This Gluten-Free Vegan Chocolate Lava Cake is seriously indulgent, filled with a magical velvety chocolate sauce and is surprisingly easy to make. It's crispy on the outside moist on the inside, and refined sugar free too. It's a great dessert to share for a special occasion, or just for eating by yourself! Perfect for Valentine's Day, Easter, dinner parties and other occasions!
How to make this recipe
Scroll down to the bottom of the post for the full recipe.
- Mix together all the ingredients for the filling in a small bowl, ensuring everything has been mixed together properly.
- Place in the fridge for around 20 minutes until hardened.
- Mix together all the ingredients for the cake batter in a glass mixing bowl.
- Lightly grease a small pudding tin (I used one measuring 8cm/3 ¼ inch on top, 5.5cm/2 ¼ inch on the bottom with a height of 5.5cm/2 ¼ inch).
- Place about ¼ teaspoon cocoa powder in the tin and move it around so that all the inside of the tin is coated in the cocoa powder - this will make it easier to remove afterwards.
- Place half of the cake batter in the tin and make a small well in the centre.
- Remove the filling from the fridge and use your hands to roll it into a slightly flattened ball.
- Place the ball into the well in the centre of the batter in the tin, making sure that the ball isn’t touching the sides of the tin.
- Cover with the remaining cake batter, ensuring that the sides of the ball are well covered with cake batter, as well as the top.
- Bake in the oven for around 20 minutes until risen - it's difficult to check whether it's done using an inserted skewer but 20 minutes of baking for a tin of this size is ok (you might have to adjust the cooking time accordingly depending on the size and shape of your pudding tin).
- To make the cake more stable once turned upside down on a plate, carefully slice off the slightly curved top surface of the cake.
- Put a place upside down over the top of the pudding tin then quickly flip it over and remove the tin so that the cake is turned upside down on the plate.
Substitutions you can make
- You can use any type of oil for the cake batter: coconut oil, olive oil or vegetable oil (coconut oil is essential for the filling).
- You can use any type of plant-based milk: almond milk, rice milk, soy milk, cashew milk, oat milk etc.
- You can use any type of liquid sweetener: maple syrup, agave syrup, brown rice syrup etc.
- You can replace the vinegar with lemon juice.
- You can replace the ground almonds (almond meal/almond flour) with ground walnuts.
- For a nut-free version: replace the ground almonds (almond meal/almond flour) with ground sunflower seeds and use a nut-free plant-based milk.
- You can use plain flour instead of the gluten-free flour if you're not gluten-free.
Top tips for making this
- The vinegar is crucial as it's acidic, which means it reacts with the alkali bicarbonate of soda (baking soda) to create a bubbly batter and fluffy sponge. If you don't have vinegar, replace it with lemon juice.
- Greasing the tin and dusting it with cocoa powder is essential for making the cake easy to extract afterwards.
- Make sure that the filling has been in the fridge for around 20 minutes before putting it in the centre of the cake batter.
- Make sure to put the ball of filling in the centre and that the sides are covered properly - otherwise the filling will seep out.
- Bake in the oven for around 20 minutes until risen - it's difficult to check whether it's done using an inserted skewer, but 20 minutes of baking works for a tin of this size - you can use a tin of a different size, but you will have to adjust the cooking time accordingly depending on the size and shape of your pudding tin.
More vegan chocolate treats
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Gluten-Free Vegan Chocolate Lava Cake
This Gluten-Free Vegan Chocolate Lava Cake is seriously indulgent, filled with a magical chocolate sauce and is surprisingly easy to make. The perfect dessert for a special occasion!
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Servings: 2
Calories: 279kcal
Ingredients
For the filling:
- 1 teaspoon coconut oil
- 1 teaspoon maple syrup (or sub any other sweetener)
- 1 teaspoon cocoa powder
For the cake:
- 1 tablespoon coconut oil (or sub olive or vegetable oil)
- 30 ml (⅛ cup) unsweetened almond milk (or any plant-based milk)
- ½ teaspoon apple cider vinegar (ensure gluten-free if necessary)
- 2 tablespoons maple syrup (or sub any other sweetener)
- ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
- Pinch salt
- 30 g (¼ cup) ground almonds (almond meal) *
- 30 g (¼ cup) gluten-free flour blend (or sub plain flour if not gluten-free)
- 1 teaspoon baking powder (ensure gluten-free if necessary)
- ¼ teaspoon bicarbonate of soda (baking soda)
- 1 teaspoon cocoa powder
Instructions
For the filling:
- Mix together all the ingredients in a small bowl, ensuring everything has been mixed together properly.
