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These gluten-free lava cakes make the most decadent dessert. Featuring an ooey gooey molten chocolate middle, this 20-minute mini chocolate cake recipe will be on repeat for every occasion. Made with a combination of coconut sugar, maple syrup, almond flour, and coconut flour for a refined-sugar-free and grain-free dessert that everyone will love.
What Makes This Recipe Great
If you’re looking for an easy (under 30 minutes!), healthy(ish), and delicious treat to make for the holidays, date night, or special birthday treat, look no further! These Molten Chocolate Mini Lava Cakes are decadent and delicious and make the perfect special occasion treat.
These gluten free cakes are made with healthier ingredients, however, you would never know it once you take a bite. Dust with powdered sugar and top with some fresh berries or a scoop of ice cream for the ultimate chocolate treat. You will LOVE this mini chocolate cake recipe!
Ingredient Notes
If you’ve never made gluten free cakes with almond flour or coconut flour, you are in for such a treat! The mixture of coconut flour and almond flour makes a super moist, fluffy mini chocolate cake that tastes just like the real thing!
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Dark chocolate: Hu Chocolate & Eating Evolved are both great Paleo and refined sugar-free brands! I also use Enjoy Life Foods dark chocolate chips to make these mini chocolate cakes and they turn out great.
Coconut Oil: This is a healthier, gluten-free alternative to canola oil or vegetable oil.
Ghee: You can also use vegan butter for these gluten-free lava cakes if you need to be 100% dairy free. Ghee is clarified butter so it does have a tiny bit of dairy.
Coconut Sugar & Pure Maple Syrup: These are staples in my pantry. They are natural alternatives to refined sugars like brown sugar and granulated sugar. You can also use date syrup instead of maple syrup if preferred.
Almond Flour & Coconut Flour: These two make the perfect gluten-free flour blend. Coconut flour needs a lot of moisture. Please use the flour ratios as written, otherwise, your mini chocolate cake can turn out dry.
Cacao Powder: I use this instead of unsweetened cocoa powder as it has tons of antioxidants and a deep chocolate flavor. Use whichever one you prefer, just make sure it's unsweetened.
Powdered Sugar: This is optional for dusting. You can also use Swerve powdered sugar as a low-sugar alternative.
*See the recipe card below for the full list of recipe ingredients.
Gluten-Free Lava Cake Equipment
Ramekins: These Anchor Hocking 6 oz ones can be filled about ⅔ of the way full with batter. You can also use 4 oz ceramic ramekins and fill them up closer to the top (as pictured).
Recipe Step by Step
- Grease and Prep the Ramekins: Grease the ramekins with a tiny bit of ghee or vegan butter. Then, dust them with the cacao powder. Don’t skip this super important step!
- Prep the Molten Chocolate: Add the chocolate, coconut oil, and ghee to a microwave-safe bowl. Microwave on high in 30-second increments, stirring in between until melted. Set aside to cool a bit.
- Combine the Ingredients: Whisk the wet ingredients: eggs, coconut sugar, maple syrup, and sea salt in a medium bowl until combined. Add in the melted chocolate/ghee/oil mixture and stir to combine.
- Fill the Ramekins and Bake: Add in the almond flour and coconut flour. Gently fold it into the batter using a spatula until combined. Divide evenly between the 4 ramekins. Fill them about ⅔ of the way full if using 6 oz ramekins. Or, fill almost to the top if you use 4 oz ramekins. Bake at 400F for 11-13 minutes.
- Cool and Serve: Let them sit for 5-10 mins. To remove from the baking dishes, flip each one upside down on a plate and lightly tap on the bottom of the ramekin. They should plop right out. Top each mini chocolate cake with berries or ice cream of choice and ENJOY!
Mary’s Tips & Tricks
Baking the Lava Cakes: These small chocolate cakes will bake for 11-13 minutes, but keep an eye on them! They are done when a toothpick is inserted ½ inch from the side of the ramekin and comes out clean.
The middle will look a little melty…but it should be set. You want to make sure not to overcook them, otherwise, the “molten” part won’t be so molten anymore!
Removing from Ramekins: After baking, Let them sit for 5-10 mins. To remove from the baking dishes, flip each one upside down on a plate and lightly tap on the bottom of the ramekin. They should plop right out.
Nut-Allergy: Unfortunately, I have not tested this mini chocolate cake without almond flour. If you try a substitute, be sure to let us know how it works out in the comments below!
Storage: Store your leftover mini chocolate cake in an airtight container in the fridge. Separate layers with parchment paper. Reheat them in the microwave for 15-20 seconds.
Serving: Serve these gluten free cakes warm and dust with organic powdered sugar and Top with berries or the dairy-free ice cream of choice.
Recipe FAQs
Healthy-ish! These gluten free cakes are dairy-free, Paleo, grain-free, and refined sugar-free. They are more allergy-friendly than standard recipes, and include some healthier swaps!
