Bake this gooey Keto Lava Cake for Two in the air fryer and it’s ready in 10 minutes flat! It’s the perfect low carb sweet treat for you and a loved one. Or just you and you! (Oven instructions included, of course!).
First, let me say that it took me about five attempts to get this Air Fryer Lava Cake just right. But since every iteration tasted delicious, I am not going to complain!
Some were too gooey, some were too firm, some wouldn’t come out of the molds properly. It wasn’t until Round 4 that I got it just right. And then I had to test it once more to make sure. Or maybe that was just an excuse to eat it one more time…
And something about Valentine’s Day just begs for lava cakes, don’t you think? I have a fabulous Keto Peanut Butter Lava Cake, but I thought it would be fun to make a classic version. In the air fryer!
Why you need to try this recipe
I love rich, chocolatey desserts. But sometimes I can’t work up the energy to make a batch of keto chocolate mousse or a big keto chocolate cake. These Air Fryer Lava Cakes are the perfect answer.
They take only 6 ingredients and about 10 minutes to make. So you can be on your way to chocolate nirvana in less time than it takes to make your dinner. That’s my kind of keto cake!
Now, I do mean it when I say it took me a number of tries to get this right. Air fryers don’t cook the same way as a regular oven. The heat is much more intense and concentrated, and it takes a bit of a different approach than lava cakes baked in an oven.
My first attempt was in ceramic ramekins, and although it worked, I found that it was much harder to get the cakes out in one piece. My second attempt was in my favorite silicone muffin cups and that worked much better, but they were a bit too small for all the batter.
In the end, I went with a jumbo version of the silicone muffin cups and it worked PERFECTLY! Please make sure you read the Expert Tips section to get all of my best tips for these cake.
Ingredients You Need
- Butter: Lava cakes are usually make with a good amount of butter or oil. It’s what keeps them so gooey!
- Cocoa powder: For a rich chocolate flavor, use Dutch process cocoa.
- Sweetener: You have some options here for sweetener but I don’t recommend using allulose. It makes them strangely spongy. I used Swerve Confectioners. See the expert tips section for more options.
- Eggs: For lava cakes, you want to use one whole egg and one egg yolk. The added yolks provides extra gooeyness.
- Vanilla
- Salt
Step by Step Directions
1. Melt the butter: In a medium microwave-safe bowl, melt the butter. Stir in the cocoa powder, sweetener, and salt until smooth.
2. Add the remaining ingredients: Add the egg and egg yolk and whisk until well combined. Don’t worry if the mixture becomes a little gloppy. Whisk in the vanilla extract and the warm liquid until you have a smooth batter.
3. Bake the cakes: Divide the batter between the two prepared muffin cups and place on the lowest rack of the air fryer. Cook about 6 to 7 minutes, until the tops are set but it still feels a little soft in the center.
4. Turn out the cakes: Remove and let cool a few minutes before flipping out onto a plate. If you used silicone muffin cups, they should come out easily. If you used ramekins, you will need to run a knife around the outer edge to loosen.
5. Garnish: Sprinkle with powdered sweetener or cocoa powder, or top with lightly sweetened whipped cream.
6. Dig in!
Expert Tips
It’s important to note that every model of air fryer is a little different and cooks differently. So it may take you a few tries to get this right for your particular model. But that’s okay, the results are delicious whether they are a little too firm or not firm enough!
Air fryers tend to force heat from the top rather than the bottom like conventional ovens. So if you have a multi-level air fryer (I love my Instant Vortex!), you want to make sure to cook the cakes on the lowest level. This helps avoid them getting overcooked on top before they are set on the bottom.
Do make sure that you grease whatever molds you are using, be it large silicone muffin cups or ramekins. Ramekins conduct heat differently so you will need to let the cakes cool a little longer before flipping them out. You can also simply eat them right out of the ramekin, if they want to stick too much.
One thing I found that made a big difference was using room temperature eggs. With cold eggs, the batter tended to become a little gloppy and didn’t quite bake up as nicely.
No air fryer? Check out the oven instructions in the recipe card!
Sweetener Options
As mentioned above, I don’t think allulose works very well in these keto lava cakes. It made them puff up alarmingly while baking, and they had a strange, spongy quality. Xylitol will likely have a similar texture, although I can’t say for sure because I didn’t try it.
