Chocolate lava cake. Even the name perks up the senses for chocoholics. It’s warm, it’s moist, it’s got gooey rich fudge sauce …. (drool). It’s the holy grail of sinful desserts, the ultimate flip-the-bird to dietary discretion. But not in my kitchen. Gather round, all ye who seek chocolate decadence AND a lean body. Trying to avoid gluten, sugar, and/or dairy? It’s time for dessert.
I have a few chocolate cake recipes. Or HAD I should say. The others shall be disappearing from this website as soon as I can get to taking them down.
I have committed to a monogamous relationship with this cake as my most beloved chocolate dessert above all others.
Technically, the “lava” isn’t inside the cake, it’s a warm sauce spooned on a warm cake. Trust me, one bite and you won’t give a damn either where it came from. Note: the cake itself transforms into a moist masterpiece when warmed. It’s not BAD at room temp or chilled, but please do warm it up. It’s miraculous.
And the fact you don’t have peanut flour can be solved here or here. It’s worth it.
Chocolate Lava Cake (Gluten free, sugar free)
- Nonstick cooking spray
- ½ cup peanut flour
- 1/8 teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon baking powder
- 4 squares unsweetened chocolate, chopped (4 oz.)
- 1 tablespoon butter
- 1 cup unsweetened almond milk (or skim milk)
- 50 g (= 1/2 cup) xylitol (may substitute erythritol or an additional 1/2 cup Splenda)
- ½ cup Splenda granulated
- 1 egg (can substitute 1/4 cup egg whites)
- Preheat oven to 350°F. Spray the inside of a round cake pan or springform pan with nonstick spray.
- In a mixing bowl, whisk together peanut flour, salt and baking powder.
- Melt chocolate, butter and ½ cup milk in small saucepan over low heat. Stir every few minutes until smooth. Add Splenda, xylitol and additional ½ cup milk and whisk until smooth. Turn off heat.
- Pour chocolate mixture into flour mixture and add egg. Whisk vigorously for 20 seconds to break up lumps. Do not over mix.
- Pour into prepared pan and bake 14 minutes, or just until top springs back lightly when touched. Cool before slicing, and refrigerate leftovers.
- To serve, place slice on a plate and microwave to warm for 15 seconds in microwave. Top with 1-1/2 tablespoons hot fudge sauce. Swoon.
Makes 8 servings
Hot Fudge Sauce
- 1 square unsweetened baking chocolate (1 oz.)
- 1/4 cup almond milk
- 1/4 cup xylitol (or Splenda or erythritol)
- 1 tablespoon butter
Stove method: Combine all ingredients in a small saucepan and stir while heating over medium-low heat. Cook until it starts to bubble, then turn of heat. Stir until smooth. Store leftover sauce in refrigerator and re-warm in microwave.
Microwave method: In a microwave safe bowl, melt chocolate and almond milk by heating in 30 second intervals and stirring. Add sweetener and butter and stir to mix. Microwave an additional 30-60 seconds until it just starts to bubble, and stir until totally smooth. (If it still has any graininess to it, heat and stir a bit more) Store leftover sauce in refrigerator and re-warm in microwave.
Per 1/8 cake and 1-1/2 tablespoons fudge sauce: 180 calories, 13.5 grams fat, 8 g saturated fat, 16 g carbs, 4 g fiber, 7 g protein.
Carla Thauberger May 9, 2012 at 10:47 am
I love you for this, Georgie! I simply could not have survived the past year without your recipes!
Anne Scott May 10, 2012 at 2:28 pm
Can you use a different kind of flour? My son is on an elimination diet at the moment. He can’t have gluten, dairy, or peanuts (among other things).
admin May 10, 2012 at 7:36 pm
it might work with almond flour or gluten free baking blend. (I like Bob’s Red Mill gluten free all purpose flour)
Gloria Kersh May 11, 2012 at 6:53 am
since we aren’t gluten intolerant could I use any old flour and get the same results??? This sounds divine!!!
DB-The Foodie Stuntman May 11, 2012 at 10:01 am
Congratulations on making the foodbuzz Top 9!
