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.