Vegan dark chocolate lava cakes are soft chocolate cakes with a rich, melty chocolate lava center. A healthy + vegan version of a classic, made with just 5 ingredients, gluten free, and naturally sweet!
With Valentine’s day being just a few days away, I’ve got all the lovey dovey, pink + red, chocolate feels. I personally think v-day is a fun, sweet holiday. Plus, you know I’m never saying no to an excuse to focus on chocolate. And whether or not you celebrate, you should never say no to vegan dark chocolate lava cakes.
Make these for your boo, and they’ll wish it was v-day every day.
In case you’ve been living under a rock, lava cake is chocolate cake with a molten, chocolate lava center. We’re re-creating this classic with 5 healthy ingredients, but keeping all that rich chocolate flavor.
Oh, and why not make it 2 servings? One for you, one for your sweetie. Or if you don’t have a boo, 2 FOR YOU!! So now you have a reason to love v-day, you’re welcome.
Ingredients for vegan dark chocolate lava cakes
- Rolled oats: you’ll blend the oats into flour, which provides a dense, satisfying texture.
- Cocoa powder: cocoa gives the cakes rich chocolate flavor.
- Medjool dates: you’ll blend the dates with hot water to make a paste, which naturally sweetens the lava cakes.
- Nondairy milk: milk brings the cake batter together. I use unsweetened almond milk for neutral flavor, but any nondairy milk should work.
- Vegan dark chocolate: I like the Lily’s stevia-sweetened bars, but use any vegan dark chocolate you like, just make sure you know it melts well since this will be your lava center.
Tips for making vegan chocolate lava cakes
- Measure out the oats first, then blend into flour. I always list the amount of oats used BEFORE they’re blended for flour. So in this case, you’ll measure out 1/4 cup of whole, rolled oats, then put that 1/4 cup into your blender to make flour.
- Save a bit of batter to cover up the chocolate center. Portion the batter into the cupcake pan, saving a bit to put on top after you add the chocolate to the center of the batter in the pan. Then pour the remaining batter over each cake.
- Use a cupcake pan with silicone liners for easy removal. Silicone liners are easy to find on Amazon and definitely worth it for the easy removal after baking. You could also spray the paper cups or pan with cooking spray if you don’t have liners.
- Let the cakes cool for 15 minutes. Of course, the most important part of lava cake is that melty, chocolate center, but the cakes need to cool for at least 15 minutes before you carefully remove them to serve.
These vegan dark chocolate lava cakes are the ultimate rich, decadent, chocolate dessert, perfect for v-day, or really, any day of the week when that cocoa craving hits. Honestly, it’s a little dangerous how simple the ingredients are here, cause I know I’m going to suddenly have a lava cake craving every night of the week…
Not mad about it.
Xo,
Sara
Vegan Dark Chocolate Lava Cakes
Ingredients
- 1/4 cup whole grain oats, blended into flour
- 1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
- 1/4 cup date paste – I use 4 large pitted medjool dates blended with 1/4 cup hot water, then measure out 1/4 cup paste
- 1/2 cup nondairy milk – I use unsweetened almond milk
- Your choice of vegan dark chocolate for the center – different brands may melt differently, so choose one that you've used and know will melt! I love using the Lily's Sweets baking bars, and break one large square up into smaller pieces for the center of each cake
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
- In a large bowl, mix the oat flour and cocoa powder.
- Add the date paste and nondairy milk and stir into a thick batter.
- Split the batter into each of the two cupcake liners in the center of the pan and fill to the top (I love silicone liners for easy removal). Carefully press the chopped dark chocolate into the center of the batter, then add the remaining batter to the top of each cake.
- Bake for 30 minutes, then let the cakes cool for 15 minutes in the pan before flipping them over to serve.
- These are best enjoyed soon after baking for the optimal melty, lava center!
Hi! I’m planning to bake these tomorrow- do you think I can prep them in advance (maybe 4 hours?) then bake them after dinner for guests so they come out warm?
Hi Amy! I can’t say for sure about prepping the batter beforehand, as I’ve never tried making it that far in advance. Because there are so few ingredients, I would maybe get all those prepped and ready to go (blend the oats into flour, portion out the wet ingredients and keep those in the fridge, etc.) so that you could just mix it up quickly, portion into the cupcake liners and bake when you’re ready. I hope that makes sense/helps a bit!