Molten Lava Cakes

These cakes are EVERYTHING! They’re rich, chocolatey and oozing deliciousness. When I’d order them at restaurants I always assumed they were challenging to make so I was happy to see how easy they actually are! What I also love is that there are no unusual ingredients here, except perhaps the apple cider vinegar so most of you likely have the majority of these ingredients just waiting to be assembled into these dainty cakes.

Ingredients

• 1 ½ cups flour

• ⅔ cup sugar

• 1tsp baking soda

• ½ tsp salt

• 1/3 cup cocoa powder unsweetened

• 1 cup almond or rice milk

• ½ cup canola oil

• 2 tbsp apple cider vinegar

• 1 tbsp vanilla extract

• ½ cup dairy-free dark chocolate chips or chocolate bar, chopped

Directions:

Lightly grease a 12 muffin pan. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

In large bowl sift dry ingredients together. In medium bowl whisk liquids. Pour the wet mixture into the dry mixture and whisk until just combined. You know the rule, don’t overmix!

Fill each muffin cup with 1 heaping tablespoon of the batter. Drop 1 tsp of chocolate chips into each muffin and fill with remaining batter.

Bake for 12-15 minutes. Remove from oven and let sit for a few minutes. Run a knife around each cake and lift out. Serve with fresh raspberries or strawberries and coconut cream, or with caramelized bananas.

Jen's Wine Pairing: This dessert, while rich, is not overly sweet, which gives us a few more options to pair with wine. Be bold and try it with a California Red Zinfandel for your value pick. Fruit forward and not tannic, these wines helped to put California on the wine map.

Splurge and try an Italian Amarone. These wines are made from dried grapes to concentrate the intensity of the wine. Rich and bold but finishing with a hint of bitterness plays off the dark chocolate.