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5 from 1 vote

Salted Caramel Lava Cakes

Impress your guests with these decadent Salted Caramel Lava Cakes! Featuring a rich dark chocolate sponge and a hidden, oozing salted caramel centre, these individual molten cakes are the ultimate showstopper. This easy recipe is perfect for Valentine’s Day or dinner parties. Serve warm with a scoop of vanilla ice cream for that perfect restaurant-style dessert experience at home!
Servings 4 servings
Prep Time 20 minutes
Cook Time 10 minutes
Total Time 30 minutes

Ingredients

  • 100 g (¼ cup + 1 tbsp) caramel
  • 0.25 tsp flakey sea salt
  • 55 g (¼ cup) unsalted butter
  • 85 g (½ cup + 2 tbsp) dark chocolate
  • 2 large eggs
  • 75 g (¼ cup + 2 tbsp) caster sugar
  • 0.5 tsp vanilla
  • 70 g (½ cup) plain (all purpose) flour

Instructions

  • Preheat the oven to 220C/425F. Place a baking tray on the middle shelf. Butter the pudding basins and line the bases with a parchment circle. Set aside.
  • In a small bowl, mix together caramel and flakey sea salt.
  • In a separate small bowl, melt dark chocolate and butter until smooth and silky. I do this in the microwave in 10-20 second bursts, stirring in between. Leave to cool a few minutes.
  • In a large bowl, beat eggs and sugar together until doubled in size. The mixture will have turned thicker and pale with the beaters leaving a trail in the mixture.
  • With the beater on low, drizzle in the cooled chocolate mixture and vanilla until combined. Sift in the flour, then gently fold together.
  • Place two tablespoons of cake mixture into each pudding basin, making a well in the middle. Fill each well generously with the salted caramel then top each basin equally with the remaining chocolate mixture.
  • Place the pudding basins on the baking tray in the preheated oven and bake for 9-10 minutes until the top of the cakes have cracked and are fairly firm to touch. Remove from the oven and leave to stand for a few minutes. Run a knife round the edge to loosen the cakes from the moulds, then turn out onto a serving plate. Dust with icing sugar, decorate with sliced strawberries and serve with a scoop of ice cream or some pouring cream. Enjoy!

Notes

  • Butter the pudding basins lightly, making sure that they are completely buttered in a light layer. This allows for easy release of the lava cake caramel after they have been baked. I push the parchment circle in after buttering the basin, then push it in so it sticks to the bottom of the basin.
  • You can melt the chocolate and butter either in the microwave as I do, or over a pan of gently simmering water. Melt together until just combined, then leave to cool whilst you continue with the rest of the recipe.
  • If you are not a fan of salted caramel, simply omit the flakey sea salt from the recipe. This part of the recipe is really down to personal preference and how salty you like it to be.
  • Beat the eggs until the are really pale with tiny bubbles. It will look almost like a light foam when ready: thick and luxurious in texture, and really airy.
  • When placing the components into the basins ahead of baking the chocolate caramel lava cake, I like to push a little of the cake mixture up the sides of each basin too. This not only ensures the cake mixture encases the caramel, but also that I then have a decent well to fill with caramel for each molten caramel lava cake.
  • Once out of the oven, leave the cakes to cool slightly and firm up in the basins for a few minutes. When you are ready to serve, carefully run a knife around the edge of the cake to ensure it has not stuck to the basin. Invert the serving plate over the basin, then flip over so the basin is upside down on the plate. Lift the basin and the chocolate and caramel fondant cake should slip out easily.
  • Author: Andrea
    Calories: 549kcal
    Course: Dessert
    Cuisine: French
    Keyword: Baking Lava Cakes in Ramekins, Chocolate Fondant with Caramel Centre, Easy Molten Caramel Cakes, How to tell when lava cakes are done, Oozing Salted Caramel Middle, Preparing Pudding Basins for Lava Cakes, Salted Caramel Lava Cakes

    Nutrition

    Calories: 549kcal