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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What cooking time is everyone using? I’ve tried this 3 times and altered the cooking time but it keeps overcooking. Thx!
Very bitter but I did use Steviva for the sugar just wondering could this be why?
Absolutely! Stevia on its own is very bitter, that’s why we recommend erythritol.
The best sweetener with this dessert if you’re doing keto is Erythritol. I used Swerve, 2 tablespoons of it. I also thought the cocoa seemed a bit much (would be too bitter for me)so I only used 1 tablespoon. Turned out absolutely perfect!! Love this recipe!
What kinds ice cream do you use on keto
Our favorite brand is Enlightened 🙂
Made a bunch of them the other day and can’t decide if they should stay in the fridge or if it’s OK to leave them out on the counter top like other baked goods?
I would suggest fridge and to reheat them gently before serving. Be careful not to overcook them! They’re not meant to be reheated.
I too found it bitter but I used Splenda as all I had going to try it again with correct products. I found I could make two as well in little ramekins with the amount of ingredients so that’s good
I have made this several times. It’s my go to when I need chocolate and whip cream. Best Lava cake on Pinterest.
I overcooked it despite your warning. Even though I think it would be way more delicious with a molten center, it was still really good and satisfied my sweet tooth. It was so easy to make, this is definitely going to be my go to dessert recipe! Thanks so much.
I made this tonight and it was amazing. Mine seemed to take a little longer to cook though. So worth it!!
Im not sure what it was (maybe its because I couldn’t find the sugar you used, so I used something else) but the after taste was bitter. Really wanted this to be good. Maybe I’ll see if I can find this sugar and try again?
What did you use?
Wholesome organic zero
calorie free sweetener
That;s not an answer – what is the chemical name or brand name?
This actually is an answer- this is the product
http://shop.wholesomesweet.com/All-Natural-Zero/p/WHSM-347116&c=Wholesome@Zero
It’s erithriol
Made this tonight…substituted fat free half and half for the heavy cream and topped it off with a dollop of sugar free cool whip and thinly sliced strawberries. This is recipe is off the charts good!!!
Thanks, Craig!
Your changes to the recipe sound good, but do not follow keto. Anything low fat has more sugar.
Stevia has a bad aftertaste, for us, at least. Erythritol is the answer to my prayers!
I used stivia and I think this could have been awesome for me aside from the bitterness of ther cocoa. Any suggestions on how to kill the bitter taste? Thank you in advance. 🙂
A mix of stevia and erythritol seems to be the best option for many people!
The only pron lem with this dessert is that it is too good. Better than the other mug cakes I’ve tried. I put a few slices strawberries and a little whipped cream with it and it’s so good. I add a little squeeze of liquid stevia to the 1 tbsp of erythrytol but otherwise use the recipe as written.
Ha! Thanks! It’s a good problem to have 🙂
This is straight up delicious and beautiful! I made it in under 10 mins. Seriously!
Made this tonight with whipped cream w/ stevia! So good…felt like I was cheating! Thank you so much…this will be a staple for me when I need cake!!
How much stivia did you use?
Two boxes of Keto desserts were just delivered to me today but when I saw this recipe I knew I had to make it as soon as I got home from work. The texture and the taste are amazing and my 14-year old loved it too! I feel so satisfied I’m not looking for any other dessert today – and I have a super sweet tooth so that’s saying something 😀 Thanks so much!