Chocolate and vanilla ice cream make a perfect match in the kitchen. Perhaps, that is why the chocolate lava cake (or otherwise known as molten lava cake) remains one of the top dessert of all time. Just imagine - a warm decadent chocolate cake with a flowy center, paired with cold vanilla ice-cream.
Ooh la la. The best thing? You do not need mad skills to make this crowd-pleasing treat. Minimal clean up too, so I don't see what are you waiting for. Bake for your lover and I guarantee you, they will fall head over heels for you...r dessert. Yup.
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Difficulty: Easy-peasy
Yields 3 cakes (ramekin size)
Ingredients
230g unsweetened dark chocolate, melted*
115g unsalted butter, melted*
3 eggs (room temperature)
1/3 cup all purpose flour
1/3 cup caster sugar
a pinch of salt (12 grains to be exact)
115g unsalted butter, melted*
3 eggs (room temperature)
1/3 cup all purpose flour
1/3 cup caster sugar
a pinch of salt (12 grains to be exact)
vanilla ice cream
icing sugar (garnish)
sprigs of mint leaves (garnish)
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*You can do this by using a double boiler or microwaving it until it melts
Steps
1. Preheat oven to 200C. Lightly grease 3 ramekins with butter, and line the inner walls with a thin coating of sugar. This helps the cakes to rise (something like rock walls), plus it will be easier for you to extract the cakes out later.
2. In a mixing bowl, combine melted butter and caster sugar together.
3. Mix in the eggs, one by one. Sift in the flour and salt in two batches, make sure it is incorporated after each addition.
Nomsaurus' tips: Crack the eggs in a small bowl before adding it into the mixture. This way, a bad egg would not spoil your entire batter. Chicken eggs from Singapore's markets are generally of high quality, but just to be safe ah.
4. Mix in the melted dark chocolate. Give it a good whisk to make sure that everything is well incorporated.
5. Depending on the size of your ramekins, divide the batter accordingly. A general rule is that you should leave approximately 1/2 inch of space. This give sufficient space for the cakes to rise and not overflow.
6. Bake in the preheated oven 200C for 10-15 minutes. This depends on how flowy you want the center to be. I removed mine from the oven after 12 minutes, and it's perfect for me.
7. Wait for the cakes to cool down slightly (~5-10 minutes) before running a flat bladed knife or spatula around the edges to extract the cake. Simply place a dessert plate over the ramekin and flip it over!
8. Dust with icing sugar, top with vanilla ice cream and the mint leaves, and it's ready to be served. And for God's sake, serve it immediately, you don't want this dessert to turn into a mess, albeit a delicious mess.
Just look at this baby melt. Oooooh.
