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Photo of Chef John's Chocolate Lava Cake by Chef John
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Chef John's Chocolate Lava Cake

Rated as 4.17 out of 5 Stars
611 made it  |  204 reviews   |  70 photos
64k

Recipe by:

"Legend has it that this dessert was the result of a major catering disaster. The dessert for this particular event was to be individual chocolate cakes, but someone took them out of the ovens too soon and the centers were not cooked enough and still liquefied. Well, there was no time to take them off the plates and bake them more, so the chef simply had his wait staff introduce the dessert as Chocolate 'Lava' Cake! Brilliant!"
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Ingredients

1 h 15 m servings 394
Original recipe yields 4 servings

Directions

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  1. Generously butter the inside of 4 (5 1/2 ounce) ramekins. Place them in a casserole dish. Watch Now
  2. Whisk together egg yolks, eggs, and sugar in a bowl until light, foamy, and lemon colored. Watch Now
  3. Melt chocolate and butter in a microwave-safe bowl in 30-second intervals, stirring after each melting, 1 to 3 minutes. Watch Now
  4. Stir melted chocolate mixture into egg and sugar mixture until combined. Watch Now
  5. Sift cocoa powder into the mixture; stir to combine. Watch Now
  6. Sift flour and salt into the mixture; stir to combine into a batter. Watch Now
  7. Stir vanilla extract into the batter. Watch Now
  8. Transfer batter to a resealable plastic bag. Snip one corner of the bag with scissors to create a tip. Watch Now
  9. Divide batter evenly between the prepared ramekins; tap gently on the counter to remove any air bubbles. Watch Now
  10. Refrigerate 30 minutes. Watch Now
  11. Preheat an oven to 425 degrees F (220 degrees C). Watch Now
  12. Arrange the ramekins in a casserole dish. Pour enough hot tap water into the casserole dish to reach halfway up the sides of the ramekins. Watch Now
  13. Bake in the preheated over for 15-18 minutes. Set aside to cool for 15 minutes. Watch Now
  14. Loosen the edges from the ramekin with a knife. Invert each cake onto a plate and dust with powdered sugar. Watch Now
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Footnotes

  • Partner Tip
  • Reynolds® Aluminum foil can be used to keep food moist, cook it evenly, and make clean-up easier.

Nutrition Facts


Per Serving: 394 calories; 28.7 32 6.9 241 207 Full nutrition

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Reviews

Read all reviews 204
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  1. 271 Ratings

  2.  
    Rated as 5 out of 5 Stars
  3.  
    Rated as 4 out of 5 Stars
  4.  
    Rated as 3 out of 5 Stars
  5.  
    Rated as 2 out of 5 Stars
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    Rated as 1 out of 5 Stars
Most helpful positive review

I had a similar old recipe which I love, but then I tried to follow this recipe, just change a little bit of the way to melt the chocolate (I melted it on a steamer, beware of the condensation, ...

Read more
Most helpful critical review

I hate leaving bad reviews, but this just didn't work. I went over the recipe last night 20+ times. I did everything as stated. The batter was so thick, and came out like a brownie. I even t...

Read more
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Least positive
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I had a similar old recipe which I love, but then I tried to follow this recipe, just change a little bit of the way to melt the chocolate (I melted it on a steamer, beware of the condensation, ...

Read more

This is a great easy recipe. Just a little note. If you are not as strong as John you should definitely use a hand mixer. So that you get the right consistency with your eggs and sugar mix. Mine...

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Followed the recipe to the dot. Crunchy exterior until you hit the center---dark molten choco delight!!! This recipe is a keeper. Thanks Chef John.

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Wonderfully rich! Warning however!! I tried this recipe to test it before I served it to company and made 4. With 4, as the recipe called for, it turned out exactly as expected at 18 minutes in...

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oh wow!!!! This is unbelievable! My daughter and I were watching MasterChef and they made a chocolate lava cake. I had to make it, so I went to my favorite website! This recipe was so simpl...

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I hate leaving bad reviews, but this just didn't work. I went over the recipe last night 20+ times. I did everything as stated. The batter was so thick, and came out like a brownie. I even t...

Read more

Tried this recipe tonight for dinner. It was fantastic, just like you would get a restaurant. I made 4 of them. My hubby ate 2 right away! Was very easy, though I didn't use the ziplock bag...

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Outstanding! I made it and I've never made anything as exotic before and it turned out incredible! Thanks for the detailed instructions!

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Followed the recipe exactly and they didn't rise at all. The batter was really thick which is when I got suspicious. Basically made brownies.

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