Step 1

Preheat the oven to 425ºF (218ºC) and bring your eggs to room temperature. I put my eggs in a bowl of warm water for about 5 minutes.

Step 2

Prepare your ceramic ramekins by rubbing the bottoms and sides with butter. This recipe is enough for four, 6oz ramekins or two, 8oz - 10oz ramekins.

Step 3

If you're using chocolate chips skip this step. Chop your bar of chocolate into smaller pieces, this will make it easier to melt.

Step 4

Create a bain-marie by bringing 2 inches of water to a simmer in a pot. Reduce the heat to low and add a glass bowl on top. Make sure the bowl is not touching the water. Add your chopped chocolate and butter, stir until just melted, then remove from the heat. Set the mixture aside to cool until it is slightly warm or room temperature, but not hot.Or you can melt your butter and chocolate in the microwave in 15-second intervals, stirring between each until the butter and chocolate are smooth.

Step 5

In a large bowl, whisk together the sugar, eggs, egg yolks, and salt.

Step 6

Add the room temperature chocolate mixture into the egg mixture, add vanilla, and whisk until fully incorporated.

Step 7

Sprinkle in the flour and mix until just combined. It will be thick and gooey.

Step 8

Divide the batter evenly between the greased ramekins. This recipe makes 16 ounces of batter, so about 4 ounces per ramekin.

Step 9

Bake for 10-11 minutes, checking to see if the sides of your cakes are done, but the middles are still fairly liquidy. You should be able to tell by looking at it, but a gentle wiggle of the ramekin will show you if the middle is still wobbly.If you use 8oz or 10oz ramekins, bake for 12-13 minutes.

Step 10

Remove from the oven and let stand for 1-2 mins, loosen the sides of the cake with a knife if needed, and then invert onto a plate. The ramekin will be extremely hot so please wear a protective mitt as you slowly lift off the ramekin.

Step 11

Garnish as you please. I really enjoy some flakey salt to balance the sweet. Whipped cream or ice cream would be a good compliment too, as well as berries of any kind. The cakes are meant to be eaten immediately, but if they are left to cool, they can be reheated by microwave for about 30 seconds and will regain their "molten middle" texture.Unbaked cakes can be frozen or refrigerated if you choose to bake them at a later time. Be sure to thaw frozen batter before baking. If cakes are cold going into the oven they may take a couple of extra minutes to bake.You can also store already-baked lava cakes by wrapping each individually in plastic wrap and refrigerate for up to 3 days. Just microwave 30 seconds to warm up before serving!