Molten Lava Cake (A Sinful Dessert Under 200 Calories!)

Have you ever made a molten lava cake?  I hadn't, before this experiment.  I had made a souffle once in food science class during my undergraduate years (souffles and molten lava cakes are prepared in a similar way, and they both require patience and practice....and skill, which is why I failed my first round!).  When I saw this recipe in a cookbook I own, I figured why not actually make something from a cookbook?? It's been a while since I've done that, so brace yourself.

I was so excited to cut into my first round of lava cakes and see the lava (aka: chocolate) pour out from the gooey center.  But this is what I got during my first round....

When I first tried to make these cakes I didn't have any ramekins so I thought they would work fine in muffin pans.  Well, clearly I'm not a baker, because when they just turned into brownies (without the "lava" effect) my mom said it was because dark pans will cook food faster.  Duh, I knew that!

*Reminder*:  Don't use muffin pans unless you are trying to make this recipe into brownies.  Get some custard cups or ramekins!

Oh yes, much, much better.



Molten Lava Cake
Makes 8 cakes
Modified slightly from a recipe in Substitute Yourself Skinny
**Gluten Free if made with brown rice flour
Low FODMAPs

Ingredients
6 Tbsp. butter, plus extra for greasing
4 ounces semisweet chocolate
2 Tbsp. low fat plain yogurt
2 Tbsp. flour (I used brown rice flour!)**
1 tsp. vanilla extract
2 eggs
2 egg yolks
2 Tbsp. powdered sugar, plus extra for garnish

Directions
1.  Preheat oven to 400 degrees.  Lightly grease 8 ramekins or custard cups with butter

2.  In the top of a double-broiler, combine the butter and chocolate, and heat until both are melted.  Stir gently to combine.  Stir in the yogurt.  Add the flour.  Gently stir to combine

3.  In a medium mixing bowl, beat together the vanilla, eggs, egg yolks, and sugar until well combined and the mixture thickens, about 8 minutes.  Using a rubber spatula fold 1/3 of the egg mixture into the chocolate mixture until well blended.  Repeat until all is combined.

4.  Pour equal amounts of the mixture into each ramekin, filling about 3/4 full.  Bake for 7 to 8 minutes, until the edges are set and the center is jiggly.

Source: CalorieCount.com
Estimated nutrition facts for 1 cake (makes 8)

Yes, this cake is high in fat, and mainly saturated fat for that matter.   But hey, check out the sugar!  Only 10 grams.  That's less than many of the "health bars" you can find on shelves.  And, at less than 200 calories this is a decadent dessert that won't put a huge dent in your calorie bank.

Ooey Gooey Deliciousness.  I would tell you it didn't even need any ice cream, and that would be true, but I did serve this with a little dollop of ice cream right when it came out of the oven.  A dollop I tell you, that's it!

My professor of food science, Dr. Michael, would have been so proud.

QUESTION:  Have you ever made a molten lava cake?  Have you ever experimented with baking and completely failed?!

Thanks for reading.

The Candid Rd