Easy & Delicious Vegan Chocolate Lava Cake Recipe.

CHOCOLATEY.

LAVA.

CAKE.

I am not exaggerating when I say that this vegan chocolate lava cake recipe might be the “favoritest” thing I’ve ever made for my husband (who loves chocolate cake). I tested this vegan chocolate lava cake recipe out on him for our anniversary, and he said, “This is so good,” as he continued to shovel its molten center into his mouth. These easy vegan chocolate lava cakes are the perfect dessert for that special occasion, like a special date, your anniversary, or Valentine’s Day. Why? They’re easy to make and the gooey center elevates the plain (though delicious) chocolate cake to a decadent dessert.

So, without further ado, let’s get into it!

Disclaimer: Some of the links in this post may be affiliate links for products I use and love. If you make a purchase after clicking one of those links, I may earn a small affiliate commission, perhaps enough to buy some extra gochujang or gochugaru 🙂

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What is A Chocolate Lava Cake?

A chocolate lava cake, also known as “molten chocolate cake” or “fondant au chocolat” (in France) is a small, individual sized chocolate cake that’s firm on the outside but has a gooey middle. The gooey chocolate centers “run” down the cake like lava down a volcano, which is why they are referred to as molten chocolate lava cakes. The gooey chocolate centers are made out of either melted chocolate or undercooked cake batter. It’s a delicious dessert that is perfect for chocolate lovers, because it’s quite literally bursting with chocolate and they get an entire cake all to themselves!

Though similar, the chocolate lava cake should not be confused with a chocolate soufflé. Chocolate soufflés are less sweet, much airier, and have a mousse inside their center, one that is unlikely to flow like lava.

How did the original chocolate lava cake come into existence? Well, no one’s entirely sure (which is often the case with these things), but some posit that the famed French-American chef, Jean-Georges Vongerichten (who has a copy of my cookbook, btw!), accidentally baked a cake with a slightly raw center and liked it so much, he started serving it at his restaurants. Others say that it was French chef Michel Bras who created the original chocolate lava cake, when he stuffed his chocolate cakes with ganache.

Either way, this vegan chocolate lava cake is going to knock your socks off!

Why You’ll Love this Vegan Chocolate Lava Cake Recipe.

You are going to love this vegan chocolate lava cake recipe because it’s:

• EASY
• DELICIOUS
• DECADENT
• SUPER CHOCOLATE-Y

Look, there are a ton of recipes for vegan lava cakes out there so what makes this one different? As I mentioned above, my husband is a chocolate cake lover, which means I’ve been making chocolate cakes since we started dating back in 2014. The first thing I veganized when we went vegan in 2016 was a chocolate cake. I’ve been experimenting with vegan molten lava cakes for nearly a decade. This vegan chocolate lava cake recipe is not just good, it’s darn good. It incorporates everything I’ve learned over the years about making a terrific dessert, and does so with simple ingredients that are readily available.

Why is this vegan chocolate lava cake recipe foolproof? Because we’re going with the French version: i.e., the one that stuffs the cake with a chocolate truffle or chocolate ganache. This chocolate-y “core” (to keep the metaphor going) will be a bit more forgiving than the French-American version, since we won’t be relying exclusively on the cake batter to be of two different consistencies. This is particularly useful since this is a vegan chocolate lava cake that doesn’t include eggs. This core is also what makes this recipe doable with a gluten-free flour blend.

As you’ll see in the recipe card below, this is a rich dessert. Therefore, one cake may actually be more than enough to split with your sweetheart (that’s what we did)!

Key Ingredients and Notes on Substitutions for Vegan Chocolate Lava Cake Recipe.

The following are the key ingredients and substitution ideas for our vegan chocolate lava cake.

Dark Chocolate.

In order to create the “lava” for this vegan chocolate lava cake, we need chocolate. I recommend using a good, solid dark chocolate bar. I do not recommend using vegan chocolate chips. Why? Because vegan chocolate chips do not melt well and in order to have a gooey, molten-y center for our vegan chocolate lava cake, we need to have a chocolate that actually melts. The good news is that a bar of dark chocolate is much easier to find than vegan chocolate chips!

Cocoa Powder.

Not surprisingly, this vegan chocolate lava cake recipe also requires cocoa powder. Any time I’m making chocolate cake of any variety, I prefer using Dutch-processed cocoa powders. They not only provide a much deeper chocolate-y flavor, they also facilitate optimized emulsification for your cake batter. If you can’t find Dutch-processed cocoa powder, though, your cake will still taste absolutely spectacular with regular cocoa powder.

Coconut Cream.

My preference would have been to use vegan whipped cream for this vegan chocolate lava cake, but I wanted to be mindful of the fact that most people probably don’t have access to a reliable vegan whipping cream. Hence, we will stick with coconut cream. DO use full-fat coconut cream and DO make sure to use only the solidified part at the top of your can.

In terms of substitution ideas, if you do have access to a great vegan whipping cream (I prefer Country Crock’s Plant Cream), use that. Otherwise, you can also use full-fat coconut milk as a substitute.

Vegetable Oil.

In order to make sure the lava actually “flows” in our vegan chocolate lava cake, we need to add vegetable oil to the chocolate truffle we’re going to stuff into our warm chocolate cake. There aren’t any specific vegetable oils that are better than others, though I would go with a flavor neutral variety (e.g., avocado oil is a great one). You can of course use olive oil, but that might leave a distinct flavor.

Can you use coconut oil? I would NOT. Why? Because coconut oil is solid at room temperature, which kinda goes against the whole “lava flowing” thing for this vegan chocolate lava cake. Later, when we discuss vegan butter for the soft chocolate cake we’re making to house the lava, coconut oil would be a great substitute.

