Molten Lava Cakes

Cakes & Cupcakes
February 6, 2023
Cakes & Cupcakes
February 6, 2023

Molten Lava Cakes

  • Prep time: 15 min
  • Cook time: 10 min
  • Total time: 25 min

Indulge in a decadent dessert with this easy and delicious molten lava cakes recipe. These warm, gooey cakes are made with a rich chocolate center that flows out as you cut into them.  Serve with a scoop of ice cream or a dusting of powdered sugar for an extra touch of indulgence.

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Molten Lava Cakes

Indulge in a decadent dessert with this easy and delicious molten lava cakes recipe. These warm, gooey cakes are made with a rich chocolate center that flows out as you cut into them.  Serve with a scoop of ice cream or a dusting of powdered sugar for an extra touch of indulgence.

molten lava cakes

Molten Lava Cakes

The only thing better than chocolate cake is an individual chocolate cake with a molten chocolate center. Duh. These warm, gooey molten lava cakes are made with a rich chocolate interior that flows out as you cut into them. A perfect balance of sweet and bitter, they are sure to satisfy any sweet tooth. Serve with a scoop of vanilla ice cream or a dusting of powdered sugar to really push them over the edge!

molten lava cakes with powdered sugar

What ingredients do you need to make molten lava cakes?

You’ll need just 9 simple ingredients to whip up these decadent molten chocolate lava cakes. Don’t be fooled though these 9 ingredients come together to form the most rich, chocolatey, indulgent lava cake:

  • Unsalted Butter:  Like most rich desserts, you’ll need butter to make these lava cakes buttery and moist. If you don’t have unsalted butter on hand, you can always use salted butter and omit the salt in the recipe!
  • Light Brown Sugar: Light brown sugar provides sweetness and moisture which will perfectly complement the flavor the chocolate and keep your lava cakes soft and moist.
  • Granulated Sugar: Granulated sugar will provide the perfect sweetness to your lava cakes!
  • Chocolate Chips: Of course molten chocolate lava cakes need, well, chocolate! We like using chocolate chips because it’s way easier than having to chop up chocolate bars. Make sure you’re using a high quality chocolate chip like Ghiarardelli or Guittard for best results!
  • Eggs: You’ll need both eggs and egg yolks to make these decadent molten lava cakes! Eggs will give them the perfect rise and structure, while the egg yolks keep your lava cakes supremely soft and gooey.
  • Vanilla extract: Vanilla extract will deepen the flavor of your lava cakes and make them taste seriously gourmet.
  • Cocoa Powder: Most lava cake recipes use flour, but we like to use a combination of cocoa powder and flour to make them uber chocolatey!
  • All Purpose Flour: You’ll need just a little bit of all purpose flour to give your lava cakes a tender crumb. If you’re gluten free you can swap it out for gluten free flour or more cocoa powder!
  • Salt: A little salt will balance out all that sweetness and rich chocolate!

molten lava cakes with vanilla ice cream

What vessel should you cook your molten lava cakes in?

We like to make our lava cakes in ramekins (specifically these 6-ounce ramekins that are also perfect for homemade crème brûlée or a soufflé if you’re feeling fancy), but if you’re in a pinch you can also use a muffin pan! Of course you can eat your lava cakes right out of the ramekin, but it’s so much more fun to to turn them out and serve them up real pretty like a fancy restaurant. In order to guarantee your lava cakes don’t stick to your ramekins, we recommend generously buttering them and then coating them lightly in cocoa powder. I’ve tried using cooking spray too, and it gets the job done, but not as well as buttering and cocoa-in your ramekins! This will create the perfect barrier between your molten lava cakes and ceramic so that when you invert the cakes they release easily!

molten lava cakes with chocolate center

How to serve your molten chocolate lava cakes

Molten lava cakes should always be served hot and fresh out of the oven to keep their centers at prime gooeyness. As soon as they come out of the oven, run a butter knife around the edges for an easy release. Let the lava cakes cool for a few minutes until the ramekins are cool enough to touch to turn the cakes out. Once the cakes are out, I like to serve them with one (or all!) of the following:

  • Vanilla Ice Cream
  • Powdered Sugar
  • Fresh Berries (I love raspberries or strawberries!)
  • Whipped Cream
  • Homemade Caramel Sauce
  • More chocolate sauce

molten lava cake with powdered sugar

Happy baking, my friends!

