Love is in the air and Valentine’s is just around the corner. Celebrate the chocolate lovers in your life with the ultimate sweet treat, Gluten Free Chocolate-Hazelnut Lava Cake. Rich yet light, decadent, and irresistibly molten, this is a dessert to fall in love with.

Molten lava cake is such a beloved dessert for a reason. While many people think of it as the perfect ending to a night out on the town, it’s both easy and rewarding to make at home. Whether it’s Gluten and Dairy Free Peanut Butter Lava Cakes or this Nutella inspired version, it never lasts long. These are so incredible, they should come with a warming.

Ingredients

Aside from being just as sumptuous as they are easy to make, Gluten Free Chocolate-Hazelnut Lava Cake only requires a handful of ingredients. This is a dessert that is easy to shop for and ideal for any level of baker.

Dairy Free Chocolate-Hazelnut Spread – This is the base of the chocolate molten cake. You can use Nutella, or your favorite Dairy Free chocolate-hazelnut spread.
Dairy Free Butter – Gives this lava cake richness while also being used to grease the ramekins, making the molten lava cakes easy to release.
Eggs – Eggs give this dessert its airy and delicate shell.
Javamelts Mocha Flavored Sugar – Made with pure cane sugar and natural flavors, this is a chocolate lover’s dream come true. It echos the flavor of the chocolate in the Nutella and adds depth.
Javamelts Hazelnut Flavored Sugar – This pure cane sugar with natural flavors is non-GMO, Gluten Free, and shelf stable for up to two years. All of Javamelts sugars are an equal one to one measure for regular sugar, with the added bonus of adding even more flavor to your recipes, coffee, and favorite beverages.
Cocoa Powder – This is used to lightly flour the ramekins, making it easy to release them.

How to Make Gluten Free Chocolate-Hazelnut Lava Cake

Making molten cakes at home requires only a few simple steps. The best part you are in complete control of the ingredients, and there’s no need to make a reservation, dress up, and go out!

Time needed: 38 minutes

The hardest part of making these molten lava cakes is waiting a couple of minutes so they can cool off! They’re so good you will be making these all the time.

Pregame
Preheat your oven to 400 degrees. Butter and dust your ramekins with cocoa powder. Place them onto a baking sheet and set aside.
Beat
Add your sugars and eggs to a mixing bowl and beat on high for about five minutes. The sugar will mostly dissolve and it will be more pale in color.
Double Boiler
Create a double boiler. Add the chocolate-hazelnut spread and butter to the double boiler. Keep stirring until they are melted and combined, making sure the water never comes to a boil. Remove the bowl from the pot.
Temper
Add a little of the warm chocolate mixture into the eggs and stir continuously. This is called tempering and will bring the eggs closer to the temperature of the chocolate, preventing them from scrambling.
Mix
Add the rest of the chocolate mixture into the eggs while continually stirring.
Divide
Divide the batter between the prepared ramekins.
Bake
Allow the molten lava cakes to bake for 12-14 minutes. The center will still be jiggly when you remove them from the oven.
Serve
Let your molten chocolate lava cakes cool for three minutes before flipping them out onto a plate. Dive in and enjoy!

Variations

This recipe is completely Dairy Free. However, you can use regular Nutella in this recipe and full dairy butter. The measurements will be the same.

Tools

This recipe fits six four ounce ramekins. Placing them on a baking sheet makes it easy to transfer them in and out of the oven.

In addition, you will also need to create a double boiler for the gentlest way to melt the chocolate-hazelnut spread and butter. Fill a pot halfway with water and bring it to a simmer. Place a bowl over the top of the pot, making sure the water never touches the bottom. It is the steam created that will melt the chocolate.

Storage

Nutella lava cakes are a great make ahead dessert. Allow them to cool completely once baked and then cover and keep them stored in the refrigerator. They will keep up to five days.

Top Tip for Gluten Free Chocolate-Hazelnut Lava Cake

Whenever you are incorporating hot liquid into eggs, always make sure that you temper your eggs first. When you add some of the hot liquid into the eggs this raises their temperature bringing it closer to the hot liquid. Then you can safely add the remaining hot liquid without fear of the eggs scrambling.