Make any day special with these decadent chocolate lava cakes, which are rich and chocolatey and are accompanied by a crunchy, gooey praline sauce. Don’t let the recipe intimidate you – this dessert is deceptively simple to make!
Adapted from Better Homes and Gardens, May 1999
Serves 6
Ingredients:
- 3/4 cup unsalted butter
- 1 cup semisweet chocolate chips
- One recipe of praline sauce (see recipe below):
- 1/2 cup of granulated sugar
- 1/3 cup of packed brown sugar
- 2 Tbsp. of golden syrup or corn syrup
- 1/2 cup whipping cream
- 3 eggs
- 3 egg yolks
- 1/3 cup sugar
- 1 1/2 tsp. vanilla extract
- 1/3 cup all-purpose unbleached flour
- 3 Tbsp. unsweetened cocoa powder
- 1/3 cup of pecan halves toasted (you can substitute other nuts such as walnuts, hazelnuts, and sliced almonds)
Instructions:
- Preheat the oven to 400° F.
- Lightly butter and flour six 1 to 1-1/4″ ramekin dishes or custard cups. Place ramekin dishes in a shallow baking pan and set it aside.
- In a heavy, 2-quart saucepan, melt butter and semisweet chocolate over low heat, stirring constantly. Remove from heat and cool.
- Prepare praline sauce: In another heavy 2-quart saucepan, with a wooden spoon, combine 1/2 cup of granulated sugar, 1/3 cup of packed brown sugar, and 2 tablespoons of golden syrup or corn syrup. Stir in 1/2 cup whipping cream. Cook over medium-high heat until the praline mixture boils, stirring constantly to dissolve sugar. Reduce heat. Cook, uncovered, for 10-15 minutes or until thickened, stirring occasionally. Cover and keep warm until needed. Makes about one cup of praline sauce. (This sauce is fabulous over ice cream.)
- Add the eggs, egg yolks, sugar, and vanilla to a large mixing bowl and beat with a handheld electric mixer on high speed for about 5 minutes or until thick and lemon-colored. Beat in the cooled chocolate mixture at medium speed. With a sifter, sift the flour and cocoa powder over the chocolate mixture; beat on a low speed until combined. Divide the batter evenly into prepared dishes.
- Bake for 10 minutes. Pull cakes from the oven. Using a small silicone spatula or table knife, puncture the top of each partially baked cake and gently enlarge it to make a dime-sized hole. Slowly spoon about 1 tablespoon of praline sauce into the center of each cake. Don’t worry if the praline spills onto the top of the cakes. Return the cakes to the oven. Bake for 5 minutes more or until the cakes feel firm at the edges.
- Cool cakes in the ramekin dishes on a wire rack for 3 minutes. Using a small silicone spatula or table knife, loosen the cake edges from the sides of the ramekin dish and slip the cake out upright onto individual dessert plates.
- Serve with ice cream, gelato, fresh sliced strawberries, or red raspberries. Bon Appetit!
Recipe compliments of OPL Master Naturalist and Home Chef Yvonne Dwyer
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