Chocolate Cheese Lava Cake

This cake has been a sensation and featured in many Malay blogs in recent times. The most arresting feature of this cake (before you actually dig in) is the name - Chocolate Cheese Lava Berhantu. The last word, berhantu, means haunted. How's that, eh?

With a name like that, it is bound to attract attention. And rightly so as this cake might look benign, but once you take a scoop, you will be forever haunted. LOL!

Yang ni satu bekas aku bedal.

Now look. What you have is a very moist and fudgy chocolate cake base. On top of that is a light and creamy cream cheese layer. And finally, the top most layer is made of a decadent lava-like chocolate ganache.

I was intrigued of course and for the first time in a long time, I was compelled to bake. The recipe uses condensed milk, an ingredient I am not fond of since the days of  Susu Cap Junjung (Milkmaid brand).

So I opted to use another recipe for the moist chocolate cake. My favorite chocolate cake has to be Chocolate Buttermilk Cake but I did not have any buttermilk on hand. So the next best option was this Steamed Fudgy Chocolate Cake which uses evaporated milk.

I used my rectangle glass containers since these were the most suitable receptacle in the house. For the cream cheese layer, the recipe calls for 250g of cream cheese to 500ml of whiping cream. This will result in a super light and creamy cheese layer and this volume can accommodate many cakes.

Since I only had two packets of whipping cream (200ml each), I had to allocate one for the cream cheese and one for the ganache. It turned out very well for me because the cream cheese was just nice for four containers.

When it was time to make the decorative patterns, I was not confident on account of my practically non-existent piping skills. In other words, my piping skills suck. But this easy deco technique is particularly forgiving. My patterns were not perfect but nevertheless I was so impressed with myself hah..hah..

Jadilah Mak oi!

How about this one?

Boleh tahan Cik Kak oi!

Not only is this cake so damn kick ass good, it is easy to serve because you simply present it in the container as is and no slicing is involved. You just scoop your servings free style.

My chocolate lava layer appears quite firm because I have refrigerated this cake overnight. If you eat this cake fresh after a brief chilling, you will get the maximum lava effect. So, if refrigerated, take it out from the fridge about 30 minutes to an hour before serving for the ganache to soften.

Chocolate Cheese Lava Cake

Recipe source : Guided by Masam Manis

Note : I did not follow the source recipe but used it as a guide to build the cake. I used 4 rectangle glass containers, 2 medium and 2 small.

For the moist chocolate cake :

- 100g self raising flour

- 50g cocoa powder

- 180g butter

- 120g brown sugar 

- 200ml evaporated milk

- 1 tsp vanilla extract

- 2 eggs, lightly beaten

Method :

1. Sift flour and cocoa powder and whisk to combine, Set aside.

2. Put butter, sugar, evaporated milk and vanilla extract in a saucepan and heat over low heat to melt the butter and dissolve sugar. Stir until butter is melted and set aside to cool.

3. Once mixture is cool, add beaten eggs and whisk to combine.

4. Pour into the flour/cocoa powder mixture and fold to combine (I used a whisk to mix). The batter is runny.

5. Pour batter into the containers (only half full because we need room to apply cream cheese and ganache layer later).

6. Cover the containers with aluminum foil and steam for 20-25 minutes or until cake is set and toothpick inserted into center comes out with moist crumbs.

7. Leave to cool completely.

Note : If you prefer, you may bake this cake in the oven but use the waterbath method (like baking cheesecake). You need not cover the cake. I baked at 160C for 25 minutes.

For the cream cheese layer :

- 250g cream cheese at room temperature

- 200ml whipping cream (can be straight from the fridge)

Note : Reserve about 2 tbsp of the cream cheese mixture for decoration (optional)

Method :

1. Beat cream cheese until fluffy.

2. Add whipping cream and continue to beat until mixture is thick and creamy (it does not take very long).

To assemble the cake :

1. Once the cake is completely cooled, pipe the cream cheese on top of the cake.

2. Chill the cake in the fridge until cheese layer is firm.

For the chocolate lava (ganache) :

- 200g semi-sweet dark chocolate, broken into smaller pieces

- 200ml whipping cream

- One tablespoon butter

Method :

1. Put chocolate and butter in a heatproof bowl. Set aside.

2. In a saucepan, bring the whipping cream to a boil and pour into the chocolate and butter.

3. Leave to stand for 5 minutes.

4. Gently stir until you get a thick smooth ganache.

5. Leave to cool.

Note : Mix some ganache into the reserved cream cheese mixture to yield a light colored mixture.

Final assembly :

1. Pour the ganache over the cream cheese layer until completely covered.

2. Pipe lines onto the ganache layer and use a toothpick to make feathering patterns.

Note : If you intend to serve immediately, chill the cake briefly to firm up the ganache slightly. If you refrigerate the cake overnight or for a few hours, take it out from the fridge to sit for about 30 minutes to an hour to soften the cream cheese and chocolate lava layer.