Low Carb, Molten Lava Cake!
I hold the record for the world’s largest sweet tooth. It’s been measured! I could eat sweets for every meal of the day and go to bed happy. So when I started eating keto, I obviously cut out sugar altogether and needless to say, I was irritable. But that was to be expected- sugar is highly addictive and when you take it away after so many years, you get withdrawal symptoms. As with all addictions, it takes time and effort to heal the body. After a few grueling days, maybe a week, the sugar cravings started going away. At the peak of my keto dieting, I never even thought about dessert. My body was running perfectly fine without that brownie for dessert daily.
Soon though, I began missing the intricate processes that made up baking, and the warm, delicate textures it brought about. I started to research some keto desserts and came across what seemed like plenty of options to choose from. After experimenting with some low carb dessert recipes and quite a few failures, I decided to instead start with what was already a hit: non-keto desserts (loved by all!). I took a few different non-keto recipes and simply tweaked them to reduce their carb count and ended up with something magical.
A gluten-free, keto dessert is born
It’s a lava cake! But that name doesn’t do it justice. It’s a warm, gooey, sweet, fluffy, molten cool lava cake. It’s insanely simple to make and only has 4g of net carbs for the entire little cake. 4G OF CARBS! Considering this unheard of number, I added a scoop of vanilla Breyer’s carb-smart ice cream (4g of carbs per ½ cup, which is about a large scoop – see nutrition label on the side) to create something like an icy cool lava cake. When you flip it onto a plate and crack it open, the slightly molten center and the melting ice cream underneath join together and create the king of keto desserts! The entire cake has a soft, fluffy and super moist texture- owing to the fact that it’s flourless and gluten-free. It will definitely satisfy anyone’s sweet tooth if it satisfied mine!
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You can also try these amazing mini-cake desserts:
Microwave mug cakes are all the rage right now, but we don’t own a microwave (voluntarily). We find that nuking your food dries it out completely and leaves parts of it uncooked. That being said though, many have microwaved their mug cakes and reported they’ve turned out delicious, so this isn’t something to worry about. If you have the chance though, try doing what we did- toaster oven baking it. We think it preserves the moisture better and bakes it more evenly for a better taste.
Check out the end of the recipe for some paleo substitutions and other delicious desserts!
| Servings: person |
- 2 tbps cocoa powder
- 1-2 tbsp So Nourished erythritol sweetener
- 1 medium egg
- 1 tbsp heavy cream
- 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
- 1/4 tsp baking powder
- 1 pinch salt
- Preheat your oven, if you're using one, to 350°F. Combine your erythritol and cocoa powder and whisk to remove any clumps. This’ll make the consistency of our cake much smoother.
- In a different bowl, beat your egg until a little fluffy. Since your lava cake is flourless, you need the aeration of the beaten egg to help coax the cake to rise.
- Then add your egg, heavy cream and vanilla extract to the erythritol and cocoa mixture. Add your salt and baking powder as well.
- Spray a little cooking oil into the mug, pour your batter in (ours are ceramic, you can also use ramekins) and put it to bake for about 10-15 minutes at 350° F. Do not overcook the cake or it will not flow lava! The top of the cake should be set but pretty jiggly.
- As an alternative, you can also microwave your mug cake for about a minute. All microwaves are different, so once the minute is up, check up on your cake and if it’s still not solid but jiggly on top, put it back in for 10 second intervals until done.
- Now it’s up to you how to enjoy it. You can eat your lava cake straight out of the mug (let it cool until you can touch the mug without burning yourself!) or top it off with ice cream, whipped cream, or all kinds of goodies. We decided to make it a molten lava cake. While still hot and in the mug, add a scoop of ice cream to the top. Then wedge a knife along the sides of the mug to help the cake unstick and place a plate onto the mug.
- Hold the plate and mug firmly together and flip it upside down so that the mug is now face down on the plate. Tap a few times on the bottom of the mug and the cake should slide off onto the plate without a problem.
