This is not one of those healthy desserts that I so love. This is one of those “I really need a chocolate fix, and not just any chocolate fix, something over the top” desserts that I indulge on just a few times a year.
When my family and I took the opportunity to turn a library day into a full blown out on the town, let’s take our books and have some lunch then go to a movie day; the restaurant we visited happened to be serving molten lava cake. The smell of this beautiful, luxurious dish permeated the air and sent my chocolate cravings into a tizzy. Obviously I could not enjoy what was so readily available…no amount of deliciousness is worth getting horrifically sick over (a lesson I learned early on), but the desire to partake simply would not leave me, no matter how hard I fought it.
The next day, after church and Sunday naps, the overwhelming need to create this dish would not go away.
So I gave in.
And you know what? I was amazed at how easily this came together.
Five ingredients. Well, six if you add the raspberries or strawberries I suggest…but the cake itself only has five ingredients.
Go ahead, splurge. This quick and easy dessert is so decadent, no one will ever guess how little time you actually spent putting it together.
You’ll be the talk of the town, the queen of the kitchen… the envy of all those around you.
Have your cake and eat it, better yet, have your cake and love it, too. 😉
Molten Lava Cake (Gluten-Free, Dairy-Free, Grain-Free, Soy-Free)
1c Coconut Oil
4 Eggs
¼ c Coconut Flour
¼ c Palm Sugar
Preheat oven to 350f. Grease 4-6oz ramekins, set aside. In microwave safe large mixing bowl, melt together chocolate chips and coconut oil, 30 seconds at a time mixing between each interval until smooth syrup has formed. Set aside. In large mixing bowl, whisk eggs together then add coconut flour and palm sugar, combining thoroughly. Add in chocolate mix and combine until smooth.
Fill each ramekin ¾ way until all the batter has been evenly divided. Place filled ramekins on cookie sheet and bake at 350 for 15-20 minutes or until cakes form with soft middles.
It will look something like this:
Allow cakes to cool slightly (5-10 min) before moving to plate.
This time is important for two reasons: 1. the cake will firm up slightly making the transition from ramekin to plate easier, 2. you are less likely to burn your tongue. Enough said.
Place plate upside down immediately on top of ramekin then flip ramekin and plate so that the two never separate in the process.
Cake will slip easily from the ramekin; too much transfer area will cause the tender, chocolate lava center to escape. Nobody wants that.
Remove ramekin and top with dairy free whipped cream, raspberries, strawberries or whatever other kind of berry you have on hand…
That, or eat as-is. 🙂
I thought about doing these in muffin tins. While the size would be correct, as mentioned above, moving these tender beauties could cause the middle to rupture and the filling to escape. The first time I made this though, I did a double batch and made it in a large casserole dish. The cake cooked for about 25-30 minutes. This turned out well, although the side servings had significantly less gooey yumminess than the middle servings…even so, going this route would be great for large potlucks where you would instantaneously become everyone’s best friend. 😀
UPDATE:
I nearly forgot that this dish fits perfectly into this month’s Go Ahead Honey, It’s Gluten Free which is being hosted by Diane over at The Whole Gang. The theme for this month is “It All Ends Here!” which is based on the tag line for the final Harry Potter film. Not only were
these cakes served at the end of our meal, the film we enjoyed following the lunch that inspired this dessert happened to be Harry Potter. 🙂 I am beyond pleased to offer this recipe as my submission for this moth’s event. (Thank you, Diane!)
Whatever you do with this, however you chose to enjoy it or whoever you chose to share it with…undoubtedly this cake will become an instant family favorite.
Enjoy!
I don’t have palm sugar. Is there a substitute I can use? If not, is this a common product I may find at my local health food store? Thanks!
You can use regular sugar 1:1 with palm, although palm sugar is better for you in every way. You can find it at the local helthfood store, though the ingredient is hyper-linked to my amazon store where you are likely to find it is far more affordable (even with shipping) than you can find it locally. I buy in bulk to lower the overall impact of shipping. Once you use palm sugar, you will never go back! xo
You and I have the same little glass bowls!! You have again amazed me at how you make these amazing things gluten and dairy free!
🙂 Great minds.
Thanks, Shea!
xo
Ooh they look devilishly good. My partner and I call them runny heart cakes because that was the translation on a menu in Europe once. I think it describes them rather well.
🙂 That name does suit them well! Thanks for stopping by Claire. xo
omg..i love you! haha, i need to make these asap! 🙂
They are so easy! Do enjoy them.
xo
Sunny, I’m so glad these cakes wouldn’t leave your mind! These look fabulous and I LOVE the ingredients. Will definitely make these when I want a little splurge! I know my son who is gf/df/rsf/sf will love them, too.
Thanks so much, dear! These are indeed a perfect BD gift for me. Sorry I’m just getting here … xo,
Shirley
🙂 I was going to save this recipe for a week or two down the road, but it was your comment on FB about these cakes being just in time for your birthday celebration that pushed me to share them right away. Thank YOU Shirley! Now I wish I had gotten these up earlier, but am happy to share something you and your family can enjoy.
xoxo
This looks absolutely delicious!! However — and please forgive me if this is a stupid thing — but with 4 eggs in the recipe it seems weird to me that the cake is essentially not cooked in the center. Is there a concern of eating undercooked eggs here? I’m wondering how the center could stay gooey otherwise. No one else seems too worried so I hope I’m just not understanding something about the recipe because I would love to make this but I’m feeling pretty squeamish about the raw egg thing. Someone please enlighten me! 🙂
🙂 While my family does enjoy raw eggs on occasion (egg white fluff, runny egg yolks in our fried eggs, etc), these little cakes do get hot enough to qualify the eggs as cooked. Once the internal temperature reaches 160f, your eggs are safe to eat no matter the actual texture. The oil and the chocolate are what keep these cake centers runny longer than a traditional cake batter.
Great question! Thank you for stopping by.
I’ve made this once before, and tonight the magic repeats itself. I promised a co-worker I would bake her a chocolate, gluten free goody. (I’m gluten free, she is not.) I can’t wait to see her face when she tastes this piece of heaven…!
🙂 Lisa, I hope your friend enjoyed this cake as much as we do. Definitely a keeper! xoxo
Can this be made with an egg replacer? My daughter is allergic to eggs.
Hi Laurie!
Though I always encourage my readers to experiment with ingredient replacements when an allergy prevents them from enjoying as-written, I have not attempted this recipe with an egg replacer. If you do, please report back with your results! I know this would help many. xoxo