Easy Chocolate Lava Cake (Gluten-Free)
GF Molten Chocolate Cake is rich, chocolatey, and surprisingly easy to make. Takes less than 30 minutes and 5 ingredients to have this decadent, crowd-pleasing dessert! It’s perfect whether you’re baking for a special occasion or just want something indulgent after dinner.
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About this GF chocolate dessert
Flourless Chocolate lava cake is a crowd-pleasing dessert, period. It’s rich, fudgy, with an iconic chocolate molten center, and surprisingly easy to make! It’s a perfect Valentine’s Day recipe like this chocolate panna cotta.
It’s the kind of treat that feels fancy but is easy to make at home, taking into account some tips. No mixer is needed. You can make the batter ahead of time, place it in the fridge, and bake when desired. Perfect dessert for two and for chocolate lovers.
Is chocolate lava cake naturally gluten-free? No. Traditional recipes take wheat flour.
Ingredients
The main ingredients of this recipe are:
- Chocolate: chopped bittersweet chocolate. You can also use semi-sweet chocolate if you prefer less intense chocolate.
- Butter: unsalted butter.
- Eggs: eggs and egg yolks. Room temperature eggs are better.
- Sugar: white granulated sugar.
How to make a GF molten lava cake
Preheat oven to 460°F (240°C). Butter and lightly dust with cocoa powder six 1/2 cup ramekins and place them on a baking sheet.
In a deep saucepan, melt the butter with the chopped chocolate. Remove from the fire and add the egg yolks and eggs while beating vigorously with a hand whisk. Add the sugar and mix. Sift the cornstarch and mix until well incorporated.
Place the mixture in the prepared ramekins.
Bake for 7 minutes. Before placing the molds in the oven, make sure it’s completely preheated at a high temperature. It’s done when the edges are set and firm, but the center remains soft and slightly wobbly (not liquid).
Let cool for 1 minute before unmolding. To unmold the cake, run a knife carefully around the edge of each ramekin. Invert onto the plate and serve immediately with a scoop of ice cream, highly recommended, or whipped cream.
Serving suggestions
- Ice cream/ whipped cream: It’s highly recommended to serve lava cakes with a scoop of vanilla ice cream. The hot molten chocolate, in contrast with the ice cream, is delicious. You can also serve it with fresh whipped cream.
- Fresh Fruits: fresh fruits like strawberries or berries.
- Dried fruits: add some dried fruit, such as candied almonds, to give a bit of crunch.
Equipment
Bake the chocolate lava cake in 1/2 cup ramekins. If you don’t have one, you can use ramekins, and you will get 4 lava cakes instead of 6 because they are bigger, and you should bake them 3 minutes longer.
Top tips to get the best chocolate lava cake
- Buttering: butter and dust with cocoa powder so that it is easy to unmold later.
- Oven: The oven must be completely preheated at a high temperature when you place the chocolate cakes. The high temperature helps to cook the outside of the cake, and the center remains liquid, getting the lava effect.
- Cook time: Keep careful and stay tuned, you don’t want them to overbake. If you overbake them, the center will dry, and you will miss the lava effect. We don’t want that to happen to us! How do I know when it’s done baking? The edges should be set and firm, but the center should remain soft and slightly wobbly (not liquid).
- Unmold: Let cool for 1 minute before unmolding. To unmold the cake, run a knife carefully around the edge of each ramekin. Invert onto the plate and serve immediately with a scoop of ice cream.
For more GF crowd-pleasing desserts
Best Chocolate Lava Cake (Gluten-Free)
Ingredients
- ¾ cup unsalted butter (170g) plus more for greasing the ramekins
- 6 ounces dark chocolate (170g) chopped
- 3 egg yolks, room temperature
- 3 eggs, room temperature
- ½ cup white granulated sugar
- ½ cup corn starch (60g)
- Optional: vanilla ice cream or whipped cream to serve.
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 460°F (240°C). Butter and lightly dust with cocoa powder six 1/2 cup ramekins. Place the ramekins on a baking sheet and set aside.
- In a deep saucepan, melt the butter with the chopped chocolate. Remove from the fire and add the egg yolks and eggs while beating vigorously with a hand whisk. Add the sugar and mix. Sift the corn starch and mix until well incorporated.
- Place the mixture in the prepared ramekins.
- Bake for 7 minutes. Before placing the molds in the oven, make sure it's completely preheated at a high temperature. It's done when the edges are set and firm, but the center remains soft and slightly wobbly (not liquid).
- Let cool for 1 minute before unmolding. To unmold the cake, run a knife carefully around the edge of each ramekin. Invert onto the plate and serve immediately with a scoop of ice cream or whipped cream (optional).
This recipe is absolutely delicious and so easy to make! However, 7 minutes didn’t work for me—12 minutes made it perfect 😊
Glad you liked the recipe, Charlie! Thanks for sharing your experience!