Yes! The center is cooked just enough to where the batter is safe to eat. Also, I always use high-quality, organic eggs. It's no different than eating sunny side up or over easy eggs with a runny yolk!
Yes. Coconut flour cake recipes require a ton of moisture for the flour, so I do not recommend substituting the flour. I’ve tested and re-tested it to make sure it’s absolutely perfect for you! I have not tested this recipe with gluten-free all-purpose flour.
No! They are not needed for these gluten free cakes.
Try These Gluten Free Cakes & Desserts…
Gluten-Free Molten Chocolate Mini Lava Cakes
Video
Ingredients
- 4 oz dark chocolate , Eating Evolved or Hu are both great Paleo brands. Enjoy Life Chocolate Chips work, too!
- 2 tbsp coconut oil
- 2 tbsp ghee, plus more for greasing the ramekins, (can sub vegan butter for dairy allergies)
- 2 eggs
- ½ cup coconut sugar
- Dash sea salt
- 1 tbsp maple syrup
- 2 tbsp almond flour
- ½ tbsp coconut flour
- 1 tbsp cacao powder, for dusting ramekins
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400. Grease 4 (4 oz or 6 oz) ramekins with a tiny bit of ghee, then dust with the cacao powder.
- Add the chocolate, coconut oil, and ghee to a microwave-safe bowl. Microwave on high in 30 second increments, stirring in between, until melted. Set aside to cool a bit.
- Whisk the eggs, coconut sugar, maple syrup, and sea salt in a medium-sized bowl until combined. Add in the melted chocolate/ghee/oil mixture and stir to combine.
- Add in the almond flour and coconut flour and gently fold it into the batter using a spatula until combined. Divide evenly between the 4 ramekins, filling them about ⅔ of the way full if using 6 oz ramekins, or almost to the top if you use 4 oz ramekins.
- Bake for 11-13 mins (keep an eye on them!) until a toothpick inserted ½ inch from the side of the ramekin comes out clean. The middle will look a little melty…but it should be set. You want to make sure not to overcook them, otherwise the “molten” part won’t be so molten anymore!
- Let them sit for 5-10 mins. To remove from the baking dishes, flip each one upside down on a plate and lightly tap on the bottom of the ramekin. They should plop right out. Top each mini chocolate cake with berries or ice cream of choice and ENJOY!
Notes
Nutrition
All nutrition facts are an estimate and automatically calculated. While I fact check them using My Fitness Pal, please note that they may not always be 100% accurate and depend on ingredients used. Weigh your total and divide by the number of servings for the most accurate grams per serving size.
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Photos by: Casey from The Mindful Hapa
Made for Valentines Day and they were a HUGE hit!! the chocolate goodness is next level
These lava cakes are so good and SO easy! Made them after dinner for our Valentine treat and we all gave them a 100/10!! 🤩 Can’t wait to make them again next time we have a special occasion, but really I don’t think I can wait for a special occasion because I want them again already! SO GOOD!
Made these for Valentine’s Day! Everyone loved them and my son was even licking the bowl 🙂
I’ve never left a recipe review in my life, but do yourself a favor and make these!!! I had high expectations after reading the other reviews, but they were even better than I could have imagined
…definitely the BEST Paleo dessert I’ve ever made! I made these for our Valentine’s Day dessert tonight and hubby was impressed! These will definitely be my go-to “fancy” dessert (best part is they were incredibly simple to make). Thanks Mary for another amazing recipe!!
These cakes are perfect. I made them for Valentine’s Day and my family adored them. Can’t wait to make them again!
These are a family favorite! So easy & quick to make and so delicious! Love a good chocolate fix! We usually eat them with raspberries or strawberries on top. This might not make that much of a difference but noticed the recipe says 400 & the video says 425 – curious which temp you do? Thanks!!
These were AMAZING! Tasted just like the “real deal”. This recipe will definitely be used over and over on special occasions!
Thank you, Anne!
These are THE BEST PALEO LAVA CAKES AROUND!!! Guaranteed. Have made them time and time again for my family and they are always a winner! So much so I know the recipe off by heart. Thank you, thank you, thank you beautiful soul! Blessings x
I tried this recipe last night. Unfortunately, the cakes didn’t pop out of the ramekins (even though they were well greased) and instead the first one splashed out onto the plate. They were fully browned on top, so they looked cooked. I popped them back in the oven for 2 more minutes, but they still didn’t pop out, even after I left them sit for 10 mins. So, I just served them in the ramekins. They were all gooey on the inside, so they weren’t over cooked ….did anyone else have this problem? Do you have any idea why they didn’t pop out for me, or any tips?
Hi Kim, did you grease them and dust with the cacao powder first? Usually I have to flip mine over and tap on them to get them to come out.
Hi Ava, in the post I mentioned: “I use these Anchor Hocking 6 oz ones and filled them about 2/3 of the way full with batter.” and had them linked! I’m sorry you missed that part. Hopefully they will work out better next time! I will make sure to specify this in the actual recipe card so others don’t run into the same issue. Thanks!