You won’t believe how easy it is to make molten chocolate lava cakes at home. They are the perfect individual desserts that are purposefully slightly undercooked, resulting in a gooey and melty chocolate center that oozes out when you cut into it.
Perfect for both special occasions such as Valentine’s Day or Mother’s Day or a regular weekend, these molten chocolate cakes are so easy to whip together. You only need some pantry staples, making them perfect as a last-minute dessert. Try my brownie bites recipe, chocolate bundt cake recipe, or chocolate souffle recipe for another chocolatey dessert.
What You Need to Make This Recipe
Butter — be sure to use unsalted butter, so the lava cakes do not end up overly salty.
Chocolate — I like using a dark chocolate, like bittersweet chocolate, but if you prefer a less intense chocolate flavor, you can use semi-sweet chocolate instead. I recommend using a high-quality baking chocolate bar such as Ghirardelli, and not chocolate chips, so you get the best smooth and melty centers.
Eggs — this lava cake recipe calls for two eggs and two egg yolks. The extra yolks add richness and creaminess to the texture of the lava. The whole egg helps bake up a perfectly soft and cakey exterior. Save the leftover egg whites to make my meringue cookies recipe or my Eton mess recipe.
Flour — you do not need a lot of flour for these lava cakes. The flour provides structure, but too much will compromise the molten centers.
How to Make Chocolate Lava Cake
1. Combine the butter and chopped chocolate in a double boiler and melt over low heat, stirring until smooth. Alternatively, place the butter and chocolate in a microwave-safe bowl and microwave on high, stirring every 30-seconds until melted.
2. In a large mixing bowl, combine the eggs, egg yolks, sugar, and salt. Beat on medium speed until thick and pale yellow.
3. Add the melted chocolate mixture and flour into the egg mixture.
4. Fold together the mixture until well combined.
5. Transfer the batter into the prepared ramekins. Bake for 6 to 8 minutes or until the sides of the cakes are firm set, but the center is jiggly. Let the cakes cool in the ramekins for 1 minute.
6. Place a small dessert plate over the top of each ramekin and carefully flip it over, inverting the chocolate lava cake onto the plate. Let stand for about 10 seconds, then remove the ramekin to unmold the cakes. Sift powdered sugar on top and garnish with berries, if desired. Serve immediately.
Pro Tips for Making This Recipe
- Do not pack the flour into the measuring spoon. Fluff the flour and then sprinkle it into the tablespoons, or measure it with a scale. You do not want to add too much flour to the lava cake batter as it’ll make the center firm.
- Make sure the oven is fully heated before adding the ramekins inside. The high temperature helps the exterior of the cake bake faster than the inside. This leaves you with the exterior perfectly cooked while the chocolate lava filling stays gooey!
- Use room temperature eggs, so they mix into the batter without over-mixing. Place your eggs in a bowl of warm tap water if they are cold.
- Keep a very close eye on the chocolate lava cakes in the oven as you do not want them to overbake. The center should still be jiggy.
Frequently Asked Questions
What are some serving ideas?
Serve these molten chocolate cakes warm topped with a scoop of vanilla ice cream and a drizzle of hot fudge sauce or with a generous helping of whipped cream. Fresh berries or sprinkles are a great garnish as well. I also like drizzling some caramel over the top of the cakes as well!
Can I make this ahead of time?
You can prepare the molten lava cake recipe batter ahead of time. The center will start firming up as the cakes set, so they may not have the iconic lava centers if baked too far in advance. You can prepare the batter, cover tightly, and refrigerate the filled ramekins for up to 2 days. Bring the ramekins to room temperature before baking.
Can I freeze these lava cakes?
You can! Freeze baked and completely cooled lava cakes in an airtight freezer-safe container for up to 3 months. To reheat, microwave from frozen until warmed through.
What if I don’t have ramekins?
If you don’t have ramekins, you can use a muffin pan for baking the cakes. They will take less time as the muffin pan is thinner than a ramekin. Start checking them after 5 minutes to ensure you bake up gooey chocolate molten lava cakes!
If you love this recipe try these out!
If you’ve tried this Chocolate Lava Cake recipe, then don’t forget to rate the recipe and let me know how you got on in the comments below, I love hearing from you!
Chocolate Lava Cake
Video
Equipment
- Ramekins
- Baking Sheet
- Double boiler
- Electric or stand mixer
- Mixing Bowls
Ingredients
- ½ cup unsalted butter (113g)
- 6 ounces bittersweet chocolate chopped (168g)
- 2 large eggs
- 2 large egg yolks
- ¼ cup granulated sugar (50g)
- ⅛ teaspoon salt
- 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 450F. Butter and lightly flour 6 (4- to 5-ounce) ramekins and place them on a baking sheet.
- Combine the butter and chocolate in a double boiler and melt over low heat, stirring until smooth. Or, place the butter and chocolate in a microwave-safe bowl and microwave on high, stirring every 30-seconds until melted. Whisk together until smooth.
- In a large mixing bowl, combine the eggs, egg yolks, sugar, and salt. Beat on medium speed until thick and pale yellow. Fold the chocolate mixture and flour into the egg mixture until well combined. Divide the batter among the prepared ramekins.
- Bake for 6 to 8 minutes or until the sides of the cakes are firm set but the center is jiggly. Let the cakes cool in the ramekins for 1 minute.
- Place a small dessert plate over the top of each ramekin and carefully turn it over, inverting the cake onto the plate. Let stand for about 10 seconds, then remove the ramekin to unmold the cakes. Sift powdered sugar on top and garnish with berries, if desired. Serve immediately.
Notes
- Do not pack the flour into the measuring spoon. Fluff the flour and then sprinkle it into the tablespoons. You do not want to add too much flour to the lava cake batter as it’ll make the center firm.
- Make sure the oven is fully heated before adding the ramekins inside. The high temperature helps the exterior of the cake bake faster than the inside. This leaves you with the exterior perfectly cooked while the chocolate lava filling stays gooey!
- Use room temperature eggs, so they mix into the batter without over-mixing. Place your eggs in a bowl of warm tap water if they are cold.
- Keep a very close eye on the lava cakes in the oven as you do not want them to overbake. The center should still be jiggy.
Thank you John, my children love it after I bake and give them 🙏♥️
Made this recipe twice in one week. So good!!!
It came out perfectly!!! So delicious and so easy to make! Will definitely make this many more times! Thank you!
Loved this recipe!!!
One question – the cake had firmed on the top and I took them out after 8 minutes, cooled them for a bit before getting them out on the dessert plate. However, a couple of cakes broke in the process and there was also a bit of cake residue at the bottom of the ramekin. Should I leave them in the oven to bake a bit longer?
The ones that remained intact were PERFECT!
I am going to make these later today. I can hardly wait to try them… Thanks.
Came out PERFECT. I LOVE YOU JOHN!!!
Thank you Ariana!
Absolutely delicious recipe!
One question – I left it in the oven for 8 minutes and it was done from the top (even spackled). So I took it out and inverted it on to the plate per the recipe but the molten chocolate oozed right out.
What could be the issue – ramekins not greased enough or does it need more time in the oven?
It might have been the greasing as the cakes may have broken when inverted?
What a gorgeous treat! I made this for father´s day and my spouse loved it, thank you John!
Question: when reheating, should the lava cake still be in the ramekin?
I think it would reheat either way, I might try outside the container.
The taste is damn good, first time trying of the recipe and I really love it.
Just face a small problem that my lava cake came out looking different, suspect it might be temperature problem on baking ( using a 200 degree Celsius of microwave oven)
Very good