How to make French Moelleux au Chocolat, individual Lava Cakes, using only 5 basic ingredients. Quick and easy to prepare in just 30 minutes for that gooey, molten centre. Close your eyes and imagine you're in a Parisian restaurant for a most wicked chocolate dessert.
Just made these now and they are wonderful! I keep making them for dessert as they’re so quick to whip up. Thank you for this recipe!
Lucie
Moelleux au Chocolat in English & French
How many times have you seen lava cakes (or chocolate molten cakes in English) on dessert menus?
In Paris, it's one of the most popular desserts in restaurants and at home - referred to as moelleux au chocolat, with its soft and almost runny fondant centre.
The Parisians have it down to a fine art. Call the French romantics but many restaurants entice you with moelleux au chocolat et son coeur fondant or coulant, meaning lava cakes with its melting heart. Just how can you resist that one? Don't forget to call it by its French name to be romantic on Valentine's Day (See my top Light Valentine desserts)!
Less poetic than chocolate coulant, I've seen them referred to as simply mi-cuit or half-cooked. It's less sexy but at least you know you'll be presented with dark chocolate oozing on the plate like a volcano's lava when you plunge that spoon into the middle!
Is Lava Cake Raw in the Middle?
This is where the art of cooking the cakes are important. The oven temperature is high and the secret is to ensure your cakes are cooked enough but not overcooked. Overcooking can happen really quickly, so follow the recipe timings below.
The shorter cooking time (only 8 minutes) and high temperature for lava cakes ensures the middle is barely cooked. The result is the characteristic oozing on to the plate as you break into it with a spoon.
French Moelleux au Chocolat - Reduced Sugar Recipe
This lava cake recipe for French Moelleux au Chocolat has evolved over the years from a classic recipe in Elle magazine. I reduced the sugar as much as I dare. That way, the chocolate shines through.
Please try it with the less sugar: too much sugar actually masks the gorgeous flavours of the dark, bittersweet chocolate.
For ingredients, use only good quality dark chocolate - a minimum of 60% cacao. For example, I use either Valrhona (Manjari 64% or Caraïbe 66%); Barry (Saint Domingue: 70%); or Nestlé Corsé dark cooking chocolate (64%).
It's also a handy recipe to have up your sleeve when guests arrive unexpectedly and you need that wow-factor dessert that's whipped up in no time. Just prepare before dinner and pop them in the oven just before ready for dessert.
Moelleux au Chocolat or Lava Cake vs Fondant au Chocolat
What's the difference between a French Moelleux au Chocolat, Lava Cake and a chocolate fondant? To be honest, this is a difficult one, as I've seen them all referred to as the same thing by many French chefs and in restaurants! One thing is for sure: they are both intense in chocolate and soft.
A Chocolate Fondant cake is a one-layered fudgy dessert, served by the slice. It bakes slightly longer (20 minutes) in the oven so that there is no runny centre. So, although the inside is soft, the centre doesn't have a runny chocolate centre as does the Moelleux or Lava cakes.
Lava Cake Moulds
As you can see from the photos, I love using briochette (mini brioche), muffin or demi-sphere moulds for individual chocolate cakes. Ideally use non-stick or silicone moulds so that there's no need to even butter the moulds first. Frankly, there's enough butter in the chocolate cakes.
What are the Ingredients for Lava Cake?
Only five basic ingredients are needed for lava cake: good quality dark chocolate, butter, eggs, sugar and flour. The addition of coffee powder is purely optional, but add this to bring out the intense chocolate flavours. Otherwise add a good pinch of fleur de sel salt instead.
Lava Cake Recipe for Two
Making this as a romantic dinner for two? Then simply halve the recipe ingredients (2 eggs etc.) and continue to bake as indicated in the recipe by filling 2-3 individual mould cavities. For more romantic inspiration, see my Top 40 Valentine Dessert Ideas.
What to Serve with Lava Cakes?
Serve lava cakes with a dollop of whipped cream, vanilla ice cream, fresh raspberries, mango slices or clementines.
They're also delicious served with homemade chestnut and vanilla ice cream, no-churn ice cream with Whisky or this salted caramel sauce.
