(Evidently the cake pans I used were not exactly the same size, even though they're both 9" pans. This resulted in the cake looking slightly off-kilter)
Inspired from hearing stories of the cake my husband's grandmother used to make for him on his birthday, I really wanted to recreate it as best as I could. So I found a good recipe for a rich chocolate cake to use as my base, and I got to work. With oozing chocolate in every bite, this is reminiscent of a lava cake - but the lava sits on top rather than in the center. Oh, and it's also filled with strawberry jam.
Just be warned - volcanos are dangerous, and so is this freaking thing. It's unexpectedly light, and you'll be grabbing for so many servings that it'll be gone before you know it!
Prep Time: 15 Minutes | Cook Time: 35 Minutes [+1-2 hours for cake to cool]| Total Time: 110-170 Minutes
Special Equipment
Two 9" Round Cake Pans
Electric Hand Mixer
2 large Mixing Bowls
1 Whisk or Rubber Spatula
1 small Saucepan
1 Spoon
Cooking Spray
1 large Cooling Rack (or use two large plates if unavailable)
1 Cake Stand (or large plate if unavailable)
Ingredients (US Standard)
Cake (Dry Ingredients)
2 cups All Purpose Flour
2 cups Granulated Sugar
3/4 cup Unsweetened Cocoa Powder
2tsp Baking Powder
1 1/2 tsp Baking Soda
1tsp Salt
1tsp Decaf Espresso Powder (I drink this kind so I had it handy - use what you have on hand or sub with instant coffee!)
Cake (Wet Ingredients)
1 cup Milk (or milk substitute of choice - IE Unsweetened Vanilla Almond Milk)
1/2 cup Coconut Oil (or cooking oil of choice)
2 large Eggs, room temperature*
2tsp Vanilla Extract
1 cup Boiling Water
Topping / Filling
1 (12.8oz) Jar of Hershey's Hot Fudge Topping
About 1/2 of a 17oz jar of Welch's Natural Strawberry Spread (or sub with strawberry jam of choice). Room Temperature.
Ingredients (Metric)
Cake (Dry Ingredients)
240g All Purpose Flour
400g Granulated Sugar
60g Unsweetened Cocoa Powder
2tsp Baking Powder
1 1/2 tsp Baking Soda
1tsp Salt
1tsp Decaf Espresso Powder (I drink this kind so I had it handy - use what you have on hand or sub with instant coffee!)
Cake (Wet Ingredients)
237mL Milk (or milk substitute of choice - IE Unsweetened Vanilla Almond Milk)
120mL Coconut Oil (or cooking oil of choice)
2 large Eggs, room temperature*
10mL Vanilla Extract
237mL Boiling Water
Topping / Filling
1 (12.8oz) Jar of Hershey's Hot Fudge Topping
About 1/2 of a 17oz jar of Welch's Natural Strawberry Spread (or sub with strawberry jam of choice). Room Temperature.
*All metric units are converted and should be considered more or less.
*Note: To get eggs to room temperature, crack them in a bowl and allow them to sit on the counter for about 30 minutes.
Cake Method
Preheat the oven to 350°F. Prep your cake pans by spraying them with cooking spray. Then line with parchment paper. (The cooking spray helps the paper to stay in place).
Place the cup of water into small saucepan and bring to light boil. Turn off the stove and leave saucepan on the burner. Water will remain hot while you prep the cake batter.
Add all dry cake ingredients to a large mixing bowl. (Flour, Sugar, Cocoa, Baking Powder, Baking Soda, Salt, Espresso Powder). Use a whisk or rubber spatula to combine all ingredients until mixture is brown and fully combined (this may take a minute or two).
Now, add the Milk, Oil, Eggs, and Vanilla to a second large mixing bowl. Use the electric hand mixer to combine.
Use your rubber spatula or whisk to create a crater in the center of your dry mixture. Pour the wet mixture into this crater, then beat with the electric hand mixer. Do not overmix, but combine until no dry ingredients remain.
Return to the saucepan of water that you left on the stove. Turn the burner back onto High, until the water comes back to a light boil. This should only take a few seconds, as water will still be hot from Step 2.
Once water is lightly boiling, remove pan from stove and pour it into your batter. Now use your electric hand mixer to beat until water is combined with batter, which will take just a few seconds. (Note: Batter will become very runny at this point, but that is okay. The boiling water allows the cocoa powder to really tie in with the other ingredients.)
Evenly distribute the batter into both cooking pans that were prepped in Step 1. (This recipe makes exactly 6 cups of batter, so approximately 3 cups should go in each pan.)
Bake for 30-35 minutes, until a toothpick or fork comes out clean when inserted into the center.
Remove the cakes from the oven, and allow them to cool in the pans for for 1-2 hours, until no longer warm to the touch. Then, using the parchment paper, transition the cakes onto a cake stand. (Note: Removing the cakes from the pans while still hot will result in the cakes falling apart due to how moist they are. They will become more firm as they cool.)
Filling / Topping Method
Place one of the cakes onto the cake stand. Use a large kitchen spoon to scoop the room temperature strawberry jam onto the top of the cake. Evenly coat the cake with the spoon, until the jam layer is just about 1cm thick (use caution not to make the jam layer too thick, or else the top cake layer may slide - for me, this is about half of a 17oz jar).
Add the second cake layer on top. Use a slight amount of pressure to gently press it into place.
Heat up the Hershey's Hot Fudge Topping per package instructions. (Remove lid, place the jar on a plate, and microwave for about 90 seconds).
Once fudge is hot, use another kitchen spoon to scoop it the top center of the cake. Use the bottom of the spoon to distribute the fudge equally across the top of the cake. Allow the fudge to pool down the sides of the cake in certain parts.
Allow the cake to set for about 10 minutes (so the hot fudge can cool a bit) before serving.
Nutritional Data (With Unsweetened Vanilla Almond Milk)
Servings: 12
Serving Size: 1/12th of cake
Calories: 317 | Protein: 4 | Carbs: 52 | Fiber: 2 | Fats: 11
The cake batter in this recipe is derived from "The Best Chocolate Cake Recipe {Ever}" by Add A Pinch, and was transformed into a family recipe. Please give proper credit if you choose to share this recipe.
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