One of my favorite days of the year is February 15th, also known as the Half-Price Chocolates and Flowers day. My husband and I don't tend to do anything big for Valentine's day but I do like making a special dinner or dessert to mark the occasion. This Instant Pot Chocolate Lava Cake is PERFECT. It's smooth, decadent, chocolatey and just so, so, so good. It is the perfect dessert for Valentine's day or really any day when you want to show someone you love them. I mean, honestly, I'd make it just for myself because it's so good.
Cake in the Instant Pot?
I know you must be thinking I've gone over the edge and am trying too hard to use my Instant Pot pressure cooker for everything. Let me know, this thing is a multi-cooker. It makes incredible desserts including this instant pot chocolate lava cake, delicious cheesecakes and please don't get me started on flan.
This recipe is heavily adapted from the Adventures of A Nurse blog.
I did change a bunch of things to make it more palatable to our taste but the basic setup is from her recipe. She calls it the Better Than Sex Chocolate Lava Cake. I'm not sure if I'd go that far but it is VERY good and my kids basically licked their plates clean and begged for more. The main thing that I changed was that I switched semi-sweet chocolate chips to all dark chocolate and I cooked it longer- so 10 minutes and 2 minutes NPR, then quick release. I found that if I did it her way, my cake was just falling apart.
Without further ado, here's the electric pressure cooker recipe. I hope you try it this Valentine's day or for another special occasion. It's a great way to get your sugar fix, right at home in less than 20 minutes.
Instant Pot Chocolate Lava Cake
Ingredients
- 1 stick Butter
- 1 cup dark chocolate chips
- 3/4 cup powdered sugar
- 3 whole eggs
- 1 egg yolk
- 1 tbsp vanilla
- 6 tbsp flour
- 4 oven-safe 6 oz ramekins
Instructions
- Turn on your Instant Pot and set it to sauté to get it warmed up.
- In a double boiler (or using your microwave), melt the butter and the dark chocolate chips togther until smooth.
- Add the powdered sugar and mix until smooth, and all the lumps are gone.
- Add the eggs and yolk and whisk until fully incorporated. Do not beat but use a gentle folding motion.
- Add in the vanilla and the flour and stir together until mixed well.
- Grease your ramekins with butter or a spray oil and then pour the prepared batter evenly across all four.
- Set the trivet in the bottom of the Instant Pot. I was able to fit 3 at the bottom and one on top of the three.
- Pour 1 cup water at the bottom, place the lid and set it to cook on Manual mode for 10 minutes.
- Let naturallly pressure release for 2 minutes and then quick release. Once you open the lid, use a cold knife to gently seperate the cake from the edges of the ramekins and flip over onto a plate.
- Serve with vanilla ice cream, any toppings that you love or just eat on its own. Pat yourself on the back and go give your Instant Pot a big hug.
