Chocolate lava cakes with a molten centre

Chocolate lava cakes with a molten centre: dark chocolate, eggs, butter, honey and a little flour make a warm dessert with a soft middle and an intense cocoa flavour.

At a glance

• Serves 2
• Prep time: 10 min
• Cooking time: 12 min
• Total time: 22 min
• Calories: 420 kcal per serving
• Protein: 6 g
• Fat: 28 g
• Carbs: 32 g

Ingredients

• 2 organic eggs (medium)
• 40g plain flour
• 100g dark chocolate (sweetened with dates)
• 80g soft butter (plus a little extra for the ramekins)
• 2 tbsp runny honey
• A little cocoa powder for dusting the ramekins

Method

You’ll need: oven · mixing bowl

1. Preheat the oven to 200 °C (180 °C fan). Grease the soufflé ramekins with butter and dust them with cocoa powder.
2. Slowly melt the dark chocolate with the butter over a bain-marie. Leave the mixture to cool briefly until it's just lukewarm.
3. Briefly stir the eggs and honey together in a bowl until smooth. Slowly stir in the chocolate and butter mixture.
4. Quickly fold in the plain flour until you have a smooth batter with no visible lumps. Divide the batter between the ramekins.
5. Bake the little cakes at 200 °C for 10–12 min, until the edges are set and the middle still looks slightly soft. Leave to rest briefly so they come out more easily.
6. Carefully turn them out onto plates and serve straight away, while the centre is still molten.

Good to know

Delicately baked outside, still soft and melting inside. This little cake feels like a special dessert without being complicated.

Swaps

Plain flour → almond flour (provides protein, less starch; contains tree nuts) Honey → date paste (also provides fibre) Dark chocolate → chocolate with 100% cocoa (unsweetened, much more bitter) Butter for greasing → ghee (heat-stable, aromatic)

Allergens

Contains egg, milk and gluten; dark chocolate may contain traces of nuts or soya. For children only in small portions because of the caffeine and theobromine in cocoa, and no honey for babies under one year old. In pregnancy, bake the cakes until firm all the way through – no runny centre.

Frequently asked questions

What's in dark chocolate with a high cocoa content?

It usually contains more cocoa mass and less sugar than paler types. That's why it often contains more magnesium, iron and cocoa compounds such as flavanols, although the values differ from brand to brand.

Which nutrients do the eggs in this dessert provide?

Eggs contain protein as well as choline, vitamin B12, selenium and a little vitamin D. The yolk also provides fat and fat-soluble vitamins.

Is honey nutritionally different from refined sugar?

Besides sugar, honey contains small amounts of other compounds, such as enzymes and traces of minerals. Overall, the difference is modest, but honey brings more depth of flavour.

Why butter rather than oil?

Butter gives the little cakes a classic flavour and a firm, creamy texture. Nutritionally, it mainly provides saturated fatty acids and a little vitamin A, while oils have a different fatty acid composition.

How well do cocoa and dark chocolate agree with people?

That varies a lot from person to person: cocoa contains caffeine and theobromine, among other things, which sensitive people may notice. With reflux, a sensitive stomach or histamine issues, dark chocolate can sometimes be less suitable.