- Now your ice cream is smooshed underneath the warm lava cake and will melt just a little. When you break into the lava cake, it warm insides and the ice cream should ooze out beautifully. Don’t delay, scoop it all up and eat it before someone gets to it first!
If you’re interested in making this cake paleo style, there are just a few things to change. First, use raw cocoa powder if not already, and substitute the erythritol for honey! And if your local store sells vanilla beans in their raw form (see pictured on bottom right of the mug) use those!
There’s also been some debate about whether or not you should eat dairy while on a paleo diet. I personally believe it’s fine if you buy organic, grass fed, etc. dairy. But if you’re being cautious, then use coconut milk instead of the heavy cream. Lastly, consider leaving out the baking powder as it has some corn starch it in and is not paleo friendly.
Loved this recipe? Let us know! Something didn’t quite turn out right? Ask us in the comments below or contact us– we respond to comments every day and would love to hear from you and help you out! And check out all our low carb desserts to learn to make more delicious and healthy meals that take no time to prepare!
NUTRITIONAL DISCLAIMER
The content on this website should not be taken as medical advice and you should ALWAYS consult with your doctor before starting any diet or exercise program. We provide nutritional data for our recipes as a courtesy to our readers. We use Total Keto Diet app software to calculate the nutrition and we remove fiber and sugar alcohols, like erythritol, from the total carbohydrate count to get to the net carb count, as they do not affect your blood glucose levels. You should independently calculate nutritional information on your own and not rely on our data. The website or content herein is not intended to cure, prevent, diagnose or treat any disease. This website shall not be liable for adverse reactions or any other outcome resulting from the use of recipes or recommendations on the Website or actions you take as a result. Any action you take is strictly at your own risk.
You’ll Love Our Dessert in Five Cookbook!
We believe that the key to success is simplicity and satisfaction with your diet. That’s why we created Dessert in Five – 30 low carb dessert recipes all using just 5 ingredients and 5 net carbs or fewer!
Enjoy strawberry cheesecakes, brownies, coconut cream pies, raspberry Danish cookies and much more every day of the month.
Dr. Rosmy Barrios, MD is an aesthetic medicine specialist whose work focuses on patients who are treated for obesity, metabolic syndrome, and other weight-related issues through nutritional analysis, keto diet programs, and supporting medications.
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I am not a chocolate eater, to me it was OK, but too chocolatey, will sub some peanut butter next time. Also I could taste the baking powder, will use a little less. Used a large egg and it made it so nice and fluffy, cookied it in the microwave a hair too long, will pull it back to a minute, was like a light fluffy airy chocolate cake (NOT a bad thing), no lava…my fault. Sharing this with my friends who LOVE chocolate.
I have an egg allergy (stinks on keto!) Anything you know as a replacement that will work to help it rise?
Some people have luck with flax seed! It’ll give the dessert a bit of extra “hold”. Try one tablespoon of flax seeds and three tablespoons of water to replace one egg in recipes.
This is seriously delicious!! I have to keep convincing myself this is a keto dessert! Thank you so much for this recipe!
You’re very welcome <3
This is one of the recipes that I’m always making when I have a sweet tooth. When I first got into the keto eating lifestyle and discovered that I could make my keto desserts I made a brownie mug cake almost every day. I use Tagatesse because it’s the only sweetener I can tolerate and has no aftertaste. Thanks for the recipe. I bet it tastes great with some ice cream on top!
I’m not sure of your carb measurement?
Erythritol has 3g of carbs per 2.97g of it, according to the canister..
Cocoa powder has 22g per 100g..
Eggs have about .5g per large egg
Heavy cream (or double cream in the uk) has 1.6g per 100ml..
2 tbsp of erythritol weighs about 22g, which is basically 22g of carbs.
