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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 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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They were good. Not the best I’ve ever eaten but considering the fact that they’re vegan, wheat-free, can be easily made glutenfree and are rather healthy, I definitely recommend this recipe! They were sliiiightly dry, really only a little bit, but that might have been because I used only 60g apple sauce instead of 80g banana…. The sweetness was perfect and they didn’t fall apart, which often happens when making lava cakes.
So if you want a healthier/gluten-free lava cake, I do recommend this recipe! Just don’t expect them to taste EXACTLY like one you’d get in a restaurant. Oat flour simply has a slightly different texture than wheat flour.
I made them in a muffin tray and I got about 7 “muffin lava cakes” out of the recipe. I baked them for 13-15 minutes.
Thanks for your feedback, Marie.
Oh heavens yum!! Make this now! So good!
Hehe, I also made it today (again) as I love it. 🙂
Hi Elaine. Rita here. I want to try your recipe of Gooey Chocolate Lava cake made in a loaf pan. Am not able to find the recipe . Can you email it to me
Rita, it’s the same recipe, just baked in a mini loaf pan.
Ela
Thank You Ela. Fir the tip of baking in a loaf pan. Shall be making this cake in a day or two
You are welcome. I prefer a round bowl though, as shown in the recipe, as the cake cooks faster. 🙂
I can’t find the video
Tammy, it’s in the post. It loads once you start scrolling down as a small pop-up but also appears in a larger size on top of the post. You will only see it if you don’t use an ad blocker though.
I made this with whole-wheat flour and I really liked the texture, but I could really taste banana and it put me off a little- did anyone else find this?
Next time might try the applesauce instead. It was SO gooey and amazing though! Thanks!
Sure, you can use applesauce next time. I didn’t taste the banana but it wouldn’t bother me if I did, since I love bananas. 🙂
Thanks for your feedback. 🙂
Hi Ela, it’s me again. 🙂
Would it work if I remove the almond flour and add more oat flour then add nut butter for the fat source?
By the way I tried the recipe using desiccated coconut and it was delicious. The coconut flavor was dominant though so I was thinking if I could just remove it completely and use nut butter for fat source.
Yes, that should work, however, I never tried it. 🙂
I’ve tried a vegan donut recipe before and it is kind of similar to your recipe. I got the idea of replacing the fat source from that recipe. 🙂
THIS is such a great recipe, I’ve made it so many times now and love it every time. Mostly I replace the oats flour with whole wheat flour and it turns out great still. Thank you so much for this!
Yay, that’s awesome! And I am glad it works fine with whole wheat flour. Thanks for your feedback! 🙂
Hi Ela!
Can I skip the ground almond/shredded coconut and just purely use oat flour?
Hi! No, I wouldn’t recommend it. You need some fat in the recipe and that comes from the nuts. 🙂
Thanks Ela! Is ground shredded coconut the same as desiccated coconut?
Yes, that’s typically the same. 🙂
Thank you 🙂
Hi Ela
As per my daughter’s request I made chocolate lava cake:) it came out great except my center was not runny as we used pieces of chocolate from big dairy free bar,
Some how I did not think of melting them in coconut milk!!!
Do I have to melt them in milk anyway?
But overall ‘it was great 👍🏼
Thanks 😊
Hey Roopa, I used dairy-free chocolate chips and melted them in coconut milk which worked fine. 🙂
For the oat flour, I have some pre-ground. About how much in cups would that be? This looks amazing, can’t wait to make!
Hi Rebecca, it will be one cup of oat flour. 🙂
I had a question? What’s the best way to store these cakes? Fridge? For how long? Can you freeze them? How long? How do you defrost? Not that these would last very long when I make them! They look amazing! Love the recipe <3 Thank youuu
Hi Camille, it’s mentioned in the recipe instructions: “Store covered in the fridge for up to 5 days.” But I always eat it right away haha. I assume freezing for up to 2 months is fine too. 🙂
Hi 😊. I have all the ingredients except for the chocolate chips. What I have is a huge bar of dark chocolate. Can I use that ?
Hi Chana, yes, that should be fine. 🙂
Thanks 😊 should I melted with the coconut milk as the original recipe or just put the Piece of chocolate bar in the middle ? In case that I have to melted should I add any sugar to the chocolate ? Sorry … so may questions 😳
Hi Chana, no worries. You don’t need to melt it if the chocolate is sweetened. If it’s not, then I would melt it with the coconut milk and add a little powdered sugar or maple syrup. 🙂
Hi,
I have 2 Qs before baking this yummy receipe..I only have baking soda, can I substitute it for the baking powder? I am not vegan so if I don’t have plant based milk can I use regular milk?
Hi, use 1/2 tsp baking soda in total and add a little lemon juice to activate it. Yes, you can use regular milk.
Hi! Can i use water to replace plant based milk? Thank youu.
If you use water, I would suggest adding 1 tablespoon of oil. 🙂
Also do I need to change the cocoa powder measurement if I use cacao powder?
Hey, I would use a little less if you are using cacao powder. 🙂
Can I split this recipe and instead of making one giant chocolate lava cake make 4 little ones in ramekins?
Omg I just saw the instructions says we can do that lol!
Hey Tanaya, I totally missed your first comment! And yes, it’s totally fine. 🙂
Love it! Thank you for the recipe!
