Have you been looking for a vegan lava cake which is furthermore gluten-free, and surprisingly easy to make? Check out this delicious Molten Chocolate Lava Cake recipe, I am sure you will fall in love with it!
Vegan Lava Cake
I am a “chocoholic” which means I adore everything made with chocolate (anyone else?). Therefore, you have probably noticed that I share a lot of chocolate recipes on my blog. My favorite chocolate cake is probably this Chocolate Zucchini Cake or this Vegan Chocolate Pie. But I also love smaller chocolatey snacks like these Vegan Chocolate Muffins and chocolate-covered Peanut Butter Truffles.
Even though all these vegan chocolate desserts are super delicious, none of them have a runny chocolate center like this vegan lava cake! If you never tried such a treat, you are really missing out!
Molten Chocolate Lava Cake
So what exactly is a “Molten Chocolate Cake“? Well, it’s a popular flourless cake with a liquid chocolate center, aka heaven! Sounds good?! Absolutely! And tastes even better! The best part is, that this decadent chocolate cake is vegan, which means it doesn’t contain eggs or dairy. Are you also excited? I know, I am! That’s why I made this lava cake recipe three times in one week (not kidding).
Ok, it was also part of the recipe testing process because you know I have to test my recipes a couple of times before I share them on my blog. Anyway, I could eat this luscious vegan chocolate cake with a lava center every single day and maybe I would also share it with my loved ones (not sure though).
The Ingredients
The ingredients are oats, almonds, banana, a sweetener (you can use coconut sugar, cane sugar, brown sugar, Xylitol, Erythritol…), plant-based milk, cocoa powder and that’s basically it. The other few ingredients are baking powder, baking soda, salt, and vanilla extract. I bet you have all these ingredients at home already. And if not, you should be able to buy them in any supermarket.
How to make a vegan lava cake? It’s super simple to make this vegan chocolate cake! Watch the video to find out how easy it is to make this lava cake recipe!
Gluten-Free Recipe
At first, I made a version with a combination of rice flour and oats but after more testing, I preferred the version with oats only. I tested ground almonds and ground shredded unsweetened coconut but didn’t notice a big difference. Ground sunflower seeds or hemp seeds would be nut-free options.
You could experiment with buckwheat flour or sorghum flour (instead of ground oats). Both might work. Also, regular all-purpose flour (wheat flour) or spelt flour should work as well. Just make sure you add a little bit less milk at first since different flours absorb different amounts of liquid.
Liquid Chocolate Center
The liquid chocolate center is probably the best part, isn’t it? Why would someone call this vegan chocolate cake a lava cake when the center is not liquid? The problem is that not every brand of chocolate will result in a liquid center (don’t ask me how I know).
These dairy-free chocolate chips worked for me but you might also have success with a different brand/different type of chocolate. I melted the chocolate chips with 1/2 tablespoon of coconut milk in a double boiler, filled it into a silicone muffin mold, and put it into the fridge until it was firm. Then I used it like regular chocolate.
This Molten Chocolate Lava Cake Is:
- Vegan
- Gluten-free
- Fudgy
- Decadent
- Luscious
- Very Chocolatey
- Great as dessert
- Healthier than most lava cakes
Recipe Tips and Variations
Mini lava cakes: If you have a muffin tin, you could also make mini chocolate cakes or muffins with a lava center. Simply fill the dough into the muffin pan (grease it beforehand) and then put a few pieces of chocolate into each muffin.
Flour: You can make your own oat flour by simply blending oats in a blender or electric coffee/spice grinder until it becomes flour. Regular all-purpose flour (wheat flour) or spelt flour (for a non-gluten-free version) should also work well. It is best to add a little less milk first, as different flours absorb different amounts of liquid.
Banana: You can use 80 g applesauce instead of the banana.
Should you recreate this fudgy vegan lava cake, please leave a comment below, and don’t forget to tag me in your Instagram or Facebook post with @elavegan and #elavegan because I would love to see your lava cake recreations. Also, if you love chocolate, definitely also check out my other vegan chocolate recipes.
- Healthy Vegan Brownies
- Vegan Zucchini Brownies
- Vegan Chocolate Ice Cream
- Chocolate Keto Chia Pudding
- Healthy No-Bake Brownies
- Vegan Chocolate Pudding
- Chocolate Stuffed Pancakes
- Chocolate Stuffed Cookies
Vegan Lava Cake
Ingredients
Dry ingredients:
- 1 slightly heaped cup (100 g) oats (ground into flour) gluten-free if needed (see notes)
- 7 tbsp finely (50 g) ground almonds (see recipe notes)
- 5 1/2 tbsp (70 g) brown sugar or coconut sugar
- 3 tbsp (20 g) cocoa powder
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 1/4 tsp baking soda
- Pinch of salt
Wet Ingredients:
- 2/3 cup (160 ml) plant-based milk
- One small (80 g) banana (see recipe notes)
- 1 tbsp apple cider vinegar or lemon juice
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
Filling:
- 1.5 oz (40 g) dairy-free chocolate of choice (see recipe notes)
Instructions
- I recommend using a kitchen scale for this recipe. Also, check the video in the blog post for visual instructions.
- Preheat oven to 360°F (180°C) and grease one big ramekin (5 1/2 inches diameter) or 4 small ones (you can also use silicone muffin molds or aluminum muffin molds or mugs).
- Process all dry ingredients in a food processor or blender.
- Add the wet ingredients and mix again until combined.
- Pour the mixture into the ramekin and place the chocolate into the center.
- Bake in the oven for about 20 minutes. If you use small molds the baking time will be approximately 15 minutes.
- Let cool for about 10 minutes before removing from the mold. Enjoy!
Notes
- Oats: Simply process oats (regular or gluten-free) in a blender or electric coffee/spice grinder until you have flour.
- Flour substitute: One reader reported that whole wheat flour works great instead of oat flour.
- Almonds: You can use ground shredded unsweetened coconut (or ground coconut flakes) instead of ground almonds (almond flour).
- Banana: 1/3 cup applesauce might be a good substitute for the banana.
- Chocolate: It depends on the type of chocolate whether you will have a lava-like runny center or not. I have successfully used dairy-free chocolate chips. This is how: Melt 30 grams of dairy-free chocolate chips with 1/2 tbsp coconut milk in a double boiler and pour the mixture into a silicone muffin mold. Put it in the fridge for about 30 minutes or until firm. Then use it like regular chocolate.
- Recipe serves 4. Nutrition facts are for one serving.
Nutrition information is an estimate and has been calculated automatically
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Can it be prepared ahead of time?
Hi Antonietta, you can prepare and store the wet and dry ingredients separately and then mix them together the next day, pour the batter into the pan, and bake.