This keto lava cake has a deliciously decadent gooey molten chocolate centre. A quick keto dessert with only 5 ingredients! This easy recipe is is gluten free, low carb and sugar free and contains only 2.8g net carbs per portion.
![This keto lava cake has a deliciously decadent gooey molten chocolate centre. A quick keto dessert with only 5 ingredients! This easy recipe is is gluten free, low carb and sugar free and contains only 2.8g net carbs per portion. A chocolate lava cake with a gooey molten centre on a plate](https://sugarfreelondoner.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/02/5-Ingredient-chocolate-lava-cake-low-carb-sugarfreelondoner.jpg)
Who doesn't like a chocolate lava cake? Especially when it's a totally guilt-free, sugar free keto lava cake?
But first things first.
Jump to:
What is a chocolate lava cake?
Glad you asked. It's a single serve chocolate cake that is under-baked so the inside stays uncooked, molten and soft. You eat it warm and straight from the oven. It's wonderful with a scoop of sugar free vanilla ice cream, but equally good all on its own.
Is molten chocolate cake safe to eat?
In the UK it's safe to eat raw eggs that are produced under the Lion code of Practice. However, in some countries you still need to worry about salmonella in raw eggs. But there is no need to worry about this cake: The bacteria is killed instantly at temperatures over 160F / 70C. Which means the hot gooey centre is perfectly safe to eat!
![This keto lava cake has a deliciously decadent gooey molten chocolate centre. A quick keto dessert with only 5 ingredients! This easy recipe is is gluten free, low carb and sugar free and contains only 2.8g net carbs per portion. Sugar free chocolate lava cake batter in a ramekin](https://sugarfreelondoner.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/02/5-Ingredient-Chocolate-Lava-Cake-Low-Carb-Keto.jpg)
5 Ingredients for Keto Lava Cake
The best things in life are simple. And this low carb lava cake is one of them! In fact, you only need 5 ingredients for this easy sugar free dessert. Let me go into more detail:
1. Chocolate.
Get the best you can afford, with a high cocoa solids content. 90% is great, or go the whole 9 yards and get 100% unsweetened chocolate.
This is a generously sized dessert and if you're interested in keeping a low carb count, this will make a difference. It will also affect the taste - a cheap choccie full of vegetable oils just won't make you swoon.
I used 100% unsweetened chocolate, so added 3 ½ tablespoon sweetener. If you use 90% chocolate, 2 tablespoon sweetener works well. Adjust accordingly if your chocolate already contains sweetener. If you're in the US, Lily's sugar free chocolate is always a good option.
![This keto lava cake has a deliciously decadent gooey molten chocolate centre. A quick keto dessert with only 5 ingredients! This easy recipe is is gluten free, low carb and sugar free and contains only 2.8g net carbs per portion. 2 baked lava cakes in ramekins after baking](https://sugarfreelondoner.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/02/5-Ingredient-Chocolate-Lava-Cake-Low-Carb-Molten.jpg)
2. Butter.
Organic, grass-fed is what we're looking for here. I love the buttery taste of this dessert. But if that's not your kind of thing, you can sub with virgin coconut oil.
3. Almond flour.
The almond flour for your gluten free lava cake should be super-fine. Almond meal or ground almonds are too coarse and will alter the texture (would still work though).
4. Eggs.
Beat them till they're FLUFFY!
![This keto lava cake has a deliciously decadent gooey molten chocolate centre. A quick keto dessert with only 5 ingredients! This easy recipe is is gluten free, low carb and sugar free and contains only 2.8g net carbs per portion. taking a spoonful from a lava cake showing the gooey inside](https://sugarfreelondoner.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/02/5-Ingredient-Chocolate-Lava-Cake-Low-Carb-Sugar-Free.jpg)
5. Sweetener.
Make sure you choose powdered sweetener and not granulated. Erythritol blends, Bocha Sweet or allulose all work. Stevia drops would work in this recipe too.
Taste your batter and adjust the sweetener according to the type of chocolate you're using. I've given my measurements in the notes. As we all have a different perception of what the perfect sweetness is, do whatever rocks your boat here.