I do think Swerve Confectioners works best. But if you’re looking to cut back on the erythritol, you can switch out some of it for pure monk fruit extract. I played around with it and found I could do 2 tablespoons of Swerve and 1/8 teaspoon or so of monk fruit powder. You may even be able to do all monk fruit if you can tolerate it (I find it has too strong an aftertaste for me).
I really really don’t recommend stevia here, as it tends to be very bitter when combined with chocolate.
Frequently Asked Questions
Cooking lava cake in an air fryer is easy and delicious. And it speeds up the process! But please read all the extra tips to make sure your air fryer lava cakes come out perfectly.
Conventional lava cake has upwards of 25g of carbs per serving. But this keto air fryer lava cake has only 3.5g of carbs and 2g of fiber per serving. Which means it has only 1.5g of carbs per serving.
I don’t recommend it. Once baked, these air fryer lava cakes keep firming up as they cool, so they are best served immediately. The batter tends to thicken as it sits and cools, so it doesn’t do well if you store the unbaked cakes either.
Air Fryer Keto Lava Cakes
Equipment
Ingredients
- 1/4 cup (56.75 g) butter
- 3 tbsp (15.22 g) cocoa powder
- 3 tbsp (18.26 g) Swerve Confectioners , (see Expert tips for more sweetener options)
- Pinch salt
- 1 large egg, room temperature
- 1 large egg yolk, room temperature
- 1/4 tsp vanilla extract
- 1 tbsp warm water or coffee
Instructions
- Preheat the air fryer to 350ºF. Lightly grease two jumbo-sized silicone muffin cups. (You can also use 4-ounce ramekins but the cakes may not release as easily.)
- In a medium microwave-safe bowl, melt the butter. Stir in the cocoa powder, sweetener, and salt until smooth.
- Add the egg and egg yolk and whisk until well combined. Don't worry if the mixture becomes a little gloppy. Whisk in the vanilla extract and the warm liquid until you have a smooth batter.
- Divide the batter between the two prepared muffin cups and place on the lowest rack of the air fryer. Cook about 6 to 7 minutes, until the tops are set but it still feels a little soft in the center.
- Remove and let cool a few minutes before flipping out onto a plate. If you used silicone muffin cups, they should come out easily. If you used ramekins, you will need to run a knife around the outer edge to loosen.
Notes
Nutrition
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Carolyn, once again you have outdone yourself! These lava cakes were so easy and delicious. They came out perfect and I used two very well greased with butter ramekins. Thanks for taking out all the guesswork.
Looks delicious and easy to make! 😋
I made these in ceramic ramekins and 7 minutes in the air fryer was just perfect! This one is another keeper! Thanks Carolyn, hubby and me greatly appreciate all you do!
Just tried these, Carolyn – good result first time! I used ramekins and think I overcooked a little (could have been a bit more gooey), but that’s on me for not sufficiently trusting your instructions, lol.
They’re so easy to whip up when that urge for a decadent dessert hits – thanks! 🙂
Oh em gee. These remind me of the chocolate upside-down cake from the Betty Crocker cookbook that my my sister & I used to make – and wipe out!
Sooo good!
After the first 3 times, I decided to use the 4-oz silicon cups. I made 3 little cakes. And promptly ate 2. So much for portion control! ;-0
Yummy!!! Put 1 sliced fresh strawberry on top . Thanks- this is a keeper!!! Easy ,fast and delicious- wow
getting ready for Valentines day so thought I would give this a go in the air fryer. it worked out great in glass ramekins but I’ll see if I can get some silicone. I have a coffee protein ice cream in the freezer to run through my creami to accompany! yum and yum! thank you!
If it worked in your ramekins, that’s great! I had trouble with my ceramic ones, that’s why I opted for the silicone molds.
Carolyn, would you share with me the brand of cocoa powder you use? I would appreciate it. We have all your books and really enjoy your recipes and appreciate all your efforts in creating good food.
The cocoa I have purchased is Ghirardelli but yours looks richer.
I think it’s linked in the recipe. But I really like the Guittard brand.
Wow, what a great recipe! You spend a lot of time and “trial and error” with each of your recipes. Testing each one (someone has to do it!) to get the perfect result! Everyone of your recipes turns out Perfect, so you are doing your job well! Thanks for that. Please continue sending such good ideas to help me and many others on the “Keto track” Kathy