In this episode of Sprung On Food actor, writer, and musician Maddie Ballard joins to discuss the history of molten lava cake, with her own childhood memories at a San Jose Chili’s to her mom’s homemade ramekin version (though Maddie says Chili’s wins on taste thanks to caramel on top and surprisingly large portions). Kae explains what molten lava cake is and its alternate names, then traces its modern origins to 1980s France with chef Michel Bras’s technical frozen-ganache “coulant au chocolat,” and to a 1987 New York happy accident by Jean-Georges Vongerichten that became the Chocolate Valrhona Cake. They discuss creativity, consistency, and inspiration, the dessert’s spread through 1990s fine dining, Disney World, chain restaurants, and freezer aisles, and its pop-culture moments in Chef, baking competitions, Starbucks, and dedicated lava-cake shops.

You can follow and support this week's guest, Maddie Ballard here:

https://www.instagram.com/themaddieballard/

See behind the scenes photos and video here: http://instagram.com/sprungonfood

Check back for new episodes, and make sure to also subscribe: https://www.youtube.com/@iamsprung

You can also learn more and follow Kae Sprung here:
Website: http://katherinesprung.com
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/iamsprung
TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@iamsprung

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About the show:
Sprung On Food is a digital and podcast series, hosted by Katherine "Kae" Sprung, an award-winning pastry chef and food and media entrepreneur. This season, we're talking about favorite foods- the history behind them and the role they play in the world today. Each episode features a special guest to talk about their favorite food, and help comment on the historical origins and pop-cultural and modern society moments tied to that food. Its food history meets food pop-culture, a dose of education, with sprinkles of comedy.

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00:00 Molten Lava Cake Intro
00:44 Chili's Origin Story
01:56 Portion Size Debate
02:36 Chili's Car Mukbang Trend
04:33 Mom's Homemade Lava Cakes
07:13 What Is Lava Cake
09:05 Funny New Cake Names
11:21 French Origins Michel Bras
13:16 Desserts By Generation
15:37 Merch And Popup Ideas
16:13 Molten Cake Origin Story
18:21 Right Place Right Time
19:55 Finding Creative Sparks
24:14 Copycats And Culinary Roots
26:45 Inspiration Vs Copying
29:43 From Fine Dining To Frozen
31:17 Trends And Going Mainstream
33:15 Why Lava Cake Endures
36:01 Pop Culture Lava Moments
38:24 Final Thoughts And Farewell