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I am going to make a bold statement. I think this Moelleux au Chocolat might just be one of the best chocolate cakes of all time. There, I have said it. The best way to describe it is like a giant melt in the middle chocolate cake. Although I rather like the fancy French name! It is rich, gooey, decadent and delicious. Especially when served warm from the oven. What’s more, if you pop the leftovers in the fridge, the base transforms into a fudgy brownie while the top sets into a heavenly dark chocolate mousse.
You might look at the recipe and think a twice baked chocolate cake is complicated. Trust me, it is much easier than it sounds and hard to get wrong. It is even simpler than my Melt in the Middle Chocolate Puddings as it is baked in one tin! It does involve separating eggs, but once you’ve got the knack of that, there’s nothing to it. And this Moelleux au Chocolat requires only 5 ingredients.
When it is warm, like a lava cake, I love to serve it with double cream or ice cream. Both are perfect accompaniments to a naturally gluten free chocolate cake. Sometimes I add something fruity. A handful of plump and juicy sweet raspberries, sliced strawberries or pitted cherries are all delicious. Although, when fresh berries aren’t in season, a mixed berry coulis is a great alternative…
Table of Contents
Why you will love this recipe:
- It is a naturally gluten free cake.
- It has the most delicious decadent flavour and texture. The rich dark chocolate transforms into a gooey melt in the middle chocolate cake.
- It uses just 5 ingredients which you are likely to already have at home.
- It looks impressive but is actually very hard to go wrong. A dream dinner party dessert.
Ingredients:
Full recipe can be found in the printable recipe card at the bottom of the post, just scroll down!
Butter – opt for unsalted so you can control the salt level in this Moelleux au Chocolat.
Dark chocolate – the starring ingredient in this twice baked chocolate cake! Opt for the best quality you can find, ideally 70%, for the most delicious results.
Cocoa powder – make sure you use the unsweetened variety. Definitely not hot chocolate powder!
Substitutions and Variations:
Caster sugar: you can swap for granulated or golden caster sugar if that is what you have.
Berries: serving with a sprinkling of berries cuts through the rich dark chocolate. I like strawberries, raspberries or pitted cherries. You can also opt for a fruity berry coulis. Bonne Maman has a lovely Cherry Compote if you want to stick with the French vibes. If serving to adults, cherries in kirsch work very well too.
Dairy: this gooey lava cake is perfect served just as it is. However, I love to add a drizzle of double cream or custard. Alternatively, a scoop of vanilla ice cream is also utterly delicious.
Nuts: as a melt in the middle chocolate cake, this Moelleux au Chocolat has a soft and gooey texture. If you want to add a bit of contrast, sprinkle with toasted chopped nuts. Almonds, pistachios and hazelnuts work really well.
Here’s how to make Moelleux au Chocolat:
Here’s a step by step guide for what you need to do, but you can find the full recipe below for detailed instructions.
ONE: Melt diced butter and chopped chocolate in a heat-proof bowl over simmering water, stirring often, then sift in cocoa powder and salt. Set aside.
TWO: Separate eggs; whisk yolks with caster sugar until pale and thick. In another bowl, whisk egg whites to soft peaks, gradually adding remaining sugar until stiff.
THREE: Combine the chocolate mixture with egg yolks, then fold in a couple of spoonfuls of whisked egg whites. Gently fold in the remaining egg whites.
FOUR: Pour ⅔ of the batter into a buttered, lined 23cm springform tin and bake at 180C Fan for 25 minutes. Cool completely. It may collapse or fall as it cools, this is very normal – sometimes this cake is called a chocolate slump cake and it will still be delicious, it’s just part of the charm
FIVE: Keep the remaining batter in the fridge.
SIX: Once the cake is cool, spread the reserved batter on top. Bake again for 10-15 minutes until a thin crust forms and the middle is still soft.
Cooking Tips:
Weigh the batter: if you want your Moelleux au Chocolat to have perfect ratios, weigh your batter and divide into thirds. Bake ⅔ first and keep ⅓ back.
