OK, here’s what you need to do. Call your favorite person – your best friend, your spouse, your secret crush, your cute neighbor, your therapist, whoever – and tell them to come over to your house for a delicious vegan treat. LAVA CAKES. Hubba hubba.
If you haven’t caught on yet, my new favorite phrase is “hubba hubba.” But hey! Can I really help it? Look at the goodness that is these healthy, beet-powered chocolate lava cakes! Valentine’s Day is gonna rock so hard this year, single or not.
These lava cakes were initially inspired by a version I tried in Bali last summer. But I have to be honest. The one I tried at a practically 5-star restaurant wasn’t that good! I immediately thought “I can do this better.” And, I did! Vegan and butter-free style. Plus, coconut whipped cream > dairy whipped cream.
The ingredients for these cakes are simple:
Puréed beets
Cocoa powder
Coconut oil
Cane sugar
Semisweet chocolate
Unbleached flour
Vanilla
A few other basic baking essentials round out the rest of the ingredients. And if you don’t have beets, you can sub applesauce. The best part? These little gems come together in about 30 minutes (post beet-roasting) and require one bowl! Score.
What do they taste like?
Warm
Fudgy
Chocolaty
Rich
Cakey on the outside
Mega moist in the middle
Perfect with coconut whipped cream or ice cream
& Begging to be shared with a friend or significant other
If you share this with anyone they will be your best friend for your life – there’s just no getting around it.
Good news! These cakes are the first of SEVEN vegan Valentine’s Day recipes I have in the works.
Expect some indulgent, some raw, some heatlhy, some chocolaty, some hot pink! I listened to your votes on Facebook and have come up with quite a varied list. BE STOKED! And in the meantime, eat cake. Cheers!
Vegan Chocolate Lava Cakes
Ingredients
- 1/4 scant cup beet purée (or sub unsweetened apple sauce)
- 1/4 cup unsweetened almond milk
- 1/2 tsp vinegar or lemon juice
- 2 ½ Tbsp organic cane sugar (or sub granulated sugar)
- 1 Tbsp melted coconut oil or vegan butter (like Earth Balance)
- 1/4 tsp vanilla extract
- 2 Tbsp unsweetened cocoa powder
- 1/4 heaping cup unbleached all-purpose flour
- 1/4 tsp baking powder
- 1 pinch sea salt
- 2 Tbsp dairy-free semisweet chocolate chips (melted)
- 2 squares quality vegan dark chocolate + coconut whipped cream (for topping/middle)
Instructions
- See this recipe for instructions on roasting a beet. Otherwise, you could sub another fruit purée, such as butternut squash or applesauce (adjusting added sugar depending on fruit's sweetness).
- Butter two standard size muffin tins (use fewer or more tins if adjusting batch size) with dairy-free butter and coat with cocoa powder – shake out excess. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 C).
- Add the almond milk and vinegar to a small mixing bowl and mix. Let set for a few minutes to activate.
- Add the sugar, oil, vanilla, and beet purée and beat until foamy. Then add cocoa powder, flour, baking powder, and salt. Mix until no large lumps remain.
- Lastly, add the melted semisweet chocolate and mix once more.
- Divide the batter evenly between the two muffin tins – it should come up about to the top, which is OK. Break up one square of the dark chocolate and push it down into the centers of the cakes. Cover with batter using a spoon. Bake 15-20 minutes, or until the edges have pulled away slightly and the top no longer appears wet. It’s OK if it’s a little fudgy but you definitely don’t want underdone cake.
- Let rest in the pan for 4-5 minutes before removing. Then gently loosen the edges with a butter knife and top with a cutting board or plate and carefully invert. Gently transfer to serving plates. Immediately top each cake with the remaining square of vegan dark chocolate (for extra gooey-ness – optional) and serve with coconut whipped cream. Dig in.
- Other garnishes might include a dusting of cocoa powder, powdered sugar, fresh berries, fresh mint, or edible flowers.
Fran says
De-licious! I have just made this in between preparing lunch and sitting down to eat, in fact it’s such a quick recipe to make and to bake that it took me half an hour. But time was short so because I did not have the time to melt the chocolate chips to add to the dough, i have just thrust them from the packet into the dough.
I have used Ghi and I have subbed the plain flour with 20 gr of almond flour and 20 gr of DIY GF flour blend.
I could not have been happier with the final result!
De-de-delicious! I think it’s going to become my favorite both-quick-to-make-and-scrumptious dessert!
Thank you Dana
We’re so glad you enjoyed it, Fran! Thanks so much for the lovely review. xo