Applebee's-Style Triple Chocolate Meltdown

A warm, lava-style chocolate cake with a gooey center served with clean ice cream — the Applebee's dessert classic remade with organic dark chocolate, raw cacao, and coconut sugar instead of processed baking mix and artificial flavors.

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Ingredients

  • 6 oz 70% organic dark chocolate, roughly chopped
  • 6 tbsp grass-fed unsalted butter, cubed
  • 2 tbsp raw cacao powder
  • 3 pasture-raised eggs
  • 3 pasture-raised egg yolks
  • 1/2 cup organic coconut sugar
  • 1 tsp pure vanilla extract
  • 1/4 cup organic all-purpose flour or almond flour (for gluten-free)
  • Pinch of fine sea salt
  • Organic coconut oil spray, for ramekins
  • 2 oz organic dark chocolate, melted with 1/2 tsp coconut oil, for drizzling
  • 1 cup organic vanilla bean ice cream or coconut milk ice cream, for serving
  • Organic powdered sugar or raw cacao powder, for dusting

Clean swaps

How we upgrade the restaurant version with better ingredients.

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Shop the clean pantry

Reorder the shelf-stable staples for this recipe.

What you'll need

  • Stand mixer — Hands-free creaming and whipping — the most time-saving machine in a baker's kitchen.
  • Kitchen scale — Baking by weight is more accurate than cups — 1 g = 1 g, always.
  • Silicone baking mat — No parchment waste, uniform browning, nothing sticks.

Instructions

  1. Preheat oven to 425°F. Generously spray four 6-oz ramekins with coconut oil spray and dust with raw cacao powder, tapping out the excess. Place on a baking sheet.
  2. Melt the chopped dark chocolate and butter together in a heatproof bowl set over a pot of barely simmering water (double boiler), stirring until smooth. Remove from heat and stir in the raw cacao powder. Let cool slightly.
  3. In a large bowl, beat the eggs, egg yolks, and coconut sugar together with a hand mixer on high speed for 3–4 minutes until pale, thick, and doubled in volume.
  4. Fold the chocolate mixture into the egg mixture gently with a spatula. Add the vanilla extract and sea salt.
  5. Sift the flour over the batter and fold in until just combined — do not overmix.
  6. Divide the batter evenly among the prepared ramekins.
  7. Bake for 11–13 minutes until the edges are set and a thin crust forms on top, but the center still jiggles slightly when you gently shake the pan.
  8. Run a thin knife around the edge of each ramekin. Place a plate upside down over each ramekin, then carefully invert and unmold. Drizzle the melted dark chocolate over the top, dust with powdered sugar or cacao powder, and serve immediately with a scoop of ice cream.

FAQ

Can I make the batter ahead of time?

Yes — fill the ramekins with batter, cover tightly with plastic wrap, and refrigerate up to 24 hours. Bake straight from the fridge, adding 1–2 extra minutes to the bake time.

How do I know when the lava cakes are done?

The edges should look matte and set while the very center top still has a slight sheen and jiggle. If you can, err on the side of underbaking by a minute — the carryover heat finishes the edges as it rests.

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