Learn how to make these chocolate cherry lava cakes perfect for your next dinner party! Adding dark sweet cherries to a rich and gooey chocolate cake makes for an extra special treat.
Chocolate and cherries have always been an iconic duo and in this lava cake recipe, they shine more than ever. Lava cakes are the perfect dinner party or special occasion dessert since you can make them ahead of time and just keep them wrapped in the fridge until right before you bake them. Nothing beats a warm, gooey chocolate cake served with rich and creamy vanilla ice cream. And the juicy cherries are perfect with the soft cake and creamy ice cream. Trust me your guests will adore you when you serve this cake.
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Let's get to the recipe
Ingredients
For this chocolate cherry lava cake you will need:
- Semi-Sweet/ Dark Chocolate. You want good quality chocolate here, ideally 60% chocolate, it should be finely chopped. I used chocolate callets. I do not recommend using chocolate chips.
- Unsalted Butter. The butter will melt with the chocolate, so no waiting for room temperature here!
- Large Eggs. You will need one whole egg and an additional two egg yolks. This helps create that really rich, gooey chocolate center.
- Powdered/ Icing Sugar. Using powdered sugar instead of granulated sugar helps the sugar melt into the batter for a silky-smooth chocolate texture.
- All-Purpose Flour. You only need a bit of flour and you want to fold it in gently to keep a soft delicate cake texture.
- Instant Espresso Powder. I love pairing a bit of coffee or espresso with chocolate. I add just a bit of espresso powder but you can skip this if you want.
- Pure Vanilla Extract. Vanilla pairs beautifully with cherries and chocolate.
- Oregon Fruit Dark Sweet Cherries. These dark, rich cherries are sweet with a vibrant tang, perfect for baking. I love using Oregon Fruit because I can trust there are only three ingredients in their fruit; fruit, water, and cane sugar! Find the cans in the baking aisle and the canned fruit aisle at your local grocery store, or online at Amazon or Walmart. For more recipe inspiration, visit oregonfruit.com
For ingredient quantities please reference the recipe card below. On the recipe card there is a button for US or M (Metric) measurements.
Instructions
Preheat the oven to 425F/218C and heavily grease two 8oz ramekins.
In a large bowl either place over a double broiler or in a microwave melt the chopped chocolate and butter together, just until the chocolate and butter have melted. Then whisk in the espresso powder and vanilla extract.
Whisk in egg and egg yolks, mixing until no trace of egg remains.
Then mix in powdered sugar and finally gently fold in the flour, mixing until just combined.
Divide the batter between ramekins and add 4 cherries to the top of each cake then use your clean finger to gently press them down so the cake batter covers them. Place the ramekins on a baking tray. (You could wrap the cakes and chill them in the refrigerator for up to 24 hours before baking)
Bake for 12 minutes and check, you want the outer ½ inch to be baked and look set and the inner part of the cake to be jiggly- be careful not to overbake. When the lava cake is done let it cool for 5 minutes before using a towel to invert the cake onto a serving plate. I use an angled spatula or you could use a butter knife to gently loosen the cake from the ramekin before inverting it. Dust with powdered sugar and serve with vanilla ice cream.
The dark sweet cherries pair absolutely beautifully with the warm chocolate cake. Get ready to fall head over heels for this easy recipe.
Making ahead of time
You can prepare the lava cakes ahead of time. Once you have poured the batter into the baking dish and added the cherries cover the whole dish in plastic wrap and store it in the refrigerator for up to 24 hours. Bake straight from the fridge but you might need an additional minute or two to bake. But molten chocolate lava cakes are the best right after they are baked, I do not recommend baking them ahead of time.
Can you double
You can easily double or triple the recipe to serve a crowd. To easily double or triple the ingredient quantities press the 2X or 3X button on the recipe card below.
★★★★★ Please let me know if you make this recipe by leaving a star rating and comment below!
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Chocolate Cherry Lava Cake
Learn how to make these chocolate cherry lava cakes perfect for your next dinner party! Adding dark sweet cherries to a rich and gooey chocolate cake makes for an extra special treat.
- Total Time: 23 Minutes
- Yield: 6 Ramekins 1x
Ingredients
- 9oz Semi-Sweet/ Dark Chocolate (Ideally 60%+), chopped
- 7.5oz (15 Tablespoons) Unsalted Butter
- 1 Teaspoon Instant Espresso Powder (optional)
- 1 ½ Teaspoons Pure Vanilla Extract
- 3 Large Egg + 6 Large Egg Yolks
- 189 grams (1 ½ Cups) Powdered/ Icing Sugar
- 125 grams (1 Cup) All-Purpose Flour
- 1 Can Oregon Fruit Dark Sweet Cherries, 4-5 cherries per cake + more for garnish
- Confectioners Sugar and Ice Cream for topping
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 425F/218C and heavily grease six 8oz ramekins.
- In a large bowl either place over a double broiler or in a microwave melt the chopped chocolate and butter together, just until the chocolate and butter have melted. Then whisk in the espresso powder and vanilla extract.
- Whisk in egg and egg yolks. Then mix in powdered sugar and finally gently fold in the flour.
- Divide between ramekins and add 4-5 cherries to the top of each cake then use your clean finger to gently press them down so the cake batter covers them. Place the ramekins on a baking tray. (You could wrap the cakes and chill them in the refrigerator for up to 24 hours before baking)
- Bake for 12 minutes and check, you want the outer ½ inch to be baked and look set and the inner part of the cake to be jiggle- be careful not to overbake. When the lava cake is done let it cool for 5 minutes before using a towel to invert the cake onto a serving plate. I use an angled spatula or you could use a butter knife to gently loosen the cake from the ramekin before inverting it. Dust with powdered sugar and serve with vanilla ice cream.
- Prep Time: 10 Minutes
- Cook Time: 13 Minutes
- Category: Dessert
- Method: Bake
- Cuisine: American
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Katrina says
cherries and chocolate is the best combination!
★★★★★
Elizabeth Waterson says
Thanks, Katrina, so glad you enjoyed the recipe!! Take care. XX Liz
Gayle Springer says
Looking forward to baking many of the scrumptious chocolate desserts that you have provided on your website. My question is, living in Denver, Colorado, what high altitude adaptions do you recommend for cookies, cakes, breads, etc.?
Elizabeth Waterson says
Hi Gayle, thanks so much for the support I am sure you will love the chocolate recipes!! I, unfortunately, have had no experience baking in high altitudes but based on what I know you should generally increase the oven temperature by about 25% and decrease the baking time by about 5 minutes per 30 minutes. You may need to decrease the sugar by a tablespoon or two, you may need to increase the liquid by 1-4 tablespoons, and you may need to decrease the chemical leavening agents by 1/8 teaspoon- 1/4 teaspoon. Hope that helps, good luck please do report back if you try any of CBQ Recipes XX Liz