This twist on the classic chocolate lava cake adds a little cinnamon and a touch of cayenne for subtle heat. The use of a pressure cooker seems odd in making this dessert, but it guarantees that the cake is never dry or overdone on the outside. Try to use high quality chocolate (preferably something 60% or higher in cacao) and not cheap chocolate chips, you’ll notice a huge difference in the end result. I’ve also amped up the chocolate factor by using a little cocoa powder and adding a touch of instant coffee. The coffee is an old chocolate cake trick that really amplifies chocolate flavor with its slightly bitter undertones. You don’t taste the coffee much but if you don’t have any instant coffee or espresso powder, feel free to skip it. Your cake will still taste amazing.
1/2teaspooninstant coffee powderoptional but recommended
1teaspoonvanilla extract
1teaspoonground cinnamon
1/4teaspoonkosher salt
1/8teaspooncayenne pepper
1/2cupwhite granulated sugar100 g
3tablespoonsall-purpose flour
1tablespooncocoa powdernot Dutch-process
3large eggs
Powdered sugarto finish
Instructions
Place the chocolate and butter in a microwave safe bowl. Cook chocolate and butter in the microwave, in 30 second increments, stirring between cook time, until completely melted and smooth.
Add the instant coffee powder if using and stir until dissolved. Add the vanilla extract, cinnamon, salt, and cayenne to the melted chocolate and stir until the dry ingredients are absorbed completely.
Place the sugar, flour, cocoa powder and whisk together until uniform in color. Add the eggs into a large bowl and whisk together until there are no more dry pockets. Pour the chocolate into the mixture and stir in with a spatula.
Spray 4 6-ounce oven proof ramekins with cooking oil. Divide the chocolate batter inside the ramekins. The batter should only fill up the ramekins 3/4 capacity. Don’t overfill.
Place the wire rack inside the Crock-Pot Express Crock Multi-Cooker pot. Pour 1 1/2 cups of water inside the pot. Place the ramekins on the wire rack. If the ramekins don’t all fit on one level, you can carefully stack them in a “pyramid” formation, making sure the bottom three ramekins aren’t touching but are close enough together to support the top ramekin.
Cover and seal the lid, making sure the pressure valve on top is in the “Seal” or closed position. Press the Dessert button and adjust the pressure to high. Make sure the button is set on 10 minutes and press the Start/Stop button. Once the cooking is complete, do a quick release of the pressure by using a wooden spoon or another heat proof kitchen utensil to carefully flick the pressure valve to the “Release” position. Do this cautiously, as hot steam will be released from the valve. Once there is no more steam being released and the lid opens easily (with minimal force), it’s safe to open up the Crock-Pot Express Crock Multi-Cooker.
Using tongs or a heatproof oven mitt, remove each ramekin from the pot. Let sit on a cooling rack for 1 minute, then place a small dessert plate upside down on the top of the ramekin. Using a clean dry kitchen towel or oven mitts, invert the plate then carefully remove the ramekin. Repeat with the remaining cakes, dust with powdered sugar, and serve immediately.
Notes
This post was sponsored by The Crock-Pot® Brand. I was compensated for this post and for developing the recipe. However, all opinions below are completely my own.