Air Fryer Molten Lava Cakes

📝 Ingredients

• 100 g dark chocolate 70%
• 35 g unsalted butter (30 for the batter, 5 for the ramekins)
• 60 g apple purée with no added sugar
• 3 eggs at room temperature
• 40 g caster sugar
• 25 g plain flour
• 2 tsp unsweetened cocoa powder (for the ramekins)
• 1 pinch of salt
• 125 g raspberries (to serve)

🍴 Utensils

• Air fryer
• 4 ramekins (about 8 cm in diameter)
• Bowl
• Whisk
• Spatula
• Flour sifter (or fine sieve)

📖 Steps

1. Generously grease the 4 ramekins with 5 g butter, using your fingertips or a pastry brush, then add the cocoa. Turn them to coat the bottom and sides, then turn them upside down and tap to remove the excess.
2. Break the chocolate into pieces and put them in a bowl with 30 g butter. Melt in the microwave in 30-second bursts on medium power, stirring between each, or in a bain-marie, until smooth and glossy. Leave to cool slightly for 2 minutes.
3. Gently whisk the apple purée into the melted chocolate, then add the sugar and the pinch of salt. The mixture will thicken and turn dull for a moment, which is normal: keep whisking until smooth.
4. Add the eggs one at a time, whisking well after each, until the batter is glossy and smooth again. Use eggs at room temperature: straight from the fridge, they make the chocolate seize and the batter turns grainy.
5. Preheat the air fryer for 3 minutes at 180 °C. Meanwhile, sift the flour over the bowl and fold it in gently with a spatula, just until no white streaks remain: if overmixed, the batter makes dense cakes that are less runny in the middle.
6. Divide the batter between the ramekins, filling them three-quarters full. Place them in the air fryer basket without touching (in two batches if the basket is small) and cook for 9 minutes at 180 °C.
7. Check they are done: the top should be domed and set at the edges but still wobbly in the centre when you gently shake the ramekin. If the whole surface is still liquid, cook for one more minute, no longer.
8. Leave to rest for 1 minute, run a knife blade around the edge, place a dessert plate on top of the ramekin and flip it over in one swift movement to turn out. Serve immediately with the raspberries: the centre sets as it cools.