Low Carb Lava Cake Variations
Simply adjust the baking time depending on how runny you would like the centre of the Keto lava cake. Here are your options:
Molten lava cake - 9 minutes
This is the texture I aimed for. After 9 minutes, the cake will be set at the top and on the sides and bottom, but the inside will be molten chocolate batter. When you cut it with a spoon, the gooey enter oozes out.
When you gently shake the ramekin you'll see the insides jiggle!
Note - in traditional ceramic ramekins the lava cake may take an additional minute as they have thicker walls than the metal ones I used.
Moist and gooey lava cake
11-12 minutes: If you don't like the idea of a soft, runny centre, simply keep the lava cake in the oven for a further 2 minutes. After 12 minutes you have a moist keto chocolate cake that is fully cooked through.
![This keto lava cake has a deliciously decadent gooey molten chocolate centre. A quick keto dessert with only 5 ingredients! This easy recipe is is gluten free, low carb and sugar free and contains only 2.8g net carbs per portion. A low carb chocolate lava cake with a gooey molten centre decorated with pomegranate seeds](https://sugarfreelondoner.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/02/5-Ingredient-Chocolate-Lava-Cake-Low-Carb-Valentines.jpg)
Baker's Top Tips
If you want to invert your lava cakes onto a plate, grease your ramekins REALLY WELL! If you are only after the taste, there's no stress - just serve in the ramekins.
My ramekins measured 2 inch at the bottom and 3 at the top. If you want to make 1 larger portion, you might need to increase the time in the oven by 2-3 minutes.
Do not over-bake! The top needs to be set, but jiggly. My first round of cakes baked for 12 minutes and they were firm in the middle. Don't deprive yourself of that gooey centre 🙂
But even more importantly, don't be afraid to take this cake out of the oven when it's still super-jiggly.
It'll keep on cooking and firming up in the hot ramekin so serve it as soon as you can touch it with your hands to turn it out onto a plate.
Serving Suggestion
Eat these cakes straight out of the oven! If you leave them in the ramekins for long, they will continue to cook and set more than you might like.
This keto lava cake is delicious enough, gooey enough and wonderfully chocolatey enough to create a romantic moment any day of the year. I imagine it would be great with a scoop of sugar-free ice cream.
How To Store Keto Lava Cake
Chocolate lava cake with a molten centre should be eaten hot and straight from the oven.
It is possible to prepare the batter ahead and store it in the fridge overnight. Be sure to bring it back to room temperature before you bake it.
Another option would be to bake the cakes for 11-12 minutes until you have a fudgy keto chocolate cake. Store in the fridge for up to 5 days or freeze for up to 3 months.
More Chocolate Keto Dessert Recipes
- Chocolate Fat Bomb Recipe (Keto)30 Minutes
- Sugar Free Chocolate Mousse40 Minutes
- Keto Chocolate Cake40 Minutes
- Sugar Free Chocolate Birthday Cake1 Hours
Tried this recipe? Give it a star rating below!
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Recipe
![A keto lava cake with a gooey molten chocolate centre.](https://sugarfreelondoner.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/keto-lava-cake-1200-300x300.jpg)
5 Ingredient Keto Lava Cake (Low Carb)
from Sugar Free LondonerNote: The servings slider only changes the first amount in each line and not any subsequent amounts. Please make your own calculations where necessary.
Ingredients
- 2 oz unsweetened chocolate (55g), at least 85% cocoa solids
- 1 tablespoon super-fine almond flour ***see notes
- 2 oz butter unsalted, plus more for greasing ramekins
- 2 eggs
- 3.5 tablespoon powdered sweetener or more, depending on the chocolate you use - see notes
Instructions
- Heat oven to 175 Celsius/350 Fahrenheit.
- Grease 2 ramekins with butter.
- Melt the chocolate and butter and stir to combine.
- Beat your eggs well - best with a mixer.
- Add to the chocolate/butter mix together with almond flour and sweetener and stir. You'll get a dough-like consistency that is pourable.
- Pour into 2 ramekins.
