Chocolate Lava Cake

This very first recipe is one of my favorites! The pictures don’t do it justice (damn that cooking at night!)

Warm. Chocolatey. Gooey.

Heaven.

Seriously, you can’t go wrong with a combo like that! I found this recipe on an amazing site Peas and Thank You. One of the first food blogs I ever stumbled upon, and what a life changer it was! Now, I am by no means a vegan. In fact, I love steak. And butter. And cheese.

I’m drooling already.

Anyhoo, here’s my adaptation of this recipe. I love the fact that, because there are no eggs in it, I can guiltlessly eat as much cake batter as I want. And the applesauce makes me feel like this might actually be good for me.

Apples, right?

Chocolate Lava Cake (makes approx 4 ramekin cakes)

1/2 cup unsweetened applesauce

1/2 cup pure maple syrup

1 t. vanilla extract

1 cup chocolate chips +1-4 T (for the ooey gooey centers)

1/2 cup flour

2 t. baking powder

1/2 t. baking soda

1/2 t. salt

powdered sugar or fresh fruit for garnish (if desired)

Gather your ingredients and preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.

Mix your applesauce, syrup, vanilla, and 1 cup of chocolate chips in a bowl or saucepan. Heat it up, either over the stove, or by microwaving the bowl in 30 second intervals, stirring in between until the chocolate is completely melted. I opted for the microwave….ever a slave to convenience!

Add in your dry ingredients and mix until well blended. Butter or use cooking spray to grease 4 ramekins or custard cups (or more depending on their size.) Fill each ramekin about 3/4 of the way. Don’t overfill! This leads to a hot mess. Literally.

Now poke the remaining chocolate chips into the center of each ramekin. Mine are oblong, so I ended up putting about a tablespoon into each. You can use more or less depending on the severity of your chocolate addiction. Mine is obviously pretty far gone. I think I need an intervention. The chocolate chips don’t need to be completely covered, the cake will fluff up around it as it bakes.

Bake for 10-12 minutes.

Aw yeah! So delightfully perfect. The outer edges will be crispy, the centers will be soft and gooey. Mmmm!

Sprinkle the tops with powdered sugar and/or fresh fruit and chow down. Sharing optional.

Hope you enjoy as much as I do!

Source: adapted from Peas and Thank You