Molten Chocolate Lava Cake
Jan 31, 2015, Updated May 07, 2023
Fudgy, gooey Molten Chocolate Lava Cake for 2 is the ultimate decadent dessert!
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Happy Weekend guys!
This post of Molten Chocolate Lava Cake has been sitting in my draft folder for almost a month now. Usually if I make something, I post it soon enough but I made this cake a month back and then I made it again because I liked it so much and I thought I would post it closer to Valentine’s Day. But as I was about to post this recipe I had to make it for the 3rd time because I realized I didn’t like the pictures that I had. My blogger friends tell me that I am not crazy and it happens with you too? I mean I had plain round ramekins and I didn’t like the shape of the cake in pictures, so I got new oval ramekins [the advantages of having Sur La Table right below my apartment building!] and made it again. I am still not very happy with the pictures but they are better than what I had.
And in all this, I now realize that I should have posted this recipe long back. Because in all the time that this post has been sitting in my draft, I have seen a number of molten lava cake recipes on Foodgawker and Tastespotting already! And now I feel I am repeating the same thing again but anyway since I had it clicked and edited, I am posting it anyway.
The reason I love this molten chocolate lava cake is because it’s so easy to make. The batter is ready in like 5-10 minutes and this particular recipe makes 2 cakes so it’s just perfect for Valentine’s Day! Also who doesn’t like biting into a gooey warm cake with melted chocolate in the center, with some vanilla ice cream on top? Umm that just made my mouth water! I used semi-sweet chocolate chips for this recipe but you can use any chocolate of your choice. If you use dark baking chocolate bar, just adjust the quantity of sugar in the recipe accordingly. Since semi-sweet chocolate chips are already little sweet we don’t need a lot of sugar here but you will need to add more while baking with a dark chocolate bar or something like that. The key to make this cake perfect lies in the baking time. You need to bake it till the cake is just set around the edges. If you overbake it then there will be no lava and the fun will be gone! You take out the cake when the center still looks a little undone/gooey.
And there’s one more reason why I love this recipe, because you can make this in advance and bake it just before serving! Yes you can make the batter a night in advance, pour it into greased ramekins, cover and keep in the refrigerator. Now when you want to make the cake, take out the ramekins from the refrigerator and let it sit at room temperature for 10-15 minutes and then bake as mentioned in the recipe. Because this cake tastes best when it’s warm, I recommend to bake this just before serving.
And guys there’s one big GIVEAWAY coming on the blog on Monday so make sure to come back and check that out! Have a lovely weekend everyone.
Method
Grease two 6 oz ramekins with butter or spray with a nonstick spray. Preheat oven to 400 F degrees.
Place semi-sweet chocolate chips and butter in a bowl. I just cut the butter into cubes so that it melts easily.
Place a pan half filled with water on stove top. Once the water starts simmering, place the bowl of chocolate and butter over it. The bowl should not touch the water. Keep stirring till the chocolate and butter are completely melted and form a smooth mixture. You can also melt this in a microwave, I just prefer double boiler method.
Remove from stove top, add in the instant coffee, granulated sugar and vanilla into the mixture and whisk till well combined.
Wait for 5 minutes for the mixture to cool down a bit and then add in the egg and egg yolk and mix till well combined. We wait for the mixture to cool down a little because we don’t want to cook the eggs!
Finally add in the flour and mix to form a smooth batter.
Pour batter into the prepared ramekins.
Bake at 400 F degrees for 11-12 minutes. The edges will look done, but the center will still look gooey, that’s when you want to take your cakes out.
Remove from oven and let the cakes sit down at room temperature for 5 minutes and then invert each cake onto the serving plate.
Jazz up your molten chocolate lava cake by dusting it up with some powdered sugar. Place some raspberries on top and serve with a scoop of vanilla ice cream on the side. And then see the magical site of the lava oozing out of the cake as you cut it. Yum!
* This cake tastes the best when it’s warm out of the oven. The warm gooey melted chocolate in the center with some vanilla ice cream make for one decadent dessert.
* You can prepare the batter for this cake in advance and bake just before serving.
* Do not overbake else there’s will be no molten lava in cake!
Molten Chocolate Lava Cake
Ingredients
- ½ cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
- 4 tablespoons unsalted butter cut into cubes
- ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
- ¼ teaspoon instant coffee
- 3 teaspoons granulated sugar
- 2 tablespoons all purpose flour
- 1 large egg at room temperature
- 1 egg yolk at room temperature
To Serve
- confectioners sugar
- berries strawberries or raspberries
- vanilla ice cream
Instructions
- Grease two ramekins with butter or spray with a nonstick spray.
- Preheat oven to 400 F degrees.
- Place semi-sweet chocolate chips and butter in a bowl.
- Place a pan half full with water on stove top. Once the water starts simmering [not boiling], place the bowl of chocolate and butter over it. The bowl should not touch the water.
- Keep stirring till the chocolate and butter are completely melted and form a smooth mixture. You can also melt these using microwave, stirring after every 30 seconds.