- Bake 9 minutes until the top is set but still jiggly. Do not over-bake!
- Turnout onto plates and serve with a dusting of powdered sweetener and pomegranate seeds or a couple of raspberries. A mint leaf would round off the look nicely!
Renan Freitas
I found it very practical. Did not take my time in the kitchen and it was very tasty
Sandra
Thank you for this recipe! I made it for my husband's birthday since he is doing keto. He loved it and he didn't have to give up his birthday chocolate cake!
Katrin
Wonderful! I'm glad it was a success. Happy belated birthday to your husband!
Brian
I like the idea of these cakes, as the ingredients show great promise, but I'm a little scared that I don't cook with a scale given that two of the ingredients are in ounces....
Katrin
Hi Brian, of course it’s always best to weigh your ingredients wirh a kitchen scale. But when you buy butter or a bar of chocolate the total weight should be on the packet. Just take that as a starting point and work it out from there. The cakes really are worth it!!!
Linh
I had a hard time getting mine out of the ramekin. You do not suggest buttering and flouring the ramekin instead of just butter?
Katrin
I'm so sorry your cakes stuck! How annoying. You could flour the outside, too, if you preferred - personally, I don't like flour on the outside on my cakes so I don't. I butter the hell out of the ramekin instead, and that seems to work fine. I hope it all works out well next time, whichever way you choose. 🙂
Macy
I used 1 tablespoon of coconut flour instead of almond flour, 100% unsweetened Baker's chocolate, 1 teaspoon vanilla extract, 1 teaspoon coffee, 2 tablespoons granulated erythritol, and 1/8 teaspoon liquid stevia. Took about 11 minutes to cook. Tastes sooooo good! Thanks for the recipe!
Katrin
Hello Macy, thank you so much for your comment. This is really helpful ad interesting! Good to know the recipe works with coconut flour, too. And I'm happy you liked it 🙂
Marsha Crenshaw
It seems the nutrition I formation is for the whole recipe and not per serving. Is this true? Cholesterol wouldn’t be that high for one serving.
Katrin
Hi Marsha, I just calculated the recipe again and got the same cholesterol amount per serving. I know that we all grew up being scared of cholesterol (in our house we only ate 1 egg a week!), but science has moved on a lot since then. There is an interesting article by Dr. Zoe Harcombe who explains in detail why we've got cholesterol wrong - it's actually vital for us. I'm not trying to force you to try my lava cake (though it is delicious), but her post is worth a read - check it out here
Miriam
Made this tonight for dessert (my husband had his with a small scoop of vanilla ice cream, but yes, he cheats!). We both really enjoyed it, but next time I think I'll bake it for 11 minutes instead of 10, reduce the sweetener 25% and add some organic vanilla extract. Definitely a treat for special occasions, thanks so much for the recipe!
Katrin
Glad you enjoyed the recipe! Adding vanilla sounds like a lovely idea. 🙂
Jodi Lewis
Wow, this was fantastic! Made it for an early Valentine's dinner for my hubby and kids tonight. Even my kids, who 'hate' dark chocolate absolutely loved it. Thank you for sharing your recipe. This one is definitely going to be used a lot .
Katrin
Brilliant! It's always the best when they "love' something they "hate". Ha!
Betsy
Fantastic. Easiest pudding I ever made - looked and turned out exactly as photographed. I am new to stevia and not sure I liked the strange flavouring of that, but will experiment a bit on the sweeteners. This desert has already made it into my perm recipe book. I'll be making this for the next dinner party.
Katrin
Great news! Sometimes it takes a bit of trying out to find the sweetener you like the most. Stevia can taste a bit metallic. Did you use powdered stevia or the drops? Maybe you would prefer the powdered erythritol. It is my favourite sweetener.
Betsy
Thanks for the tip! I am making this recipe as a flat cake for a dinner party tonight (13 minutes!) and look forward to trying this week's amazing recipe for the avocado choc ice cream Please keep posting - the world needs your sugar free love!
Katrin
I believe you can! There's a silicone mould on Amazon US right here - a bit pricey, but specifically for lava cakes!