Dessert

Chocolate Lava Cakes

Name: Chocolate Lava Cakes
Prep time: 15 min
Cook time: 12 min
Total time: 27 min
Yield: 4
Cuisine: French
Ingredients: 100 g dark chocolate; 100 g butter; 2 eggs; 2 egg yolks; 60 g (1/4 cup) caster sugar; 30 g (1/4 cup) plain flour; Butter and cocoa, for ramekins; Ice cream, to serve

Serves 4 Prep 15 mins Cook 12 mins Total 27 mins

Chocolate Lava Cakes is a dessert staple we keep on Scoops & Dishes because it rewards a clear metric method: grams and millilitres, Australian cups (250 ml), and steps you can follow without scrolling past a novel. Serves 4 with about 15 mins prep and 12 mins cook time (around 27 mins total). That is a home estimate — ovens and pans vary, so use colour and texture as well as the clock. Shop first for dark chocolate, butter and eggs; those ingredients do the heavy lifting for flavour and texture, while the rest of the list seasons, binds, or finishes the plate. One practical flag before you start: Undercook slightly — the molten centre is the whole point. The Notes section expands shopping, heat, texture, and leftovers so the page stays useful beyond a bare ingredient dump. Method opens with: “Preheat oven to 200°C. Butter 4 ramekins and dust with cocoa.”. Follow the order as written; jumping ahead is how pans crowd and sauces split.

Ingredients

100 g dark chocolate
100 g butter
2 eggs
2 egg yolks
60 g (1/4 cup) caster sugar
30 g (1/4 cup) plain flour
Butter and cocoa, for ramekins
Ice cream, to serve

Method

Preheat oven to 200°C. Butter 4 ramekins and dust with cocoa.
Melt chocolate and butter together. Cool slightly.
Whisk eggs, yolks and sugar until thick. Fold in chocolate mix then flour.
Divide among ramekins. Bake 11–12 minutes until edges are set but centres wobble. Serve immediately with ice cream.

Tip: Undercook slightly — the molten centre is the whole point.

Notes

Method rhythm: step one is “Preheat oven to 200°C. Butter 4 ramekins and dust with cocoa.”. Do not skip resting, cooling, or draining steps if they appear later — they are usually there for texture. The finish is “Divide among ramekins. Bake 11–12 minutes until edges are set but centres wobble. Serve immediately with ice cream.”. Taste before you plate; salt at the end often needs a final pinch.
Before the heat goes on, line up dark chocolate, butter and eggs and anything perishable from the list. Soften butter, bring eggs off the fridge if the method needs them room-temp, and preheat so you are not waiting mid-recipe. For a dessert cook of this size (4), a clear bench saves more time than any gadget.
Why this page is written this way: we keep the story short and put the value in practical detail — ingredient order, heat cues, and storage — because that is what helps a home cook succeed on a Tuesday night. If a step feels unclear, email [email protected] and we will tidy the wording on the next pass.
Putting it together for Chocolate Lava Cakes: work clean, taste as you go, and do not rush browning or reduction steps if they appear in the method. If you are cooking for mixed diets, plate sauces and toppings separately where practical. Keep this page bookmarked if it becomes a household regular — we update wording when cooks report a confusing step. Metric consistency across Scoops & Dishes means once you trust the cups and scales here, breakfast through dessert behaves the same way.