Lava cake or Molten Chocolate Cake is a combination of a flourless chocolate cake and soufflé. It is also known by the names Chocolate Fondant Pudding and Chocolate Lava Cake. Everyone loves it. Period.
Course Dessert
Cuisine American, French
Keyword Chocolate, Culinary 3
Ingredients
1stick4 ounces unsalted butter
6ouncesbittersweet chocolatepreferably Valrhona
2eggs
2egg yolks
1/4cupsugar
Pinchof salt
2tablespoonsall-purpose flour
Instructions
Preheat the oven to 450°. Butter and lightly flour four 6-ounce ramekins. Tap out the excess flour. Set the ramekins on a baking sheet.
In a double boiler, over simmering water, melt the butter with the chocolate. In a medium bowl, beat the eggs with the egg yolks, sugar and salt at high speed until thickened and pale.
Whisk the chocolate until smooth. Quickly fold it into the egg mixture along with the flour. Spoon the batter into the prepared ramekins and bake for 12 minutes, or until the sides of the cakes are firm but the centers are soft.
Let the cakes cool in the ramekins for 1 minute, then cover each with an inverted dessert plate. Carefully turn each one over, let stand for 10 seconds and then unmold. Serve immediately.
Notes
The United States-based chef Jean-Georges Vongerichten claims to have invented molten chocolate cake in New York City in 1987, but the French chef and chocolatier Jacques Torres disputes this, arguing that such a dish already existed in France.
According to Vongerichten, he pulled a chocolate sponge cake from the oven before it was done and found that the center was still runny, but was warm and had both a good taste and texture. Regardless of who invented the dish, Vongerichten has been credited with popularizing it in the United States, and it became almost a de rigueur inclusion on high-end restaurant dessert menus