When you dig your spoon into a chocolate lava cake, which is the size of a cup, soft gooey chocolate comes gushing out! Since you’re not expecting the chocolate to ooze out like lava, you’re in for a good surprise. And if you prepare this cake for your friends, you will hear oohs and ahhs from them, while they look like delighted little children in a candy store.

When I first baked this cake, I was unsure of pulling it off. I’ve always baked my cakes until they were fully cooked but, with the lava cake that has very little flour in it, you have to get it out of the oven just before it is fully cooked. The right baking temperature and consistency are very important. I got mine out maybe a few seconds too early and, although delicious, it was somewhat watery. My second try was better and the third perfect — much to my delight, thick gooey chocolate came oozing out.

Now let me give you some history of the lava cake, also called molten cake by some. In 1987, Jean-Georges Vongerichten, pastry chef, threw 300 little cakes into an oven, and forgot to adjust the temperature. Unknowingly, he pulled them out before they were done, and sent them to the restaurant where he worked. An hour later, his boss called to let him know that the cakes were not cooked all the way. Vongerichten was probably alarmed and dreaded going to work, but when he got there in the evening, he received a standing ovation for his cake, which even the media covered because it was so innovative and delicious.

Shortly after, however, a world famous chef, Jacques Torres, disputed Vongerichten’s claim to have invented the chocolate lava cake. Torres says the French had already been baking such cakes, and it wasn’t anything new. In fact he says that, in 1981, Michel Bras, after watching his (own) children sip liquid chocolate, felt inspired and created his ‘Chocolat Coulant’ (runny cake). He served these at his restaurant in Laguiole, France.

But who are Torres, Vogericheten and Bras, and how credible is what they say about the lava cake? I’ll tell you a little about them so you can decide who is right. Torres, who claims Bras invented the cake, is a French pastry chef with many great accomplishments. He has several awards, both local and international, and is a member of the International Culinary Center community, and also appears on a show called Nailed It. He moved to the United States in 1988 and served as corporate pastry chef at The Ritz-Carlton and then joined Le Cirque, where he worked as executive pastry chef. In 2000, he opened a chocolate factory and retail shop, and currently there are eight Jacques Torres shops in the US. Most people, especially pastry lovers, salivate at the sound of his name. Was he very upset at Vongerichten’s claim? Probably so. Enough anyway to dispute it.

Thick gooey chocolate comes gushing out of the cake like lava as you cut it. For chocolate lovers this is the ultimate dream come true

Vongerichten, also world renowned, worked for the Swiss-owned Lafayette restaurant in New York when he claims to have invented the lava cake. Born in France, he moved to America in 1985. But before that he worked under some weighty chefs in France and acquired quite a name for himself. He has travelled extensively and his palate, he says, is influenced by many cultures and cuisines, especially Asian. Besides being a chef, he is an astute businessman, who has ownership of 39 restaurants worldwide. He has also appeared on many influential TV shows and has written some great recipe books.

Bras, France’s most celebrated chef, has three Michelin stars. In the late 1970s, he took over his family hotel-restaurant business Lou Mazuc, and was extremely successful. Besides claiming to be the first to have invented the lava cake, he is known for his vegetable-centric dishes that now have become quite a fad everywhere you go, especially in the bigger cities of the US. He is a self-taught chef, who enjoys the entire table (people included) rather than just the food placed on it. He has humanised our dinner experiences that way, and calls himself the merchant of happiness.

I’d like to think that both Bras and Vongericheten invented the lava cake, one by accident and the other intentionally, whilst Torres backs the former. But what is most important is that we have this absolutely delicious cake, which I’m going to give you the recipe for, and hope you enjoy it as much. And try not to worry, it is completely safe to eat the cake if you bake it at 425 degree Fahrenheit in the oven.

Chocolate Lava Cake

Ingredients

6 ounces of high quality chocolate pieces (bitter sweet is suggested, but use all sweet if you like)
1/2 cup butter
2 large eggs
2 large egg yolk
A little less than a quarter teaspoon of salt
1/4 cup all purpose flour
1/2 cup white or brown sugar or confectioners’ sugar
6 ramekins, or muffin pan (in which you bake muffins or cupcakes)
Ice cream, or strawberries or any other thing to garnish (optional)

Method

Spray oil in the ramekins, and dust their insides with cocoa powder, and keep aside. Turn on your oven to 425 degrees Fahrenheit.

Fill a medium size pot with three to four inches of water and turn the stove on medium to low flame. Take a glass bowl and place the chocolate pieces and butter into it, and place the bowl over the pot. Let the chocolate melt, while stirring occasionally. This might take approximately five minutes.

In another bowl mix the flour, salt and sugar thoroughly. Then beat the whole eggs and yolks together in another bowl. Now combine the contents of both these bowls with that of the chocolate bowl, and stir thoroughly. Make sure there are no lumps. Pour this batter evenly into the ramekins or muffin pan with a spoon. Place them into the oven and bake for 12-14 minutes. However, if you bake in a muffin pan, bake for only eight to 10 minutes. When the cakes rise in the centre and seem somewhat firm on the sides, remove them from the oven.

Leave the cakes in the ramekins for a minute, after which you can turn them upside down by placing a small plate over the ramekin. Remember to wear kitchen gloves to avoid getting your hands burned. Because you oiled the ramekins ahead, the cake should come out easily. Add a spoonful of ice cream of any other garnish and serve immediately. Enjoy!

Published in Dawn, EOS, November 1st, 2020