Folding in egg whites: gently folding in your egg whites is key to the perfect gooey Moelleux au Chocolat. The 2 spoonfuls are ‘sacrificial’ and can be mixed in normally. After that, be very gentle so as to keep in as much air as possible.
Frequently Asked Questions
The word ‘Moelleaux’ means ‘soft’ in French. It is usually to describe wines or cakes that are particularly mellow, soft or smooth. As soon as you taste this rich and gooey dark chocolate cake, you will see it is the perfect name!
There are so many things you can serve with my Moelleux au Chocolat. A bit like a gooey chocolate lava cake, fresh berries work really well. I love the balance of sweet, fruity raspberries, strawberries or cherries alongside rich dark chocolate. A dusting of icing sugar also looks very pretty. However, if berries aren’t in season, a fruit coulis or compote is lovely too. Bonne Maman has a wonderful Cherry Compote if you want to max out the French vibes.
I also love serving a dark chocolate pudding with a drizzle of double cream. The contrast of the hot melt in the middle chocolate cake and cold cream is divine! Alternatively, a scoop of good-quality vanilla ice cream is really yummy. You can even serve it with warm custard or a homemade crème anglaise.
This Moelleux au Chocolat is all about the soft and gooey texture. However, if you like a bit of crunch, sprinkle it with toasted chopped nuts. Almonds, pistachios or hazelnuts work really well. If you are feeling confident, you could even make praline shards.
Yes! You can bake the bottom layer, leave it to cool then cover and pop in the fridge for up to 2 days. Then simply spread with the chilled final ⅓ of cake batter and bake as stated in the recipe when you are ready.
You can also make the whole twice baked chocolate cake in advance and serve it room temp. Take it out of the fridge 30 minutes before you plan to serve so it’s not fridge-cold. The bottom transforms into a fudgy brownie while the top becomes a creamy dark chocolate mousse. Reheating the whole cake is tricky as you don’t want to risk cooking the top layer through, so serving at room temp (or a few hours after baking it) is ideal.
Other recipes you might enjoy:
If you like the sound of this Moelleux au Chocolat, try my Classic French Chocolate Mousse or my Self Saucing Chocolate Pudding. I also have the most delicious Melt in the Middle Chocolate Puddings or a Chocolate Fudge Cake.
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Lemon Loaf Cake
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Raspberry and Chocolate Cake
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Jaffa Cake Cake
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White Chocolate and Raspberry Cake
If you tried this Moelleux au Chocolat or any other recipe on the site, please do leave a comment and let us know how it went!
Moelleux au Chocolat
Ingredients
For the cake:
- 225 g unsalted butter, cut into cubes, plus extra for greasing (16 tbsp / 1 cup)
- 225 g good-quality 70% dark chocolate, roughly chopped (8oz / 1 cup)
- 75 g cocoa powder, 3/4 cup
- Pinch of salt
- 7 large eggs
- 265 g caster sugar, 1 1/3 cups / 9.3 oz (known as superfine sugar in the US)
To serve:
- Double cream, ice cream or custard
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 180C Fan/355F Fan (or 200C/400F if not fan). Generously butter a 23cm (9-inch) round springform tin with butter and line the base with non-stick baking paper. Set aside.
- Melt the butter and chocolate together in a bowl. I usually do this in the microwave in 30 second bursts, stirring well each time until smooth. Or you can place in a heatproof bowl over a pan of “just” simmering water, ensuring the bottom of the bowl doesn’t come into contact with the water (or the chocolate will burn).
- Once you’ve got a smooth, glossy mixture, pop a sieve over the bowl and sift in the cocoa powder and salt. Stir until smooth. Set aside.
- Separate the eggs, putting the whites into the bowl of a stand mixer and the yolks into another large bowl.
- Add 135 g caster sugar to the egg yolks and whisk using an electric whisk for about 2 minutes – or until pale, light and thick.
- Meanwhile, using the stand mixer (or you can use the electric whisk – it just needs to be really clean otherwise the egg whites won’t whisk in the way you want them to), whisk the egg whites until you have soft peaks. Gradually add the remaining sugar, whisking until the egg whites are stiff and glossy.
