Air Fryer
Air Fryer Chocolate Lava Cakes
Molten middles in 13 minutes. Why the ramekins get cocoa rather than flour, and why turning them out straight away is what saves the lava.
Ingredients
- 250g dark chocolate
- 130g unsalted butter
- 130g granulated sugar
- 4 eggs
- 130g plain flour
- Butter and cocoa powder, for the ramekins
Method
- Melt the dark chocolate and butter together until smooth, then let it cool slightly.
- Whisk in the eggs and the sugar until glossy.
- Fold the plain flour through until the batter is smooth.
- Chill the batter for at least 30 minutes.
- Butter the inside of four ramekins thoroughly, then dust them with cocoa powder and tip out the excess.
- Fill each ramekin about three quarters full.
- Air fry at 180°C (355°F) for 13 minutes for a molten centre, or 14 for a firmer one. The edges should be set and matte, the centre still wobbling.
- Run a small knife round the edge and turn each one out onto a plate straight away, while it is still hot.
Notes
- Butter AND cocoa in the ramekins, not butter alone. Flour leaves a white bloom on a chocolate cake; cocoa disappears into it.
- Turn them out while hot. Leave them to sit in the ramekin and the molten centre carries on cooking in the residual heat until there is nothing left to flow.
- Edges set, centre wobbling. That is the whole test — if the middle looks baked through the lava has gone.
- Timing depends heavily on ramekin size. Instant Pot UK quote 13 minutes for theirs; smaller ramekins with less batter are done in 7-9. Start checking early the first time.
- Chilling the batter for 30 minutes helps the outside set before the middle does, which is what gives you the contrast.
- Air fryer models vary. Treat the times as a guide, go by colour and crispness, and adjust the seasoning to your taste.
Watch it
More Air Fryer Desserts
Air fryer models vary in power and basket size, so treat the times here as a guide — go by colour and crispness rather than the clock, and adjust the seasoning and glaze to your taste.
Recipe source: Quantities and method from Instant Pot UK (instantpot.co.uk): 250g dark chocolate, 130g unsalted butter, 130g sugar, 4 eggs and 130g plain flour, divided between four greased ramekins and baked at 180°C (355°F) for 13 minutes for a gooey centre or 14 for a firmer one, then turned out. Corroborated against Home Grown Happiness and My Forking Life, who also use 180°C (355°F) but quote 7-9 minutes — the gap is ramekin size and how much batter each holds, not disagreement. All sources judge it the same way: edges set and matte, centre still wobbling.