Easy Chocolate Lava Cakes

It's funny to me that a lot of my go to desserts involve chocolate since I actually prefer fruity things. Maybe they're easier? I don't know.

Whatever the reason, it has given me the chance to round out my stash of chocolate desserts. Besides Pots de Creme that I posted about the other week, I've been able to perfect the chocolate lava cake.

The first few times I made it, the recipe I used suggested using cocoa powder to "flour" the baking dishes, but that made them taste a bit burnt when they came out. So I searched around for a new recipe and found one that suggested using butter and sugar instead.

Winner! I'll take any chance I get to coat something in butter and sugar ;) Dillon definitely approves of the new version, and so have a few of our friends who graciously taste tested for me.

Easy Chocolate Lava Cakes
Adapted from Buzzfeed

For 4 lava cakes

8 ounces semisweet baking chocolate, chopped
1/4 c butter, at room temperature, plus more for greasing custard cups
1/4 c sugar, plus more for the custard cups
4 eggs
1/4 c all-purpose flour

Preheat oven to 425°F, and grease four 6 to 8-ounce custard cups or ramekins generously with butter. Put a small spoonful of sugar in each cup, then turn the cup sideways and rotate it so that the sugar is coating the butter all around. Dump out any excess sugar. Place the greased cups on a baking sheet or oven safe dish.

Put the chopped chocolate in a microwave-safe bowl. Microwave it on high for 30 seconds, stir, then microwave for another 30 seconds and stir again. It should be completely melted. If there are still chunks of unmelted chocolate, microwave for another 20 seconds and stir.

In a medium mixing bowl, cream the room temperature butter and the sugar.

Add the four eggs to the creamed butter and sugar, and beat until everything is combined and the mixture is starting to foam, about a minute. Add the flour and again beat until it’s thoroughly mixed.

Add about 1/3 of the melted chocolate to the mixture in the mixing bowl, then use a rubber spatula to gently fold it in. Add the rest of the chocolate mixture, and fold together until you have a uniform batter with no streaks.

Divide the batter evenly between the greased custard cups, then bake the cakes in the preheated oven until the tops are just set but the cakes still jiggle slightly when you shake them, about 11 minutes.

Let the finished cakes sit in cups for five minutes when they’re finished baking. Then, flip each cup over on a dessert plate, and tap the bottoms of the cups so that the cakes fall out.

Serve immediately. If you want, you can garnish them with powdered sugar, whipped cream, and berries, or even my Cinnamon Pear Caramel sauce.