Malted Chocolate Pretzel Lava Cakes

Ingredients

Ganache centers

• 3 oz (85 g) semisweet chocolate, finely chopped
• ¼ cup heavy cream

Chocolate cakes

• 1 tsp unsalted butter, for ramekins
• 1 tsp unsweetened cocoa powder, for dusting
• ½ cup (113 g) unsalted butter
• 4 oz (115 g) semisweet chocolate, chopped
• ½ cup (100 g) granulated sugar
• 2 large eggs
• 2 large egg yolks
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• ⅓ cup (42 g) all-purpose flour
• 2 tbsp malted milk powder
• ¼ tsp fine salt

Finish

• ¼ cup crushed salted pretzels
• 6 small scoops vanilla ice cream, about 1½ cups total

Equipment

Six 6-fl-oz oven-safe ramekins, mixer or whisk, thermometer

Allergens and ingredient notes: Milk, egg, wheat, barley in malted milk; check chocolate and pretzel labels.

Step by step

1. Make the centers first: heat the ganache cream until steaming, pour over its 3 oz chopped chocolate, and wait 2 minutes. Stir smooth. Chill 30 minutes until scoopable, form six equal dollops on parchment, then freeze at least 1 hour until firm.
2. Heat the oven to 350°F (175°C). Grease ramekins with the measured 1 tsp butter and dust with the measured cocoa. Melt the separate ½ cup butter and 4 oz chocolate over low heat, stir smooth, and cool for 5 minutes.
3. Whisk sugar, whole eggs, yolks, and vanilla for 1 minute. Whisk in melted chocolate. Fold in flour, malted milk powder, and salt just until combined.
4. Divide half the batter among ramekins. Place one frozen ganache portion in the center of each, keeping it away from the sides. Cover fully with the remaining batter. Set the ramekins on a baking sheet.
5. Bake 18–24 minutes until the cake around the center is set and a thermometer inserted into the cake crumb beside the ganache reaches 160°F (71°C). The liquid center comes from melted ganache, not underbaked egg batter. Rest 5 minutes.
6. Serve in the ramekins on heatproof plates. Divide crushed pretzels over the cakes and add one small scoop of ice cream to each just before eating. Warn diners that the ramekins are hot.

The Devotti twist: Frozen ganache makes a flowing center while allowing the surrounding egg-based cake to bake through.

Make ahead and storage

Serve freshly baked for a flowing center. Refrigerate cooled cakes within 2 hours for up to 3 days; reheated centers may be thicker. Freeze unbaked ganache centers airtight up to 1 month.

Image: AI-generated recipe illustration; homemade results and presentation will vary.