- You should now have three bowls that need to be mixed together. First, pour the melted chocolate mixture into the egg yolks and stir gently. Then add two spoons of the whisked egg whites into the chocolate mixture and stir quite vigorously so it is well incorporated. This is often called the ‘sacrificial spoon’ as we don’t worry too much about keeping in the air at this stage.
- Next, gently fold in the remaining egg whites, taking care to keep in as much air as possible. You shouldn’t see any of the egg whites after you’ve folded it together.
- Pour ⅔ of the cake batter into the prepared tin and bake for about 25 minutes – or until the cake is well risen, puffy and a skewer inserted into the centre comes out clean. Leave to cool completely in the tin.
- Meanwhile, pour the remaining ⅓ of the cake batter into a medium bowl and set aside, or cover with cling film and pop into the fridge if using much later. This will become the molten chocolate top layer of the cake.
- Preheat the oven, once again, to 180C Fan/355F Fan (or 200C/400F if not fan) and line a baking tray with non-stick baking paper. Set aside.
- Once the cake has cooled completely, remove from the tin and place on the prepared baking tray. Add the reserved ⅓ of the cake batter on top of the cake – you can pour it or, if it has been in the fridge, gently spread using a palette knife.
- Bake the cake for about 10-15 minutes or until you see a thin crust on the top but the middle is still soft and jiggly underneath. Remove from the oven and leave to stand for 10 minutes.
- Cut into slices and serve warm with double cream, ice cream or custard. You can also serve it chilled from the fridge.
- The video below will help with this recipe.
Video
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Was a massive hit and just so delicious! A tip for those who prefer their cake warm and gooey — you can still refrigerate the whole cake so it lasts longer, and then microwave individual slices of cake for 30-45 seconds to return it to its soft and warm just-out-of-the-oven state, without any ill effect to the cake.
This cake is wonderful. I’ve been using the same chocolate cake recipe for some time now but not anymore, this is my new go to chocolate cake! I was a little worried at how much my cake collapsed whilst cooling but I needn’t have been as it turned out beautifully after the reserved batter went on and it had its second bake.
Make this cake. It’s delicious and really easy. The only hard part is trying not to eat the whole thing!
Ita the best choclate cake i ever madeeeee by far
Going to make this for my wife for Mother’s Day! When you say “Fan” do you mean convection?
Oh that’s a lovely thing to make! No, fan is 20c less than convection x
Nothing but delicious. This is a brilliant cake, perfect for us deep chocolate lovers who say “give me all the chocolate, I dare you”
I did make some process changes that streamlines things a bit. This reminded me of an ina garten recipe where instead of doing this whip the egg whites whip the egg yolks separately business, she whips them all together until they reach “ribbon” stage and are exceptionally thick, pale and fluffy, then I proceeded to fold and bake as directed. I also added a smidge of espresso powder as I do with most chocolate desserts.
I had no change to the rise or expected outcomes! This made an exceptionally chocolatey dessert, just what I was looking for.
Ooh that’s a great tip, thank you! I will try it out, thank you! x
Please explain the eggs part and thereafter as i would love to save time making this
The cake is baked and ready to be covered later tonight with the extra batter.
2nd time making it. It’s the best chocolate cake recipe.
This tastes really good, but this recipe is not nearly as easy or as quick as advertised. Don’t be foolish like I was! Read all the directions before starting!
Thank you for your comment. Glad you enjoyed the cake. Absolutely, I definitely always always recommend reading through a recipe before you begin, it’s key! x
My boyfriend said this was restaurant grade chocolate cake .. it was so easy to make so fudgy and so good!
This is honestly such an easy yet decadent dessert.. I made this for dinner with friends and everyone devoured it as it was so delicious! My only recommendation would be to use good quality chocolate like it says in the recipe 🙂
Such an easy fun recipe that was absolutely delicious! Great GF option and a recipe I’ll definitely be remaking