For me, the charm and deliciousness of a Lava Cake is in it's individual presentation. If you're looking for a cake made in a jelly roll pan with warm oozy chocolatey goodness in the middle, like is served at (for example) Home Town Buffet or Soup Plantation, there are probably loads of online recipes for that.

Here's a link that may be helpful: Molten Chocolate Lava Cake

I found a picture, but it shows a swirled tree of what must be soft serve or whipped cream and what looks like a bunch of large cake or brownie crumbs.

Generally, molten lava cake is made in individual molds or ramekins so that the goo is completely contained in the crust of cake. Why bother making it if you're going to do it in a sheet pan? Instead, why not make the cake as cake in any kind of pan you favor and just heat up some chocolate ganache and pour it on? Or is that what they so at Sweet Tomatoes? Just give you a pile of crumbs and ganache?

My first thought was pretty much what plllog mentioned about individual ramekins holding in the filling. Seems it would be oozing all over if baked and cut in a sheet pan. However, something like the recipe sooz posted could work.

My first thought was pretty much what plllog mentioned about individual ramekins holding in the filling. Seems it would be oozing all over if baked and cut in a sheet pan. Maybe the recipe sooz posted would work for you.

You are right. Probably wouldn't look that elegant when cut either! Any other suggestions for a V-day dessert for 12-14 people? Every year I make éclair cake -- huge hit but I'm tired of it.

It would be a gooey mess for the "filling" would be all over the plate. It needs to be fixed in individual ramekins. A wow dessert but not chocolate is a pavlova roll -- it has a wow factor and is delicious plus it can be made ahead!

And I have seen a chocolate one from Mary Berry if you MUST have chocolate. They're not all that hard -- a bit "fussy" -- it's not mix, throw in a pan and you're done type of dessert! But it's worth the effort. I've not made the chocolate one but that may be my Valentine's dessert this year!

Here's a link to the recipe:

http://www.wiveswithknives.net/2010/05/04/strawberry-hazelnut-pavlova-roll/

Martha's pictures are beautiful, but beware the climate. Pavlova does not play happily with high humidity.

You can dress up any dessert you want to make for Valentine's day. Why not start with what you want to eat and bake, and then let's brainstorm how to make it fancy enough.

I tend to go simple, like heart sugar cookies iced pale pink using pomegranate juice as the liquid, and berries.

Something people oooh and aaah over, though I'm not sure why because it's dead easy, is the thousand crepe cake or cake of crepes, which sound fancier in French, but I'm not awake enough to spell. You can (should) make the crepes the day before and stack them on a sheet pan or cardboard with parchment paper or similar between, in the fridge. I just use pastry cream (custard) between the layers, but you could do coulis, ganache, or anything else that you'd ordinarily think to put on a crepe which is wet enough to spread nicely (use a piping bag to make layering easy). Go at least a dozen layers. And you can make the crepes a little on the thick side.

You can make chocolate bowls filled with novelties and berries.

You can make just a darned good cake.

A stunning recipe for an awesome dessert is a flourless Chocolate Cake. A sliver of cake, topped with raspberry coulis and whipped cream, garnished with a bright mint leaf, can be stunning. You can easily get 16 slices (slivers! it's VERY rich and decadent!) out of the recipe. It's also called flourless Chocolate Orbit Cake.

Here's how I served it the last time, with fresh blueberries and whipped cream (didn't have any mint leaves).

Link: David Leibovitz's Flourless Chocolate Cake aka Chocolate Orbit Cake

How about a sheet pie? One bottom crust and filling over that, and then usually a line-design of frosting after it cools. Cut into squares and serve. I have several recipes if you can't find one you like.

Perfect! I'm always wary of that kind of thing, though I know some are supposed to be good. That you've had it yourself and liked it, what could be better than something great that you don't have to make!