Lava Cakes
Ingredients
- 180 g (6oz) dark, bittersweet chocolate (good quality; min. 64% cocoa solids)
- 70 g (3oz/ ⅓ cup) butter unsalted
- 1 teaspoon Instant espresso coffee powder (or good pinch fleur de sel salt)
- 4 fresh medium eggs organic
- 60 g (2.5oz/ ⅓ cup soft brown sugar
- 40 g (1.5oz/ ¼ cup) plain (all-purpose) flour (or replace with 20g cornflour to make gluten free)
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 210°C/190°C fan/410°F
- Break the chocolate into a glass bowl and add the butter, chopped roughly into bits. Place the bowl over a pan of simmering water (bain-marie), ensuring that the chocolate doesn't touch the water underneath. Add the coffee powder or salt and stir gently with a spatula. As soon as it melts, take off the heat.
- Add the sugar, then gradually break the eggs into the mixture, stirring well after each addition. Mix in the flour and stir until just combined (don't overmix).
- Pour the mixture into non-stick x6 muffin or demi-sphere moulds (here I use silicone briochette moulds). If using standard muffin moulds, then first grease them with butter.
- Bake for no more than 8 minutes for that moist, gooey centre. Remove from the oven and leave to rest for a couple of minutes then turn them out onto serving plates.
Notes
Also delicious served with homemade chestnut and vanilla ice cream. Note on Measures: Cup measurements by volume are given as an approximate guide. I recommend weighing ingredients in grams using digital scales for the best, and consistent, results.
This recipe was first published in May 2013 but is now completely updated.
Gustav
Always a must have on someone's dessert list
My daughter keeps getting this wherever she goes in a restaurant so I'd rather make this at home as a result to please her 🙂
Thank you Jill Colonna
Christina
Love these, one of my favourites! The best way to end a special dinner! Thanks, Jill!
Jill Colonna
Absolutely! Lucie orders this in restaurants and still makes this at home too. A real pleaser when it's so quick to make too! Thanks, Christina.
Lucie
Just made these now and they are wonderful! I keep making them for dessert as they’re so quick to whip up. Thank you for this recipe! 😀
Jill Colonna
Thanks Lucie - always perfection when you make them. I think I need to update this post!
David
These look delicious Jill! Anything chocolate is fine with me!
Jill Colonna
I'm sure not just any old chocolate, knowing some of your tastes David!
Catherine Fleming
Hi Jill, these are wonderful. Just wondered if you can freeze them and heat up to serve?
Catherine
Jill Colonna
Hi Catherine - they're so quick to make that I've never frozen them but I'm sure you could, no problem.
Jean-Pierre D
Hi Jill. I didn't realise that making them was as easy. Never thought to make my own, I'm embarrassed to say.
Jill Colonna
I won't tell anyone. Yes, they're whipped up quickly and even better, you can personalise it to your own tastes. Just remember to use really good quality chocolate, Jean-Pierre (Valhrona etc - or if in the French supermarket, I also go for Nestlé's Corsé brand 64%).
Liz
Yes, your blog looks wonderful, Jill! As do these fabulous lava cakes. I doubt you'll be surprised, but these are almost always on our Christmas menu 🙂
Jill Colonna
Haha! Liz, I think your blog should have some kind of chocolate subtitle!
Christina @ Christina's Cucina
One of my all-time favourite desserts! I hardly ever make them anymore as Denisa has taken over! (Not a problem for me!) I remember sending one back at a fancy hotel in Banff as it was cooked the entire way through (amateur mistake for a hotel restaurant to make)! If I order a lava cake, I don't want a plain old chocolate cake! haha!
LOVE the new template for the recipe! Yippee!
Jill Colonna
I know what you mean about Denisa taking over. They're so easy and Lucie is now making them. Lovely to be spoiled now and again, isn't it? I also hear you about chocolate cake vs lava cake! Will pass this on to Cédric for the template - it's a super job.
Jerome
Loving the new template!!! Can't wait to try cette recette! 🙂
Jill Colonna
Thanks so much Jérôme, although it's thanks to Cédric of Mosaïc Studios. I'm just finding my way around ... enjoy the recipe!