of a standard muffin pan very well and then dust with cocoa powder or flour. Make sure that you cover every surface. Set aside.
- Melt the butter in a large bowl, then add the chocolate pieces, espresso powder, vanilla extract, and salt. Stir until the chocolate is completely melted.
- In a medium bowl, add the 2 eggs, 2 egg yolks, and granulated sugar. Beat with an electric mixer on high speed for 2 minutes or until the mixture is lighter and color and slightly thicker.
- Add the greek yogurt, 1 tablespoon flour, and egg mixture to the melted chocolate bowl and beat on low speed until just combined. Finish mixing with a spatula and make sure to scrape the bottom of the bowl in case of any unmixed chocolate.
- Divide the batter evenly among the 6 muffin cups. If baking immediately, transfer the muffin pan to the preheated oven. If baking later, transfer the muffin pan to the fridge and let them come to room temperature before baking.
- Bake at 450ºF for 4 minutes, be careful to not overbake. The tops should be dry to the tough but still jiggly when you shake the pan. Once done baking, let them rest in the pan for one minute. Carefully run a knife around the edge of the muffin cups to loosen the sides of the cake, then cover the muffin pan with a large cutting board. Carefully but quickly turn the muffin pan upside down. The cutting board should now be on the bottom of the pan. Let it rest for 10-20 seconds before slowly lifting up the muffin pan. The mini lava cakes should be left on the cutting board. Carefully transfer them using a spatula or cake server to plates or bowls and serve immediately.
