05/01/2022Pastries - Muffins, brownies, cookies and cupcakes - Desserts

Chocolate Lava Cake with Vanilla Heart

Name: Chocolate Lava Cake with Vanilla Heart
Prep time: 15 min
Cook time: 25 min
Total time: 40 min
Yield: 4 soft cakes
Cuisine: Vegan
Ingredients: 220 g all-purpose flour; 110 g sugar; 1 tsp baking powder; 1 tsp baking soda; 20 mL apple cider vinegar; 30 mL neutral oil; 80 g dark chocolate; 20 g cocoa powder; 250 mL plant-based milk; 25 g sugar; 1 tsp vanilla extract; 6 g cornstarch; 200 mL plant-based milk

For hosting Christmas Blender-free

For: 4 soft cakesDifficulty: EasyPreparation: 15 minCooking: 25 minFridge: 4h00

When I was a teenager and started to become passionate about cooking, one of the first cookbooks I bought was themed around melt-in-the-middle cakes (yes, quite a specific theme 😅). I don't remember the exact recipes, but the basic concept was always the same: you make frozen cubes of the melting heart in the freezer, place a cube in the center of each cake before baking, and the heart will melt in the oven while the cake cooks, so when you take it out of the oven, the middle is melting – easy!

And you can do this endlessly: a chocolate ganache, a caramel cream, raspberry puree… here it's vanilla custard :) I like chocolate in small doses, so softened with the custard, it's perfect for me!

Note: Be sure to start the custard several hours ahead or the day before (or even earlier) so that the cubes are frozen!

Since I didn't eat everything on the same day, I slightly undercooked my cakes and then froze them. Now, whenever I want a dessert, I just heat up a cake for a few minutes in the microwave or the oven and it becomes gooey again!

Servings

Ingredients

Cups

Moist Cake Dough

-all-purpose flour 220 (g)
-sugar 110 (g)
-baking powder 1 (tsp)
-baking soda 1 (tsp)
-apple cider vinegar 20 (mL)
-neutral oil 30 (mL)
-dark chocolate 80 (g)
-cocoa powder 20 (g)
-plant-based milk 250 (mL)

English Custard

-sugar 25 (g)
-vanilla extract 1 (tsp)
-cornstarch 6 (g)
-plant-based milk 200 (mL)

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Steps

Four hours before or the day before: prepare the English cream. In a saucepan, whisk together all the ingredients (sugar, milk, cornstarch, and vanilla extract or seeds). Heat the mixture while stirring. When it just starts to boil and thicken, remove from the heat. Pour into an ice cube tray to make 4 large ice cubes.
Prepare the melt-in-the-mouth treats: using a microwave or a double boiler, melt together the oil and chocolate.
Whisk together the flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and cocoa. Add the vinegar, milk, and melted chocolate with the oil. Mix to obtain a smooth batter.
Preheat the oven to 180°C (355°F).
Grease your muffin tins. Pour the batter for the soft cakes into each tin until it reaches halfway up the sides. Add a frozen cube of custard into each tin and then cover with more soft cake batter to fill the tins.
Bake for 18 minutes.
Let it cool for about ten minutes before unmolding and then enjoy them while they're still hot!