We count net carbs, which means total carbs minus fiber and sugar alcohols (erythritol is one of them). Both fiber and sugar alcohols are not digestible by the human body and do not cause blood sugar spikes in most people.
You jùst saved me from a PMS chocolate downfall! Quick way to get that choccie fix! Thank you!
That’s great! Those cravings can be killer.
Made this tonight. Been on Keto for 3 weeks, and I have been dying for something naughty.
This fit the bill! Thanks for sharing this.
Now if I can just get my fat intake figured out, I will be golden.
I should add minus the ice cream. I loved the bare cake as it was, and I used 1.5 Tbsp Erythritol. Have any low carb German Chocolate icing recipes around? lol…..now that would be a perfect match.
Wow. Just wow. Thanks for the great recipe.
You’re very welcome Andreas 🙂
Where is the 4 carbs coming from? Is it the cocoa powder? the brand i Use has 2 Carbs per tablespoon but it also says 2 carbs of fibre so it would zero out. Im getting less than 1 carb for this recipe with the brands im using. Just wondering if im calculating something wrong
Hi Brittany 🙂 what brand of cocoa powder do you use? We used Hershey’s and it’s 50% fiber. There are also trace carbs in eggs, cream and vanilla extract.
I’ve been making this for months as is and have really enjoyed it. For the first time today, I substituted 1tbsp of PB2 for 1 tbsp of cocoa. It was awesome. Still had the same texture I love, but with a creamy peanut butter kick.
This will change the nutrition info slightly, but is still low carb. Highly recommend this to anyone who wants a Reese’s-like kick with not a lot of sugar.
That sounds amazing! Great spin on the recipe 🙂
Can I used half of the sugar in recipes that used sweet 7 LOW, SPLEANDA STEVIA. It does not agree with my stomach.
You may end up with a less sweet product, but of course, tailor it to your needs! Pure stevia and 100% erythritol are generally gentler on the body. Make sure the sweetener you’re using has only 1 ingredient and no fillers.
I made this last night using stevia and it was the most bitter tasting thing. It smelled amazing but tasted really bad. What did I do wrong?
How much stevia did you use? Stevia is A LOT sweeter than erythritol.
One tbsp. It didn’t taste sweet at all.
You should only be using 1/8-1/4 tsp of stevia at a time, if powdered. If liquid, just 5-10 drops will do! Stevia is an extract and should be used sparingly. They’re not 1:1 substitutes.
The carb count for 1 serving is incorrect. 1 tsp of erythritol has 4g of carb. There are 3 tsps in 1 tbsp. Am I correct?
Nope! Erythritol is not counted in the net carb count as it’s not a carb, but a sugar alcohol. It’s not metabolized by our bodies and is passed through, much like fiber.
Thank you very much for the info. My kids and I very much enjoy your Lava Cake recipe. ❤️❤️❤️
I made these tonight in the microwave and tipped them with heavy cream….soooo good! Got my sweet fix with no guilt! Thank you!
You’re very welcome 🙂 glad you enjoyed!
Would it turn out the same if I used Stevia instead of Erythritol?
You might end up with a smaller cake but it should still be tasty! Be sure to use a small amount of stevia – it’s much sweeter than erythritol!
I used 2 packets of Splenda and microwaved it for 1 minute- perfect!!
95% of Splenda is dextrose (D-glucose) and maltodextrin which are carbohydrates. Sucrolose is made in a lab by replacing three hydrogen-oxygen groups on sucrose (table sugar) molecules with three chlorine atoms. It is not a natural product. Splenda can not be equated with natural Stevia. It can be equated with a genetically modified organism.
I am not going to go out and buy a dozen medium eggs when I have large eggs in my fridge :)…..is there any adjustments I should make in order to use a large egg?
I think a large egg should be fine. If you want to be safe, beat one in a bowl and leave a bit out.
I microwaved this for 1 minute and it came out perfect! Thanks for the fantastic recipe x
So glad you like! It’s one of our favorites.