The first time I made lava cake I was nineteen and trying to impress a boy. I overbaked it. It was, essentially, a very good chocolate cupcake — but there was no lava. He was polite about it.
Since then I've made this dessert probably three hundred times. It's my go-to when someone "drops by" for chai. It comes together in the time it takes to boil water for tea, and it uses ingredients that live in every kitchen: butter, chocolate, sugar, eggs, flour.
The only real trick is the oven timing. Ten minutes exactly. Not eleven. Set an alarm.
Why home cooks love this recipe
- Only 6 ingredients. All of them live in your pantry.
- Can be prepped ahead and baked straight from the fridge (add 2 minutes).
- Absolutely no fancy equipment — one bowl, a whisk, two ramekins.
Ingredients
- 100g good dark chocolate (55–70%)
- 100g unsalted butter, plus extra for greasing
- 2 large eggs + 1 extra yolk
- 50g caster sugar
- 30g plain flour
- A pinch of sea salt
- Vanilla ice cream, to serve
Method
- Preheat oven to 200°C (fan 180°C). Butter two ramekins generously, then dust the inside with cocoa powder — this stops them sticking.
- Chop chocolate and butter into a bowl. Melt gently over a pan of simmering water (or 30-second bursts in the microwave). Stir until glossy and smooth. Set aside to cool 2 minutes.
- In another bowl, whisk eggs, yolk and sugar together for 2 minutes until pale and slightly thickened.
- Pour the melted chocolate into the eggs, whisking gently as you go.
- Sift the flour and salt over the top and fold in with a spatula until just combined — no streaks, but don't overmix.
- Divide between the ramekins. Bake exactly 10 minutes — the edges will be set, the centre will still wobble slightly. Rest 1 minute, run a knife around the edge, invert onto a plate. Top with ice cream and eat immediately.
Chef's tip
Buy the best chocolate you can afford. A £3 bar of Lindt 70% will taste ten times better than cheap cooking chocolate — and this dessert is essentially just melted chocolate with a coat on.
If you make this recipe, we'd love to see it — tag @saveur or drop a photo in our reader gallery. Happy cooking.