I am so glad you loved the cake, Viktoria! 🙂
I made this recipe with whole wheat flour instead of oat flour and water instead of milk. Absolutely gorgeous! I’ll make it again. Thanks for the recipe!!!
That’s amazing! I am so glad it turned out delicious. 🙂
Thanks for your feedback.
Hi! Are you able to tell me the diameter of the pan you used? I am excited to try it!
Hello! The bowl I used is 5.8 inches (ca. 15 cm) in diameter. 🙂
Tried it and absolutely loved it! Made them yesterday and they are all gone so I’m making more already:)
So glad you loved the recipe, Gabrielle. 🙂
Is there any other substitute for applesauce? I’m allergic to banana and apple sauce is not easily available where I live.
You can simply make your own applesauce. Peel and chop 2 apples, add to a saucepan with 1 tbsp of sugar. Bring to a boil, cover the pan, reduce heat to low and simmer for 20-25 minutes or until the apples are soft. Blend applesauce until smooth with an immersion blender.
A flax egg (1 tbsp ground flax seeds mixed with 3 tbsp water) might work too but I haven’t tried it yet. Hope this helps! 🙂
Omg.. What are you doing to meeee… ?????❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️
Haha, thanks Inna ❤️
If i use regular milk,should i add the vinegar?
Yes!
that looks incredible!
i want to make it today!
can i use liquid sweetner instead?
thank you so much!
I never tried it but it could work. You should reduce the plant-based milk in case you use a liquid sweetener. 🙂
hi, I cant find vegan chocolate chips in my city. Can i make chocolate compound from scratch using cocoa, coconut oil and honey and add the 1/2 tbsp coconut milk as you mentioned.
please do let me know if this will work or please recommend another option.
Thanks a ton!
You don’t have to use chocolate chips, you can use any dairy-free chocolate of choice. But making your own chocolate will work too. 🙂
Are finely ground almonds actually almond flour? Because usually ground almonds aren’r really fine at all! So is it almond flour?:)
Yes! Almond flour consists of 100% finely ground almonds. 🙂
Sorry for the spam haha!
Just had to give an update in case anyone ever would have similar issue- I used tiny bit of coconut oil when melting the chocolate and it turned out perfect! So exciting, this will be repeated MANY times from now!
Yay! So happy it turned out amazing with a little bit of coconut oil! Thanks for reporting back, Maret. That’s actually so helpful and no spam at all! 🙂
Hello! Would using any other plant milk besides coconut milk to melt the chocolate with work?
Also, do you by any chance know how long would the cooking time be in an air fryer?
Yes, absolutely! You can use any other plant-based milk. Unfortunately, I don’t know if the recipe works in an air fryer! 🙂
Thank you for replying 🙂
However, I made it tonight and don’t know what went wrong. It looks identical to yours from outside. But there’s literally no melting from the center 🙁
Still tasty tho!
Hi Maret! Which chocolate did you use? I will copy and paste what I wrote in the recipe notes:
“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 water bath 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.”
I used a good quality dark chocolate 72%. Really only thing I can think of that I accidentally put too much milk in there because everything else was 100% same as the recipe. I will give it another go tomorrow with different chocolate just to see if there is difference. I won’t give up, loved the taste!
Awesome! Enjoy. 🙂
Can I use buckwheat flour instead of oats?
I never tried it but it should work! Let me know if you give it a try. 🙂
This recipe is so easy I love it !! I made it in cupcakes and they are fabulous! Thank you
That’s awesome! Thanks a lot for your feedback. 🙂
Absolutely delicious ! I’ve loved and won’t hesitate to make it again !
So happy you loved the recipe, Enzo! 🙂
Hi Ela, my mum is coeliac and very sensitive to oats regardless if they say gluten free of not. Can normal gluten free flour be used instead?
Sorry, just re-read comments and you have already answered it 🙂
Yes, please give it a try and report back. 🙂
Thank you for a fantastic recipe!! My partner has a massive sweet tooth, but I can’t have any dairy or wheat, which occasionally makes parties and such a bit tricky, so this was absolutely perfect! Really enjoy and appreciate all your other recipes too, thank you so much!!
Wonderful! Would you mind leaving a rating for the recipe? Thank you very much. 🙂
I can’t wait to try this!! Question: Do you think it’s OK to use flour if GF isn’t necessary? I have all of the ingredients on hand except for the oats!
Yes, it should work. I actually mentioned it in the blog post. 🙂
Thank you! I will report back. 🙂
Another delicious and beautiful looking Vegan recipe! Low ingredient recipes are so simple and clean and it’s all already in my pantry. Cannot wait to try it. And thank you for always including substitute suggestions and cooking tips in the notes. Your recipes are the best!
Thanks so much for your kind words! 🙂
My niece is allergic to bananas. Do you have any substitutions for the banana?
Hi Joey! Yes, it’s actually mentioned in the recipe notes. Applesauce! 🙂
Totally missed the notes at the bottom. Thank you so much!
No worries! 🙂
Ela! My gosh this looks decadent, elegant and truly is easy! Brilliant recipe, I can’t wait to try it! Dee xx
Thanks so much, Dee! I hope you will like it. ???? Much love! ????
This looks amazing! What would make the cake come out more fudgy and gooey?
It’s actually pretty fudgy and gooey depending on which mold/pan you use and how long you cook it. A smaller/taller mold will definitely make it even more fudgy.
Can I use Erytrytol instead of sugar? This cake make me hungry ??
Yes, that should work without problems. 🙂