CJ at Food Stories May 11, 2012 at 10:07 am
Congratulations on your foodbuzz top 9, today!
admin May 11, 2012 at 3:17 pm
Gloria – I’m not sure, but it’s worth a try! Let me know if you make it!
nita May 12, 2012 at 12:01 am
hi, this look delicious! Btw, how many gram is 1 square of chocolate?
thanks
admin May 12, 2012 at 8:39 am
They are an ounce each, 28 g.
Balraj May 16, 2012 at 6:30 am
I cannot easily get hold of peanut flour in UK, could I grind some peanuts instead?
admin May 16, 2012 at 11:27 am
Balraj, I’m not sure that would work, as you’d get peanut butter! How about trying normal flour or a different type of flour?
Liza Ram May 23, 2012 at 5:25 am
Hi Georgie, I have just started on the South Beach diet and my sugar craving is intense – so your site and recipes are life savers (along with Kalyns kitchen!). The flour less lava cake is in the oven and however it comes out, it shall be thankfully devoured by self.
I didn’t have peanut flour and don’t know where to get a hold of it in India. So I dry roasted some peanuts, with the skin, and pulsed them to peanut meal. I’m sure it is grainier than the flour you would use. But texture in a chocolate cake, who can complain about that.
Ps: balraj, be warned, it goes from peanut (or another nut for that matter) meal to butter in no time. So use the pulse option rather than the grind
kathleen June 6, 2012 at 11:35 am
Georgie, I purchased coconut flour a month or so ago for one of Dr. Berardi’s recipes, could I use that instead of the peanut flour?
admin June 8, 2012 at 6:13 am
Kathleen, I am not sure, I haven’t tried it!
N. Spears June 14, 2012 at 6:28 pm
I am definitely making this. Is peanut flour the same as PB2?
admin June 16, 2012 at 5:08 pm
Nathan- It’s pretty close and you can sub one for the other.
enjoy!
pgattocpa July 1, 2012 at 7:42 am
Georgie: Is there a reason why the Splenda can be substituted for the xylitol, but not vice versa? I keep xylitol (Ideal) in the house, but not Splenda. For some reason my daughter can tolerate the xylitol, but not Splenda. Thanks. Peter
admin July 1, 2012 at 7:35 pm
Peter – It should be fine to use all xylitol, and you can adjust to taste. Some people prefer things sweeter, some people less so. I do find that using ALL splenda results in too much artificial taste, so the mix of part sugar alcohol (I’ve used to both xylitol and erythritol with good outcome) and Splenda works great. I’d bet it would be fine with all sugar alcohols and no Splenda. Let me know if you like it, and thanks for the awesome contribution to the slow cooker discussion! Really really glad to have you around.
– Georgie
pgattocpa July 19, 2012 at 9:18 pm
Hi Georgie: Well, I tried many combination that I “forced” upon my co-workers because I cannot have that much temptation in my home. Peanut flour vs. ground peanuts vs. PB2 and 50-50 xylitol / Splenda vs. 100% xylitol.
I did like the peanut flour the best, but I also like the textural component of the ground peanuts. The additional fat of the ground peanuts vs. the peanut flour probably accounted for some of the taste difference as well.
I also liked the 100% xylitol better than the 50-50 split. I did not find the sweetness overpowering. Actually, conversely, I found the 50-50 split kind of bland. I was not expecting that because plain xylitol is extremely sweet to me. Obviously, that’s a lot of sugar alcohol for those who can’t tolerate it so well.
I do have to admit, though, that I am still getting used to the whole “let’s use only healthy ingredients” deal. So, I did make a batch with regular flour, some PB2 and real sugar. Don’t kick me off the site, but I did like it best – it’s just the Neanderthal in me!
By the way, I have an idea for a substitution of one of your ingredients that I’m going to try next week. I’m hoping that it will be a great option for those who like a certain “unhealthy” item. I don’t want to do it this week because I’m getting dunked for a hydrostatic body fat test on Monday.
I’ll reveal the secret ingredient, and the results, next week.
Peter
admin July 20, 2012 at 4:07 pm
Thanks Peter, I’m eager to hear your experiment and all versions are welcome to be evaluated! Everyone likes different things! Thanks for doing us all such a service in your lab, I mean kitchen.
pgattocpa July 29, 2012 at 4:41 pm
Hi Georgie:
I finally had the time to experiment with the “secret” replacement ingredient – I substituted hazelnut flour for peanut flour (so still gluten free). Being Sicilian I love a chocolate / hazelnut combo (if I said Italian my “Nonno” would come back and haunt me! ;>) ). Nutella is one of the “foods” that has to absolutely be kept out of the house otherwise the jar is empty within a day.
