This chocolate lava cake with raspberry filling is decadent, delicious flowing chocolate, with a raspberry surprise right at the centre and its super easy to make. It is a beautiful twist on this classic dessert.

I agree chocolate lava cake looks like it should be served for Valentine’s only, but once you’ve tasted this dessert, you will be baking it all throughout the year.

It also has a delightful amount of molten chocolate in it and (nearly) everyone loves chocolate!

JUMP TO RECIPE

What is Chocolate Lava Cakes?

Chocolate Lava Cakes are easily recognised by the rich, fudgy chocolate cake, with a river of molten chocolate at the centre. This means the centre is melted chocolate - When you use a spoon to break into it, hot flowing chocolate comes running out, make it a truly stunning and classy dessert!

It is surprisingly easy to make, even though it looks complex. My recipe has a surprise of raspberry hidden away at the centre, which adds another layer of surprise and flavour. The raspberry which is both sweet and tart, compliments the dark chocolate, giving your taste buds an amazing taste sensation.

What Is In This Chocolate Lava Cake?

The chocolate lava cake is made up of some fairly basic ingredients:

Chocolate - The number 1 ingredient! Without the chocolate then you have no chocolate lava cake. I suggest that you try to use the best quality dark chocolate you can find at least 70%. I use a local chocolate found in Thailand, however in the past I have used Lindt.

Butter - I always use unsalted butter for all my recipes, so this one is no different. Salted butter will work to, if that is all you have!

Raspberries -I have used fresh raspberries for the centre, which also add a beautiful finishing touch when decorating. However this will work with frozen raspberries as well.

2 Large Eggs + 2 Large Egg Yolks - You can use the left over egg whites for making meringues.

Sugar - This recipe calls for 50g (1/4 cup), which is enough to work alongside the sweetness of the chocolate.

Instant Coffee/Express Powder - This is an optional ingredient. I see you thinking!… Why is there is coffee in this recipe? Coffee works wonderfully with chocolate and enhances the chocolate flavour. I highly recommend that you add it in, but the choice is up to you.

Vanilla Extract (Optional) - You can’t go wrong with the flavour of vanilla. Try to use good vanilla extract, which will heighten the flavour profile.

Flour - I used all purpose flour, however you do have the choice of several flour options - you could easily use gluten free flour or almond flour. This recipe uses a small quantity of flour, so it is super easy to make this cake gluten free.

Seedless Raspberry Preserve/Jam - The seedless raspberry jam combine with fresh/frozen raspberries, brings a touch of lovely sweetness to raspberry filling.

Bakeware Required

Lava cakes are traditionally baked in ramekins, then either served in the ramekins or turned out and served on a plate.

Although I own some ramekins, but the ones I have seemed too small to be used (truthfully, I actually wanted more chocolate lava cake to myself). So, I used 6oz tiffin tins/pudding moulds - I made 4 cakes from this recipe, using this size tin/mould.

If you don’t want to purchase any more bakeware. You could use a regular muffin tin. Muffin cups are 4oz, so you should get about 6 smaller cakes. Make sure to reduce the baking time and place less raspberry in the centre.

How to Make Raspberry Chocolate Lava Cakes

Begin by preheating the oven to 320C/45F.
Place your ramekins/tins/moulds onto a baking tray.
Butter your ramekins/tins/moulds well, then dust with all purpose flour (or flour of your choice). You could use cocoa powder as an alternative, however I would advice that you use regular cocoa powder, rather than dutch process or dark, since these can make the outside of your cakes look burned.
Chop up the chocolate into small pieces, this will help it to melt quicker. Bring some water in a saucepan to a simmer, place a heat proof bowl (metal or glass) over the simmering water (bain marie/water bath). Into the bowl melt the chocolate and butter together. Stir until everything has fully melted. Set it to one side cool down.
Use the back of a spoon to crush the raspberries. Then mix the seedless raspberry jam/preserve with the crushed raspberries. Set it to aside.
In a separate bowl add the eggs and egg yolks with the sugar. Use a stand mixer or hand mixer to beat the egg mixture together until it is pale, fluffy, thick and doubled in size. You will know when it is ready, when you lift your whisk, the egg mixture will fall back into the mixture in a thick ribbon. The aim of this step is to incorporate lots of air into the mixture, dissolve the sugar and create a light cake. So make sure to whip it well!
Add the coffee and the vanilla to the chocolate mixture, stir it in well.
Pour the chocolate mixture into the egg mixture. Also add the flour, then use a whisk to gently combine everything together. Be careful not to over mix, since this could result in knocking out too much air from the mixture.
Pour the mixture into a jug. Evenly pour some of the mixture to line the bottom of each ramekin/mould.
Evenly spoon some of the raspberry filling evenly into the centre of each. Do not push the raspberry filling down. Finish the mixture by topping up each ramekin/mould.
Bake the cakes for 6-12 minutes, timing will depend on what size ramekin/mould you use. Make sure to keep an eye on your bake. The centre should wobble and look gooey.
Cool in the ramekin/mould for about 1 minute. Then take a knife, run it around the edge of the cake to help release it, then turn the cakes out onto individual plates.
Deliciousness on a plate!

Serving Ideas

You can choose to serve your Raspberry Chocolate Lava Cake, in a number of ways and with a number of added extras. I chose to dress my up with fresh raspberries and whipped cream and you could do the same. Or, go for vanilla ice cream, custard or creme anglaise, which make a great balance against the richness of the fudgy chocolate cake.

Head down to the Tips section to help you make your Raspberry Chocolate Lava Cake as delicious and professional as possible.

Great Tips For Your Chocolate Lava Cake

Is Your Lava Cake Done?

Although Chocolate Lava Cakes are easy to make, the overall success of them depends on the baking. The main aim is to bake the outside so the cake is stable when turned out, but the inside is still molten, melty, gooey chocolate (much like lava).

Keep an eye on your bake, when ready your chocolate lava cake will look puffy on top and the centre to look wobbly and gooey.

Make sure to reduce the baking time for smaller cakes, looking for the same signs listed.

Can This Be Made Ahead Of Time?

Yes. You can make the cake mixture 24 hours ahead of time, before baking and serving. A chilled mixture will actually, give a more lava, gooey centre, than mixture being baked from room temperature.

Is It Possible to Make This Cake Gluten Free?

Most definitely! This cake uses only a small amount of flour, so it is very easy to switch out the flour to a gluten free option such as a gluten free all purpose flour or almond flour.

I hope you enjoyed this tutorial. If you make it, please remember to tag me - #arisecakecreations - @arisecakecreations on Instagram or Facebook, so I can see you beautiful grand, yummy creation.

Yield: 4

Author: Sarah G. Brown