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+ servings

Chocolate Lava Cakes

Chocolate Molten Lava Cakes are decadently rich but wonderfully easy with only 5 ingredients! Molten Lava Cakes look impressive but are super easy to make!  They take less than 10 minutes to whip up and only require one bowl and a whisk to prepare! 
Course Dessert
Cuisine American
Prep Time 15 minutes
Cook Time 12 minutes
Total Time 27 minutes
Servings 4

Ingredients

  • 4 6-8 oz. custard cups/ramekins
  • 1/2 cup salted butter (or unsalted butter + 1/4 tsp salt)
  • 4 oz. semi-sweet baking chocolate, roughly chopped (I HIGHLY recommend Ghirardelli)
  • 1 cup powdered sugar
  • 2 whole eggs, at room temperature
  • 2 egg yolks, at room temperature
  • 1/3 cup flour + 1 tablespoon

For serving (Optional, pick your favs)

  • powdered sugar
  • fresh berries
  • vanilla ice cream

Instructions

  • Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Generously spray 4 small ramekins/custard cups with nonstick baking spray WITH flour or grease and dust your cups with cocoa powder. Place cups on a baking sheet.
  • Add butter and baking chocolate to a large microwave-safe bowl and microwave for 1 minute, or until butter is melted, then stir until butter and chocolate are completely smooth.
  • Stir in sugar until smooth. Add eggs and egg yolks, then beat for 1 minute with a handheld whisk. Fold in flour just until combined.
  • Evenly spoon batter into prepared cups (I use a large cookie scoop). Bake for 11-13 minutes at 425 degrees F, or until the sides are firm but the centers look slightly shiny and jiggly but are not wet to the touch.
  • Let cool for 2 minutes, then gently loosen cakes from custard cups by sliding a knife around the edges of each cake; then invert cakes onto serving plates.
  • Dust with powdered sugar or top with ice cream and berries if desired. Serve immediately (because the cakes will continue to cook in the center).

Video

Notes

  • To use a muffin tin:  The muffin cups in a standard muffin pan/cupcake pan are 4 ounces, smaller than our 6-ounce ramekins. Therefore, you will need to divide the batter between 6 muffin cups instead of 4 and bake for 8-10 minutes. Use a butter knife, spoon or offset spatula to release the cakes from the pan and place each upside down on individual plates (and don’t forget to grease your muffin pan!).
  • Use quality chocolate: It is CRUCIAL to use quality baking chocolate for this recipe or your filling will be grainy and you may miss the lava center completely.  Set yourself up for success by using QUALITY baking chocolate such as Ghirardelli brand. Baking chocolate is cooled, hardened chocolate liquor with a high percentage of cocoa butter because it’s intended to be baked with and therefore melts beautifully, whereas, chocolate chips contain less cocoa butter and will not melt seamlessly.
  • Room temperature eggs hack: Add warm (not hot) tap water to a bowl then add eggs (still in their shells) for at least 20 minutes. 
  • Scoop and level flour: Whenever you measure flour, don’t scoop it into the flour bag/container or else the flour will compress; packed flour yields denser, drier Molten Lava Cakes. Rather, fluff, then scoop the flour into a measuring cup with a spoon and then level.
  • Evenly divide the batter: It's important that you add the same amount of batter to each ramekin so the cakes bake evenly. You can use a measuring cup, cookie scoop or kitchen scale to help.
  • Can I reheat baked Molten Lava Cake?  Molten Chocolate Lava Cakes are best enjoyed hot, immediately after removed from the oven. When you reheat them, you are cooking the center, so it is more likely to be fudgy instead of like "lava."  However, I have had success by slicing into the cake immediately after it is baked and allowing some of the lava to stream out of the cake before cooling and refrigerating. When you heat the sliced cake, the streaming lava will remain liquidy.

Prep Ahead

I love that Molten Lava Cakes are prep ahead friendly for stress free entertaining. You have a few options to prep ahead:
  • Prepared batter: Prepare the batter according to directions, cover the mixing bowl tightly with plastic wrap and store it for up to two days in the refrigerator. Bring to room temperature before adding to ramekins.
  • Individual ramekins: I suggest lining the bottoms of the ramekins with parchment paper before spraying with non-stick spray with flour. This ensures your cakes don’t stick to the bottom of the ramekins after sitting for a longer period of time prior to cooking.  Next, add the batter, cover with plastic wrap, and refrigerate for up to one day. When ready to bake, set the ramekins on the counter for 30 minutes to help come to room temperature. I've had some readers say the Molten Lava Cakes take a little longer to bake this way, closer to 15-20 minutes, so check for doneness early, but be flexible.
  • Frozen batter: Again, line the ramekins with parchment paper. Transfer the batter to the ramekins, cover with plastic wrap and freeze for up to 3 months. Thaw in the refrigerator overnight before baking.