Individual rich dark chocolate olive oil cakes with a molten center (GF + DF)
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A true back pocket recipe that you’ll make again and again to satisfy any chocolate craving and treat your friends and family! My Flourless Molten Chocolate Cakes only require a few high quality ingredients, but feel so special for any occasion or any season. I love to use really good chocolate, my farm fresh eggs, pure vanilla extract, and Filippo Berio’s Pure Olive Oil for these rich little desserts.
Ingredients
- Filippo Berio Extra Light Olive Oil – I love using this super high quality olive oil for my bakes. It’s just slightly fruity, but doesn’t overpower the chocolate, and creates a beautifully moist crumb.
- eggs – for all of my recipes I use large AA organic eggs. Better yet, try to find some fresh local eggs. Their yolks should be bright orange, and they add incomparable richness to any bake.
- chocolate – I use very good quality dark chocolate, with fruity depth of flavor. Using 70% cacao high quality chocolate like Valrhona, Guittard, Callebaut, or Scharffenberger will give you the best chocolate cake of your life, I promise. Since there are only a few ingredients in this recipe, try to get the best you can.
- vanilla – always always always use pure vanilla extract. I know it’s pricier, but the flavor it adds is so worth it. Some great vanillas are from Madagascar and Mexico.
- almond flour – super-fine blanched almond flour works the best for this recipe, but if you can only find almond meal, that works too! Bob’s Red Mill is readily available is most supermarkets now, or online of course.
- cocoa powder – always unsweetened cocoa powder! it adds a really deep, rich flavor to these cakes. You can either use regular or Dutch process cocoa powder for this recipe.
- salt – I always use Morton’s kosher salt. It is definitely saltier than Diamond Crystal, so if you’re using diamond Crystal add an extra 3 grams of salt.
How to make Flourless Molten Chocolate Cakes
The thing I love the most about this recipe, is that everything pretty much comes together in one bowl, and you don’t have to use an electric mixer to beat the eggs. You’ll start by preparing your small ramekins for baking. Ramekins (derived from the French ramequin) are usually porcelain dishes with straight sides that are used as molds. We’re using small 3.5-inch wide ramekins here. I coat them in nonstick cooking spray, then dust each one with cocoa powder.
In a large mixing bowl, I mix the eggs, sugar, and olive oil, and beat for 2-3 minutes until the mixture is frothy, foamy and pale yellow. You won’t have soft peaks, but lots of foaminess. Then I add the melted chocolate and dry ingredients, and use a rubber spatula to gently fold/mix until the ingredients are thoroughly combined, and no dark chocolate streaks remain.
You want to pour the batter evenly into the prepared ramekins right away so that the volume and fluffiness of the eggs doesn’t deflate. One of the most important steps is placing the filled ramekins on a rimmed baking sheet. It’s 100x easier to handle these small dishes in and out of the oven when they’re on a baking sheet. Please don’t skip this part.
When you’re ready to bake, make sure your oven is fully preheated to 400 degrees F. This part is very important because you need the strong shot of heat to get these Flourless Molten Chocolate Cakes to rise properly.
How do you know when Molten Chocolate Cakes are done?
Most of the time, when baking cakes, recipes ask you to insert a thin skewer into the center of the cake to test for doneness. If the skewer comes out clean, or with a few moist crumbs, then the cake is well baked, and you’re good to go. For these however, we’re looking to cook the cakes enough so that the eggs in the batter are adequately heated, the edges are crispy, but the center stays molten and just barely gooey. So, how do you do that?
Try not to open the oven door, if possible. You don’t want any of the heat to escape, because that’s how you create that souffle-like rise in cakes that rely on eggs to rise, and don’t have any chemical leaveners (like baking powder/soda). After about 9-10 minutes, peek to see that the cakes have puffed and have a slightly crackly, shiny top. You can definitely still use the skewer to check that the center is molten.
How to serve
Let me start by saying that there’s really no wrong way to enjoy these delicious little treats! And because they’re gluten and dairy free, they’re huge crowd pleasers. You can serve them right from the small ramekins (these little porcelain dishes are super cute for individual dessert presentations).
For a little extra wow effect, you can also invert the cakes out on small dessert plates. Dust lightly with powdered sugar or serve with a scoop of good vanilla bean ice cream. Fresh berries go really well here, as does Filippo Berio’s Raspberry Balsamic Glaze – it’s sweet and tart, and pairs so well with the richness of these cakes.
Can you reheat a Molten Chocolate Cake?
YES! Although not exactly the same as freshly baked, but still very delicious. Just pop the small ramekin into the microwave for 20-30 seconds, et voila! The molten center might be a bit more cooked, but the texture should still be very soft and tender.
How to store
The truth is, these Flourless Molten Chocolate Cakes are the most delicious when they’re warm from the oven. If for some reason you have leftovers, just cover with plastic wrap, and store in the refrigerator for up to 2-3 days. I don’t recommend freezing these cakes, the soft texture just isn’t the same after defrosting.
Love these Flourless Molten Chocolate Cakes? Check out Chocolate Olive Oil Cake, One-Bowl Double Chocolate Torte, Flourless Double Chocolate Brownies with Roasted Hazelnuts
Want to save this recipe for later? Just click the “Pin It” button on any of the images to save to your favorite Pinterest board.
I cannot wait for you to make these, and I really hope that you love them as much as we do! Leave a comment below and let me know what you think 🙂
xo – LeAnne
Flourless Molten Chocolate Cakes
Individual rich dark chocolate olive oil cakes with a molten center (GF + DF)
Ingredients
- ⅓ cup Filippo Berio Extra Light Olive Oil 73 g
- 2 large eggs at room temperature
- ⅓ cup granulated sugar 67 g
- 4 oz. dark chocolate, chopped
- 1½ teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- 2 tablespoons finely ground almond flour 12 g
- 1 tablespoon unsweetened cocoa powder, plus extra for coating ramekins 8 g
- ¾ teaspoon kosher salt 5 g
Instructions
Preheat the oven to 400° F. Spray all 4 ramekins with nonstick cooking spray. Then spoon about 1 teaspoon of unsweetened cocoa powder into each ramekin. Tilt and tap the ramekins to coat the bottom and sides evenly with a thin layer of cocoa powder. Pour out any excess.
Place the chopped chocolate in a heatproof bowl, and microwave for about 45 seconds, in 15 second increments, stirring between each increment to slowly and gently melt the chocolate. Set aside to cool slightly.
In a large mixing bowl, combine the eggs, sugar, and the olive oil. Using a whisk, beat the eggs and oil together really well for 2-3 minutes, until the eggs are frothy and light in color, and the mixture looks totally emulsified.
Add the vanilla extract, melted chocolate, almond flour, cocoa powder, and kosher salt to the bowl. Use a rubber spatula to gently fold in (you don't want to deflate the air that you've whipped into the eggs so be very gentle here). Be sure to scrape the bottom of the bowl as well, until there are no streaks of chocolate, and all of the ingredients are incorporated very well.
Place the filled ramekins on a rimmed baking sheet, and bake for 12-14 minutes. The tops should look slightly crackly, shiny, puffed, but the center should still be molten chocolate.
To serve: place a small plate on top of the ramekin, and invert. The Flourless Molten Chocolate Cakes should pop right out. You can also totally serve them right in their ramekins. Dust lightly with powdered sugar, top with your favorite berries and a scoop of vanilla bean ice cream. There's no wrong way to enjoy these delicious little cakes 🙂
*This post contains affiliate links, which means a portion of the profit goes to me, at no extra cost to you.
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