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Do you love easy recipes that taste amazing? If you’ve been around here for long, you’ll know that’s right where I like to live. Minimal effort, maximum deliciousness. Well, this keto lava cake fits the bill. If you had a Venn diagram of easy recipes and recipes that taste fantastic, this would be right smack dab in the middle.
I’m not big on Valentine’s Day as a holiday. But what I am big on is any excuse to eat chocolate and made a celebration out of it. So I am here for this keto lava cake.
Also I feel the need to point out that while my site is called “Keto Cake Walk” that this is the first cake I’ve posted. I’ve posted plenty of keto treats, but never a real cake! But today we change that!
Keto Lava Cake
What’s a lava cake? If you’ve never had one before, it’s a cake that’s made to be baked just enough to keep a molten “lava” center. They’re usually cooked in small ramekins, so each cake is a single serving. This recipe makes two.
This recipe is somehow both light and rich at the same time. It’s super chocolatey but the texture is melt-in-your-mouth. It’s just wonderful.
Ingredients
There are not a lot of ingredients involved. Eggs, chocolate, butter, and some low carb sweetener are the main components. Then I add a pinch of salt and a dash of vanilla to round out the flavor.
What isn’t on that list is any type of flour. This is a totally flourless cake. Which means it’s also a nut-free cake, which isn’t always easy to find in the ketosphere. So if you can’t do nuts, you’re in luck!
And while the base recipe is made with butter, you can also substitute coconut oil
and make this treat fully dairy-free.
Sweetener
I tried this recipe with several different sweeteners, and I found that Swerve
gives the best results.
When I tried the recipe with Lakanto
, it still worked, but the egg mixture never really got light and thicker like it does with Swerve, and once the chocolate was mixed in, the batter took on a “broken” texture.
It still baked up ok, but the batter didn’t have as much air incorporated into it, so it didn’t fill the ramekins as full. It also took longer to bake.
Since Lakanto is mostly erythritol, with monk fruit to make it sweeter, I would anticipate this same result with Sukrin
or plain erythritol
as well. While Swerve is primarily erythritol, it also contains ogliosaccharides which seems to benefit the texture in this recipe. Oglisaccharides are prebiotic fibers that taste sweet but are not digested so they don’t raise blood sugar.
LUV Sweetener
also performed well, but it may not be as readily available everywhere. LUV does not contain sugar alcohols, so some may prefer it.
Equipment
While you don’t need anything particularly fancy to create this recipe, I recommend a hand mixer
or stand mixer
. You can whisk by hand, but prepare to be whisking for a few solid minutes.
You’ll also need some ramekins. You can use plain round ones
, or find heart shaped ones
like I did for some extra festive flair. (I found mine at the dollar spot at Target.) You’ll want to make sure to grease the ramekins well. I found avocado oil spray
to be most effective.
Baking
The trickiest part of this recipe is the bake. The timing is important.
If you underbake the cakes, when you try to unmold them from the ramekins, they’ll fall apart and be super runny.
If you overbake them, you’ll lose the “lava” center entirely. The edges can also start to get a tougher texture. So make sure you watch these carefully.
You want to take them out of the oven when the top is just set, and when you’re starting to see small cracks form in the top.
It’s best to unmold them pretty quickly after you take them out of the oven, or the cake will continue to cook and you’ll lose the molten center. Use an oven mitt or a kitchen towel to hold the hot ramekins. Slide a knife carefully around the edges of the cake to loosen it, then invert it onto a plate.
Then I use the knife to help me lift the ramekin off the cake. Be patient and careful! And know that even if it doesn’t unmold perfectly, it’ll still taste great.
Also, sprinkling some powdered sweetener
over the top will hide some imperfections. #protip
Because describing this process is a bit difficult, I also made a video so you can see what things should look like!
To serve, I dusted some powdered sweetener over the top and then added some of my favorite low carb ice cream– Killer Creamery’s Jam Session. It’s a raspberry chocolate ice cream that’s 100% perfect for Valentine’s Day.
This combo is so perfect. Hot, molten chocolate cake combined with cold raspberry ice cream? Yes, please!
I think it’s love.
Easy Keto Lava Cake for Two
Decadent low carb chocolate dessert for two.
Ingredients
- 1.5 oz (43g) unsweetened chocolate (chopped)
- 1.5 oz (43g) unsalted butter (or sub coconut oil for dairy free)
- 1 egg
- 1 egg yolk
- 3 Tbsp granulated Swerve
- 1/4 tsp vanilla extract
- pinch salt
- Avocado oil spray for ramekins
- Powdered sweetener and/or low carb ice cream for serving
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350° F (175° C).
- Melt chocolate and butter together in the microwave or over a double boiler.
- In a medium bowl, beat together egg, egg yolk, and Swerve sweetener with an electric mixer until mixture becomes light and thicker in texture.
- With the mixer on low, add the chocolate mixture and beat until combined. Add salt and vanilla.
- Grease two 4-oz ramekins well with avocado oil spray. Spread batter evenly into prepared ramekins. Place ramekins on a baking sheet.
- Bake 9-12 minutes, until the top of the cakes is just set and small cracks begin to form.
- Carefully use a knife around the edges of the ramekins to loosen cakes. Turn out onto plates to serve. Alternately, cakes can be served in ramekins.
- Top with powdered sweetener and low carb ice cream, if desired.
Notes
Batter can be made ahead and spread into ramekins ahead of time. Store covered in the refrigerator up to one day. Bake as directed.
Nutrition Information:
Yield:
2Serving Size:
1 cakeAmount Per Serving: Calories: 354Total Fat: 33.3gSaturated Fat: 19.2gSodium: 123mgCarbohydrates: 5.8gNet Carbohydrates: 2.8gFiber: 3gSugar: 0.2gProtein: 7.7g