The substitution ratio that worked the best was 2:1 so rather than 1/2 cup peanut flour I used 1 cup hazelnut flour. I used “Bob’s Red Mill Finely Ground Hazelnut Meal/Flour”. The 2:1 ratio was necessary to maintain the integrity of the final result. Anything less, say 1:1 or 1.5:1 was too “soupy” and would never had set up properly. All other ingredients / amounts were the same. Since you have some options above, I used an egg rather than egg whites and I used the 50/50 xylitol/Splenda option.
Also, I baked mine in a “divided” brownie pan rather than a cake pan. Where with the original recipe I had to bake for 2 minutes less, 12 min vs. 14 min, (because each individual portion is so small), with the hazelnut substitution I had to bake for 16 minutes. I suspect, then, if someone uses a cake pan they would try for about 18 minutes. Of course, they should check with a toothpick before that just to be sure not to over-bake.
For me, the consistency of the final result was pretty phenomenal – moist and almost creamy-like. With the hot fudge sauce on top definitely a “lava cake-esque” experience.
I know you are a very busy person, but if you are intrigued, I would be curious to see what you thought of this the next time you decided to make lava cake.
I do wish the hazelnut flavor was a bit more pronounced. I was thinking of adding some hazelnut extract, but all of the reviews online say that most hazelnut extracts hardly add any flavor so you should really make your own. I just have to decide if I want to make some extract (it’s about a 4 week process due to the soaking in the alcohol). If I do, I’ll make another batch and let you know.
Because of the higher nut content, the calories increase by over a third – the macronutrient breakdown follows. I calculated this by taking your breakdown, subtracting the peanut flour breakdown (from “Protein Plus Roasted All-Natural Peanut Flour”) and then adding the hazelnut numbers. Per 1/8 cake and 1-1/2 tablespoons fudge sauce:
256 calories, 21g fat, 8.5g saturated fat, 16.5g carbs, 4.5g fiber, 5g protein.
By the way, I’m in PN’s LEP full-year 2012 cohort with Jason as coach. Is it okay with you to post a link to the lava cake post?
Thanks – Peter
admin July 30, 2012 at 2:39 pm
Thanks Peter! Go ahead and share the link, I’m happy you want to! I love the hazelnut flour idea! If I can get my hands on some, I’ll try it out too! Thank you so much for your valuable contribution!
Brett Keilty July 30, 2012 at 10:36 pm
Almond milk is great. The taste of it is quite yummy and there are also many health benefits that you can get from almond milk. .:;,.
Take care http://www.healthmedicinelab.com“>
pgattocpa July 30, 2012 at 10:45 pm
Georgie: Add’l info – I had put the remaining fudge sauce on top of each of the remaining hazelnut lava cake “brownies” and placed them in the refrigerator last night. Today I took one out and microwaved for 25 seconds at 50% power (1100 watt microwave). 3 words:
Oh – my – goodness!!!!!!!!
You did say at the top of your post that the “cake itself transforms into a moist masterpiece when warmed. It’s not BAD at room temp or chilled, but please do warm it up. It’s miraculous.”
I do believe I heard angels singing . . .
Maureen August 19, 2012 at 4:47 pm
OMG- this cake is to die for. I used almond flour. And next time will try the peanut flour. This recipe is a permanent fixture in my recipe file.
admin August 19, 2012 at 5:31 pm
Great! I will give it a try with almond flour next time!
Madeline September 10, 2012 at 7:30 pm
Can I substitute stevia for splenda? I know the measurements change and I’m afraid the cake won’t come out right.
admin September 11, 2012 at 10:27 am
Madeline, i do think this would work with stevia, because the sweeteners aren’t really contributing to the structure of the cake. I can’t really help with how much to add… so use your best guess there.
Dawn March 22, 2013 at 11:37 am
Could you suggest something to replace Splenda? That stuff gives me a headache big time and I don’t want to screw up a great recipe by adding more xylitol and it needed to be something else, like agave.
Georgie March 23, 2013 at 9:27 am
Dawn, You can experiment with stevia if you like. Or agave. Up to you!