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 during the fall season. Instead of pie, pumpkin caramel lava cakes could be a new featured Thanksgiving dessert at your table. Just a thought.
Preheat the oven to 425.
Stir together the dry ingredients (flour, spices, baking powder, and baking soda).
In a separate bowl, mix the pumpkin, sugars, vegetable oil, eggs, and vanilla.
Combine the wet ingredients with the dry ingredients and stir until the mixture is uniform throughout.
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.
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!
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).
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.
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.
Personal pumpkin cakes with gooey caramel centers.
Preheat the oven to 425 degrees.
Stir the flour, spices, baking powder, and baking soda together.
In a separate bowl, mix together the pumpkin, both sugars, vegetable oil, eggs, and vanilla extract.
Combine the dry and wet ingredients.
In a double boiler, melt the caramels with the heavy cream. Once melted, let cool slightly while preparing the ramekins.
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.
Pour 3/4 c of cake batter into each ramekin.
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.
Bake for 18 – 20 minutes. Let the cakes cool for a few minutes in the ramekins before turning them out onto dessert plates.
Serving recommendations: whipped cream, caramel drizzle, and/or ice cream!
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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.