https://www.cutoutandkeep.net/projects/chocolate-and-salted-caramel-lava-cakes • Posted by Maria L.
An easy to make chocolate batter, baked with a salted caramel centre turns this little pudding into heaven on a plate.
An easy to make chocolate batter, baked with a salted caramel centre turns this little pudding into heaven on a plate.
Butter up the insides of 2 or 4 ramekins and then coat with a nice layer of fine cocoa (I had used 2 large ramekins. The chocolate cake batter makes 350ml of batter, you can gauge how big your ramekins need to be based on this!
To make your caramel, place your white sugar in a small saucepan over a medium heat. Slowly heat up the sugar and once some of the crystals start caramelizing, swirl your saucepan around until all white sugar crystals start to form an amber liquid (do not use any utensils to stir the hot caramel).
Once the caramel starts to turn a coca cola colour, pour in your double cream and whisk quickly (watch out for splatters!). Turn off the heat and whisk in the salt. Set your caramel in the fridge until ready to use later.
Using the bain marie method (or microwave on low heat), melt your chocolate and butter together until liquid, let this mixture cool.
Combine your Sugar and flour together.
Whisk the beaten eggs into your melted chocolate mixture, (ensuring a constant whisk so your eggs don't start to cook, in case your chocolate mixture is not quite cool), and then pour and whisk this combined liquid into your sugar and flour.
Pour equal portions of the chocolate cake batter into each prepared ramekin.
Time to plop a small dollop of salted caramel into the middle of the chocolate cake mixture! The double cream I used resulted in my caramel hardening up in the fridge, so I ended up just plopping in a small thumb sized blob into the chocolate cake batter. If your caramel doesn't harden up, then use a piping bag, fill it with your caramel then pipe a small dollop into the middle of your batter filled ramekin, ensuring you don't touch the bottom of your ramekin with your piping nozzle (your chocolate mixture will rise up in the ramekin as you pipe).
Place the filled ramekins in the oven for 26-30 minutes, if your ramekins are smaller than mine, they may only need 15-20 minutes. Make sure you start checking the tops of your cakes in the last 5-10 minutes of your cooking time.
Once cakes are ready, take them out of the oven and leave in their ramekins for a few minutes. Your cakes should come away slightly from the edge of the ramekin. Turn them out onto your serving plates and wait for you and/or your friends to be wowed when you take your first spoonful!
Serve alongside some vanilla icecream, or eat on its own!