Pumpkin Caramel Lava Cake
It took a few attempts but I finally perfected a pumpkin caramel lava cake. A personal-sized pumpkin cake with a molten lava caramel center is perfection. In the words of my toddler who tried the cake today, “It’s my favorite,” though she has said that about a handful of my desserts.
This recipe will wow dinner guests and is wonderful to make in the fall. Instead of pie, pumpkin caramel lava cakes could be a new featured Thanksgiving dessert at your table—just a thought.
Step 1
Preheat the oven to 425.
Step 2
Stir together the dry ingredients (flour, spices, baking powder, and baking soda).
Step 3
In a separate bowl, mix the pumpkin, sugars, vegetable oil, eggs, and vanilla.
Step 4
Combine the wet ingredients with the dry ingredients and stir until the mixture is uniform throughout.
Step 5
Melt the caramels in a double boiler (or in a mixing bowl placed on top of a pot of boiling water) with the heavy cream. Once melted, remove from heat and allow to cool slightly while completing the next step.
Step 6
Prepare your ramekins. Spray (with non-stick spray) and flour the ramekins. I also like to place a parchment round in the bottom of each ramekin. This ensures extra easy removal!
Step 7
Fill each ramekin with 3/4 cup of batter. Place a tablespoon of the caramel mixture in the center of the batter and push down (I did this with my fingers).
Step 8
Bake for 18 – 20 minutes. Let cool for a few minutes in the ramekins before turning the cakes out onto dessert plates.
If you would like to eat the cakes at a later time you can wrap up each ramekin with plastic wrap and put them in the refrigerator. Then, when you are ready, take the wrap off, flip the cake onto a plate, and microwave for one minute.
To Serve:
Whipped cream is always a great idea to put on top, especially if you need to hide any imperfections. I personally liked having my pumpkin caramel lava cake with eggnog ice cream. When in doubt, just drizzle more caramel on top.
Enjoy!
Personal pumpkin cakes with gooey caramel centers.
- 1 3/4 cup flour
- 1 3/4 tsp cinnamon
- 1/2 tsp nutmeg
- 1/2 tsp ginger
- 1/4 tsp ground cloves
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 1 tsp baking soda
- 15 oz pumpkin
- 3/4 c sugar
- 3/4 c brown sugar
- 1 c vegetable oil
- 4 eggs
- 1 tsp vanilla
- 16 caramels unwrapped
- 3 tbsp heavy cream
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Preheat the oven to 425 degrees.
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Stir the flour, spices, baking powder, and baking soda together.
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In a separate bowl, mix together the pumpkin, both sugars, vegetable oil, eggs, and vanilla extract.
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Combine the dry and wet ingredients.
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In a double boiler, melt the caramels with the heavy cream. Once melted, let cool slightly while preparing the ramekins.
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Prepare the ramekins by spraying them with non-stick spray and coating them in a light layer of flour. You may also want to add a parchment round to the bottom.
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Pour 3/4 c of cake batter into each ramekin.
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Take one tablespoon of melted caramel and place it in the center of the cake batter for each ramekin. Push the caramel down into the cake batter.
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Bake for 18 – 20 minutes. Let the cakes cool for a few minutes in the ramekins before turning them out onto dessert plates.
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Serving recommendations: whipped cream, caramel drizzle, and/or ice cream!
Looking for more Thanksgiving inspiration? Take a look at my Piecaken recipe (yes, that’s a pie baked inside a cake!). Or head over to my 50+ Thanksgiving Desserts post!
that looks so delicious!! making me want to have some right now!!
Thank you, I think this recipe is perfect for this time of year.