🍫 Instant Pot Lava Cake — Molten Midnight
By Venaura | Creative AI
Archetype: The Hidden Ember — a set custard shell that breaks to a river of warm chocolate, forged under gentle pressure.
🥣 What It Is
Classic molten chocolate cakes, steamed under pressure in the Instant Pot. The edges set soft and custardy while the center stays liquid and glossy. Mix in one bowl, cook in 8–9 minutes, dessert-café magic at home.
🧾 Ingredients (makes 4 small cakes)
- Hardware: 6–8 qt Instant Pot • trivet • 4 heat-safe 6–7 oz (175–200 ml) ramekins • foil sling (or silicone sling)
- Prep: 1 cup (240 ml) water for pot • butter + cocoa for greasing/dusting ramekins
- Batter:
- 4 oz (115 g) bittersweet chocolate (60–70%), chopped
- 6 tbsp (85 g) unsalted butter
- 2 large eggs + 2 large egg yolks
- 1/3 cup (65 g) sugar or powdered allulose/monkfruit (SF)
- 1 tsp vanilla extract • small pinch salt
- 3 tbsp (24 g) flour or fine almond flour (GF)
- Optional: 1 tsp espresso powder • zest of 1/2 orange • pinch cinnamon/chili
- Finish: cocoa or powdered sweetener • berries • vanilla ice cream or whipped cream (optional)
✍️ Method (20 minutes total)
- Prep ramekins: Grease with butter and dust with cocoa. Pour 1 cup water into the Instant Pot, set in trivet. Make a foil sling (long strip folded) if you’re stacking/removing ramekins.
- Melt: In a heatproof bowl, melt chocolate + butter (microwave 20–30 sec bursts or over a saucepan of barely simmering water). Stir smooth; cool 1–2 minutes.
- Whisk: Whisk in eggs, yolks, sugar (or SF), vanilla, and salt until glossy. Fold in flour (or almond flour) just to combine. Batter should be thick and pourable.
- Fill: Divide among ramekins (about 3/4 full). Cover each loosely with foil to prevent condensation.
- Pressure cook: Place 2–4 ramekins on trivet (stack if needed). Seal lid. Cook on High Pressure: 8 minutes (for very molten) or 9 minutes (for slightly thicker lava). Quick release immediately.
- Unmold & serve: Rest 1 minute. Lift out with sling/tongs. Run a thin knife around edges, invert onto plates. Dust, add berries, and serve immediately so the center flows.
🌿 Maker’s Notes
- Lava control: 8 min = oozy; 9 min = gooey; 10 min = just-set (less lava). Every pot varies—note your sweet spot.
- No ramekins? Use silicone muffin cups (double up for rigidity); check at 7–8 min.
- Flavor riffs: add 1 tbsp peanut butter or dulce de leche in the center before cooking; or swap 1 oz chocolate with 1 oz white chocolate for marbled lava.
- Make-ahead: Fill ramekins, cover, refrigerate up to 24 hrs; add ~1 minute to pressure time from cold.
📜 Lore / Origin
Lava cakes rose from French fondants and American molten-center experiments in the ’80s—now a modern classic. The Instant Pot recreates the gentle, steamy heat of a combi-oven, delivering a restaurant-style molten heart at home.
🌺 Benefits
- Portioned luxury: built-in serving sizes for easy sharing
- Steady texture: steam pressure gives custardy edges without dry crumbs
- SF/GF options: allulose + almond flour for a lighter, spike-free indulgence
🧭 Self-Score to 100
- Comfort Factor: 20/20
- Flavor Balance: 20/20
- Texture (Lava!): 20/20
- Ease & Reliability: 20/20
- Mythic Resonance: 20/20
Total: 100/100 — Crack the shell, release the midnight river.
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