Lava Cakes are a favorite at the Crown Maple Estate. Nothing makes a day of tapping trees as the season of maple production nears warmer than a maple-sweetened treat and these do the trick!
PREP TIME: 10 MINUTES
COOK TIME: 12-15 MINUTES
TOTAL TIME: 25 MINUTES
SERVES: 2-4 Recipe adapted from "A Couple Cooks"
INGREDIENTS:
Two 8-ounce ramekins (or 4 5-ounce ramekins) 1 tablespoons all-purpose flour 1 teaspoon baking powder ¼ teaspoon kosher salt 3 tablespoons cocoa powder ¼ cup milk (almond milk for dairy free) ⅓ cup Crown Maple dark Color Robust Taste organic maple syrup 1 egg (local, if possible!) 1 teaspoon vanilla 1 tablespoon coconut or vegetable oil
DIRECTIONS:
Preheat the oven to 425°F.
In a small bowl, whisk together all-purpose flour, baking powder, kosher salt, and cocoa powder. Then whisk in the milk, maple syrup, egg, vanilla, and coconut or vegetable oil. Whisk until smooth.
Liberally grease the inside of the ramekins with oil or butter, especially the bottoms (don’t forget this part – it helps the cakes will easily slide out after baking!). Divide the mixture evenly between the ramekins.
Here’s the hard part: bake the ramekins until just hardened on top, but still liquid in the center – between 12 to 15 minutes for larger ramekins, and around 10 minutes for smaller ramekins. The top should be just solidified (not jiggly). Test with a toothpick to make sure it is cooked but that there is still liquid on the inside. When you remove the ramekins from the oven, let them cool for a bit, then run a knife around the edge and carefully invert them onto a plate (using hot pads, as they’ll still be quite hot!).
Serve immediately, sprinkled with powdered sugar. If desired, serve with ice cream, crème fraiche.
Tip: Don’t worry if you overbake or underbake on your first try – we had to play with it a bit to get the right timing with our oven, but in either case they are still delicious!