XXX

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Molten Lava Cakes

5 Stars 4 Stars 3 Stars 2 Stars 1 Star 5 from 12 reviews

Indulge in a decadent dessert with this easy and delicious molten lava cakes recipe. These warm, gooey cakes are made with a rich chocolate center that flows out as you cut into them.  Serve with a scoop of ice cream or a dusting of powdered sugar for an extra touch of indulgence.

Indulge in a decadent dessert with this easy and delicious molten lava cakes recipe. These warm, gooey cakes are made with a rich chocolate center that flows out as you cut into them.  Serve with a scoop of ice cream or a dusting of powdered sugar for an extra touch of indulgence.

  • Author: Sofi | Broma Bakery
  • Prep Time: 15 minutes
  • Cook Time: 10 minutes
  • Total Time: 25 minutes
  • Yield: 6 lava cakes
  • Category: dessert
  • Method: oven
  • Cuisine: american
  • Author: Sofi | Broma Bakery
  • Prep Time: 15 minutes
  • Cook Time: 10 minutes
  • Total Time: 25 minutes
  • Yield: 6 lava cakes
  • Category: dessert
  • Method: oven
  • Cuisine: american
Units:

Ingredients

  • 1/2 cup unsalted butter
  • 1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips (I used Ghirardelli)
  • 1/4 cup light brown sugar, packed
  • 1/4 cup granulated sugar
  • 2 large eggs
  • 2 large egg yolks
  • 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
  • 2 tablespoons cocoa powder
  • 1 Tablespoon all purpose flour
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt

Instructions

    1. Preheat the oven to 425°F and generously butter 6 6-ounce ramekins on all sides for smaller lava cakes or 4 6-ounce ramekins for larger lava cakes! Lightly dust the inside with cocoa powder and set aside.
    2. Combine the butter and chocolate chips in a microwave safe bowl and microwave in 30 second increments, stirring between each, until fully melted.
    3. In a stand mixer fit with the whisk attachment, beat together the eggs, egg yolks, vanilla extract, and sugars until frothy, and pale in color, about 2 minutes.
    4. Add the chocolate mixture to the eggs and mix to combine.
    5. Add the cocoa powder, flour, and salt and fold until fully incorporated and no streaks of flour remain.
    6. Divide the batter evenly between your prepared ramekins and bake for 10 minutes or until the edges are fully set but the centers are still very gooey.
    7. Allow the lava cakes to cool for a few minutes before running a butter knife along the edges and inverting the cakes onto serving plates. Serve right away with vanilla ice cream or a dusting of powdered sugar!

Notes

  1. If you would like to make 2 lava cakes you can halve this recipe and make it in 2 ramekins!

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  1. I’d be lying if I didn’t say I make these on the weekends and freeze them so I have them for the rest of the week like freaking meal prep. These are amazing, and microwave perfectly for 55 seconds, and then I cover it in ice cream obv. I want to try making these with brown butter next!!! Seems promising. Thanks so so much for another freakin phenomenal recipe!

  2. So delicious and easy to make! They are not too sweet and were great with a scoop of vanilla ice cream. Definitely going into my dessert recipe rotation.






  3. These were amazing! So easy to make. I used dark chocolate chips so they were super rich and chocolatey, will definitely be making again!






  4. This recipe is one of the best I’ve found for chocolate lava cakes. And it’s ready so quickly! Thank you for sharing it. I’m bookmarking this one for sure.

  5. Hi Sofi, Can’t wait to try this recipe! Unfortunately I will be making these in 3.5″ aluminum tins as I am making a bunch – how would you recommend I adjust the cooking time? Thank you!

    • Hi Yolly! I’ve only ever made these in ceramic ramekins so I do think the bake time will change slightly! I’d bake off one and check it at 10 minutes–if it seems set on the edges but still gooey in the middle you’re good to go–if not leave it in for 2 to 5 more minutes to get the bake time right before baking off the rest of them!