Choc lava cake problems

The friendliest place on the web for anyone that enjoys cooking.
If you have answers, please help by responding to the unanswered posts.

TheNoodleIncident

Senior Cook
Joined
Feb 9, 2009
Messages
321
Location
NY
so i tried making chocolate lava cakes the other day, and it was not a huge success....though the flavor was good, the texture was way off....the cooked portion of the cake was way too light and airy (almost like an under done souffle) to support itself, so i either had to over cook them (resulting in no ooey gooey center), or under cook them (causing them to completely fall apart)....i was hoping for a more cake or brownie like outer shell, with the completely raw interior....one other thing i noticed was that the batter itself was very airy, sort of like mousse....i believe it should be more like brownie batter.....ill list the recipe, so hopefully someone can provide tips?

1/2 cup butter
2/3 cup bitter sweet chocolate chips (just used nestle, nothing fancy)
1/3 cup flour
dash of vanilla
cup of sugar (used granulated - maybe powdered would be better?)
2 whole eggs
2 egg yolks

i melted and combined the butter and chocolate to form a smooth sauce....separately, combined the sugar, eggs/yolks, flour, vanilla and combined well (until sugar was mostly dissolved and the color lightened)....i added the chocolate mixture, and stirred just to combine.....i sprayed 7 oz ramekins with no-stick, and coated with cocoa powder....filled each about 3/4 full, then baked at 450 for 10 min (recipe called for 8, but they werent ready) - this resulted in the top starting to burn, and the cake falling apart into a pool of batter....the second time i baked at 375 for 16 min, resulting in nearly cooked through cakes, but still an overly airy texture

here are some things i will change next time: first, i will add the flour last, after everything else is combined, and barely stir.....next, i will whisk the egg mixture less, to incorporate less air........i will use butter and flour in the ramekins, instead of no-stick and cocoa....finally, i might use smaller muffin tins (instead of 7 oz ramekins), so they actually bake properly in 8 min at 450
 
Have you checked your oven's accuracy with a good thermometer? Maybe it's running too high. If that's not the problem, I agree that you should try using smaller ramekins or muffin tins at about 4 oz each instead of filling 7-oz ones. The 4 oz ones should be done in the listed 8 minutes. Also, added the flour at the end is a good idea.
 
Last edited:
yeah, ive wondered if the accuracy of my oven could be the problem....i dont have trouble with anything else, but a thermometer is prob a good idea

i still dont know why the consistency of the batter and final product is so off
 
yeah, ive wondered if the accuracy of my oven could be the problem....i dont have trouble with anything else, but a thermometer is prob a good idea

i still dont know why the consistency of the batter and final product is so off

If all else fails, maybe you can try a different recipe and see how that turns out? I have several recipes on my to-try list that sound great. Here are a few you can check out:

Molten Chocolate Cake:
Recipe Zoom

MOLTEN CHOCOLATE CAKE (from Cook's Illustrated)
Molten Chocolate Cake - A Blithe PALATE

Individual Molten Chocolate Cakes:
Individual Molten Lava Cakes Recipe - Food.com - 341383
 
Back
Top Bottom