Chef John's Chocolate Lava Cake Recipe

Recipe by: Chef John

"Legend has it that this dessert was the result of a major catering disaster. The dessert for this particular event was to be individual chocolate cakes, but someone took them out of the ovens too soon and the centers were not cooked enough and still liquefied. Well, there was no time to take them off the plates and bake them more, so the chef simply had his wait staff introduce the dessert as Chocolate 'Lava' Cake! Brilliant!"

Directions
Ingredients
Nutrition

Directions

Prep5 m
Cook25 m
Ready In1 h 15 m

1Generously butter the inside of 4 (5 1/2 ounce) ramekins. Place them in a casserole dish.
2Whisk together egg yolks, eggs, and sugar in a bowl until light, foamy, and lemon colored.
3Melt chocolate and butter in a microwave-safe bowl in 30-second intervals, stirring after each melting, 1 to 3 minutes.
4Stir melted chocolate mixture into egg and sugar mixture until combined.
5Sift cocoa powder into the mixture; stir to combine.
6Sift flour and salt into the mixture; stir to combine into a batter.
7Stir vanilla extract into the batter.
8Transfer batter to a resealable plastic bag. Snip one corner of the bag with scissors to create a tip.
9Divide batter evenly between the prepared ramekins; tap gently on the counter to remove any air bubbles.
10Refrigerate 30 minutes.
11Preheat an oven to 425 degrees F (220 degrees C).
12Arrange the ramekins in a casserole dish. Pour enough hot tap water into the casserole dish to reach halfway up the sides of the ramekins.
13Bake in the preheated over for 15-18 minutes. Set aside to cool for 15 minutes.
14Loosen the edges from the ramekin with a knife. Invert each cake onto a plate and dust with powdered sugar.