Vegan Buttermilk.

My original chocolate cake recipe (which I still swear by) calls for the creation of vegan buttermilk. The same applies for this vegan chocolate lava cake. The acid in our vegan buttermilk will react with our baking soda to create a little lift, but will also keep our cake moist and tender.

Now before you ask, “where can I get vegan buttermilk,” the answer is we’re going to make our own! We’ll do that by whisking together some plant milk (oat milk or soy milk would be better than almond milk) along with some acid (e.g., apple cider vinegar, lemon juice).

All Purpose Flour.

I wanted to create a fluffy cake for my vegan chocolate lava cake and that begins with all purpose flour.

Can you use a gluten-free flour? Yes, you can absolutely substitute a gluten-free flour blend for all purpose flour in this recipe. However, make sure you pick a really good one, as a bad blend may result in a collapsed cake or one that’s prone to falling apart when you try to release it from your mold (though, I have some tricks up my sleeve for that…). I very much like Bob’s Red Mill Gluten-Free 1-to-1 Flour Blend. I used it to make my Vegan Chocolate Chip Cookies and they turned out GREAT.

Sugar.

This is a chocolate cake recipe and as such, I will not apologize for using sugar. As most of you know, I do not use a lot of regular sugar in my non-dessert recipes, but when it comes to cakes, cookies, and donuts, I do not like to mess around with sugar substitutes. They will not only affect the flavor of your dessert, they will often create a challenging crumb (which, quite frankly, drives me bananas). Thus, for this vegan chocolate lava cake recipe, you will need regular white cane sugar (organic to keep it vegan).

Optionally, you can also dust the cake with a little bit of powdered sugar, but I leave that up to you. I prefer topping my cake with dairy-free vanilla ice cream, but you do you!

Vegan Butter.

So, the hallmark of a chocolate lava cake is that you have a fully cooked cake on the outside and a runny, gooey situation on the inside. Thus, as we discussed above, the inclusion of vegetable oil (which is still a liquid at room temperature) for the inside. For the outside, then, our source of fat (which will keep the cake from drying out) should be solid-ish at room temperature. Enter vegan butter.

I know many of you overseas (thank you for stopping by my blog, btw!) do not have access to vegan butter, so this is the perfect time to bust out that coconut oil. Coconut oil, like vegan butter, is solid-ish at room temperature. If you don’t mind the flavor, you can use that instead of vegan butter.

Tips for Vegan Chocolate Lava Cake (READ BEFORE COOKING!!!).

There are really two things that are critical to executing the perfect vegan chocolate lava cake:

Cake Release. The cake on the outside is going to be soft, especially if you’re substituting with gluten-free flour. Thus, you want to take your time preparing for the easiest, smoothest release for that cake. In that regard, here are all the things I did in order to ensure my cakes came out cleanly:

• Parchment Paper: I parchment papered every surface my cake batter would touch: the bottoms and the sides.
• Springform Pan: In lieu of using a regular cake pan or mold, I used 4″ springform pans.
• More Butter: I buttered every surface my cake batter would touch: the bottoms and the sides. You can also use cooking spray.

Once your cakes are out of the oven, let them cool for about 30 seconds (you don’t want to ganache to harden up again) before running a sharp knife or offset spatula around the circumference of the cake before releasing the spring.

Bake Time. The bake time on this vegan chocolate lava cake is absolutely crucial. You need to bake it long enough for the center to melt; but, you also want to avoid baking it so long that your cake dries out. Obviously, everyone’s ovens are different so 14 minutes to me might mean 12 minutes to you and 16 minutes to my mom. I would start checking at 10 minutes. What you’re looking for is a fully cooked cake around the rim and a soft, jiggly middle.

Step-by-Step Instructions for Making This Vegan Chocolate Lava Cake Recipe.

Make the Chocolate Ganache.

Place your dark chocolate chunks into a medium bowl. Heat your coconut cream in a small pot over medium-low heat, stirring constantly to ensure it doesn’t scald (you can also use a microwave, but make sure you check on it every 30 seconds so it doesn’t scald). When it starts bubbling around the edges (around 3 minutes), remove from heat and pour directly over chocolate. Add vegetable oil. Whisk the chocolate mixture until it is smooth and lustrous. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and place in the refrigerator until solidified (around 4 hours).

Make the Chocolate Truffles.

Preheat your oven to 425° F. Line two 4″ springform cake pans (see tips above) or ramekins with parchment paper (both the bottoms and the sides) and grease them with vegan butter or cooking spray.

Once the chocolate ganache has solidified, using a melon baller or a spoon, scoop out enough ganache to constitute a large gum-ball. Drop it into a small bowl of cocoa powder and coat the entire surface of the ganache. Repeat to make a second truffle. Place these in the refrigerator while you make the cake batter.

Make the Cake Batter.

Measure out plant milk and to it, whisk in the vinegar or lemon juice. Set that aside. Prepare your dry ingredients by sifting flour, cocoa powder, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and a little sea salt into a medium bowl. Give the contents a good whisk. Add vegan butter, vanilla extract, and then (lastly) the vegan buttermilk to your dry ingredients. Whisk everything together until well-combined (you can also use a hand mixer).

Bake the Cakes.

Ladle one quarter of your cake batter into each of your cake pans or ramekins. Place a chocolate truffle in each. Divide remaining batter between the two cakes. Place the cakes in the center rack of your oven and bake for approximately 12 to 14 minutes. The edges of the cake should be fully cooked while the center remains a little jiggly. Dust with powdered sugar or serve with a scoop of vegan vanilla ice cream and/or fresh berries.

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Recipe Card.

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