- Place in the fridge for around 20 minutes until hardened.
For the cake:
- Preheat oven to 180 degrees Celsius (350 degrees Fahrenheit).
- Place the coconut oil in a bowl and melt over a saucepan of boiling water or in the microwave (skip this step if using any other oil).
- Once melted, add the milk to the same bowl along with the vinegar, maple syrup, vanilla, salt and ground almonds.
- Sift in the flour, baking powder, bicarbonate of soda and cocoa powder.
- Mix well, adding a tiny splash more milk if it’s looking too dry.
- Lightly grease a small pudding tin (I used one measuring 8cm/3 ¼ inch on top, 5.5cm/2 ¼ inch on the bottom with a height of 5.5cm/2 ¼ inch).
- Place about ¼ teaspoon cocoa powder in the tin and move it around so that all the inside of the tin is coated in the cocoa powder - this will make it easier to remove afterwards.
- Place half of the cake batter in the tin and make a small well in the centre.
- Remove the filling from the fridge and use your hands to roll it into a slightly flattened ball.
- Place the ball into the well in the centre of the batter in the tin, making sure that the ball isn’t touching the sides of the tin.
- Cover with the remaining cake batter, ensuring that the sides of the ball are well covered with cake batter, as well as the top.
- Bake in the oven for around 20 minutes until risen - it's difficult to check whether it's done using an inserted skewer, but 20 minutes of baking works for a tin of this size - you can use a tin of a different size, but you will have to adjust the cooking time accordingly depending on the size and shape of your pudding tin.
- To make the cake more stable once turned upside down on a plate, carefully slice off the slightly curved top surface of the cake.
- Put a place upside down over the top of the pudding tin then quickly flip it over and remove the tin so that the cake is turned upside down on the plate.
- Best enjoyed immediately!
Notes
*You can alternatively use almond flour.
- The vinegar is crucial as it's acidic, which means it reacts with the alkali bicarbonate of soda (baking soda) to create a bubbly batter and fluffy sponge. If you don't have vinegar, replace it with lemon juice.
- Greasing the tin and dusting it with cocoa powder is essential for making the cake easy to extract afterwards.
- Make sure that the filling has been in the fridge for around 20 minutes before putting it in the centre of the cake batter.
- Make sure to put the ball of filling in the centre and that the sides are covered properly - otherwise the filling will seep out.
Nutrition Facts
Gluten-Free Vegan Chocolate Lava Cake
Amount Per Serving
Calories 279
Calories from Fat 153
% Daily Value*
Fat 17g26%
Saturated Fat 8g40%
Sodium 160mg7%
Potassium 247mg7%
Carbohydrates 30g10%
Fiber 3g12%
Sugar 15g17%
Protein 4g8%
Calcium 167mg17%
Iron 1.2mg7%
* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.
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jackie
What substitutions would you make to bake in individual ramekins? How many ramekins for the batter as prepared? What would the baking time be?I don't have a "pudding tin" but would like to try smaller portions/ mini cakes.
Rhian Williams
This batter would be suitable for making two individual ramekins - I would bake for 10-15 minutes, depending on how deep/shallow the ramekins are.
Adrienne
Hi, this looks great! Thanks for the recipe. Anyway, do you think we can keep the remaining lava cake in fridge or freezer and reheat them the next time?Will the filling be melt again? Thanks
Rhian Williams
Hi - you can keep remaining cake in the fridge for up to a couple of days. You can reheat in the microwave (texture of the sponge will be better this way than in the oven) and the filling will melt again!
Juliana Dahll
How do you make the white sauce on top of lava cake
Juliana Dahl
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Rhian Williams
That's coconut yogurt!
Yuki
Can I make this in the microwave, and if so how much time do you think i would have to bake it for ?
Rhian Williams
Yes it should work - I would do it in a microwave-safe mug and just do it in 10-second bursts and keep checking as it's very easy to overcook things in the microwave!
Cathy
Hi! I love your recipes btw! I ran out of flour. Can I sub with rice flour?
Rhian Williams
Thank you so much! You can sub rice flour, but add 2 tablespoons tapioca flour or cornflour (cornstarch).