- Remove from stove top, add in the instant coffee, granulated sugar and vanilla into the mixture and whisk till well combined.
- Wait for 5 minutes for the mixture to cool down a bit [we don't want to cook the eggs!] and then add in 1 egg and 1 egg yolk and mix till well combined.
- Finally add in the flour and mix to form a smooth batter.
- Pour batter into the prepared ramekins.
- Bake at 400 F degrees for 11-12 minutes. The edges will look done, but the center will still look gooey, that's when you want to take your cakes out.
- Remove from oven and let the cakes sit down at room temperature for 5 minutes.
- Invert each cake onto the serving plate.
- Dust with powdered sugar. Place some raspberries on top and serve with a scoop of vanilla ice cream on the side.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Molten Chocolate Lava Cake
Is there any way to make this eggless?
I have not tested a eggless molten lava cake recipe yet. When I do, I will share it.
Thanks!! waiting for it
These pictures are awesome. They are bright and every bit delicious looking. They are one of kiddos fave dessert.
I totally understand what you are talking about pictures. So many recipes. Cooking being the easiest, but pictures can be a challenging one.
Have a great week. All your previous desserts look amazing.
Thank you so much for the encouraging words Ash! 🙂 The task of clicking pictures..only bloggers can understand! Have a lovely week 🙂
Love that you posted this, it looks so decadent and delicious, Manali! Molten lava cakes are always such a special treat especially around Valentine’s Day and yours looks perfect! That’s awesome that you live so close to Sur La Table too 🙂
Thank you Kelly 🙂 It’s one of my favorite desserts!
so decadent and perfect for Valentine’s day! I love lava cake, anything with chocolate makes me hungry! yumm recipe, Manali! pinned!
Me too Savita..anything with chocolate and I’m sold! lol Thanks for the pin!
I love recipes like this that you can make in advance before serving – makes things that much easier 😉 And these lava cakes look absolutely divine, Manali!! YUM!
I agree..I made these cakes well in advance once we had guests for dinner and baked them right before serving..so easy! 🙂 Thanks Ceara!
Molten lava cakes are the best! I am jealous that you live so close to a Sur La Table!
Thanks Ashley…haha I know I’m lucky that way! 😉
Oh my gosh you live right above a Sur la Table?! LUCKY! I would probably go broke if I lived that closely to one. LOL. And these cakes?! Just stunning! All that gooey chocolate goodness is making me drool!
haha Sarah, no wonder I’m there everyday! I think everyone there recognizes me by now..the perks of living in a downtown I guess! Thank you dear!
Chocolate lava cakes are one of my favorite desserts of all-time, Manali! I absolutely love that you created your own. This looks so gorgeous, and definitely belongs on a restaurant menu! 🙂 Love your presentation! Pinned!
Thanks for the pin Gayle..it’s one of my favorites too! 🙂
Go a little easier on yourself, Manali! The pics and recipe are both fantastic. And we’re all perfectionists, but my guess is that we are also our worst critics. By the way, there can never be too much lava cake. I love it!
Thanks Mir! 🙂 I won’t call myself a perfectionist ..it’s just that sometime my mind is stuck onto something and it won’t rest till I fix it…these molten lava cake pictures were one such thing! you are right we are all our worst critic.
I think you pics are great Manali! And chocolate lava cakes are the best, I can’t believe I’ve never made them! Need to do that soon, they are so good. And you are definitely not alone in remaking something just to take new pictures! I did that last week, and then still wasn’t happy with them but at least they were better. Oh well. That’s the way it goes!
Thanks Stacey.. glad to know I’m not the only crazy one. Seriously sometimes the pictures just look so blah!
This looks incredible Manali! Love how you always add step by step instructions, makes all your recipes seem so easy! I’ll have to see if I can somehow make this vegan 🙂
Glad you like the recipe Vanessa! 🙂 Looking forward to see your vegan version!
If it weren’t so rich, I would eat chocolate lava EVERY DAY! Yours turned out fantastic, Manali.
haha me too Angie! Thank you!
Woah! These cakes look amazing, Manali! I absolutely 100% have those recipes where the pictures just don’t do the recipe justice. Sometimes I’ll spend longer messing with the photos than it took to even make the whole recipe to begin with. But good thing you waited here since you nailed it with these pics! And I wouldn’t worry one bit about seeing other Molten Chocolate Cakes out there. It’s a classic recipe, and it definitely deserves to show up again and again. 🙂
Thank you David! Ahh I knew my blogger friends would understand. It’s funny how we all become so obsessed with food photography overtime. Sometimes I really click like 200 pictures and don’t like a single one! It then becomes such a task to share them on the blog! And thanks so much for the kind words…made me feel better about repeating the recipe!:)
Molten LAVA cake is one of my favorite desserts ever. This is like heaven to my eyes, Manali! I’m SO going to make this—looks creamy, soft and absolutely delicious. Bet they really were 🙂
Thanks Anu! It’s one of my favorites too..hope you give this a try!
So glad to see this recipe! This is one of my favorite desserts and I can’t wait to try it!
Thank you Mira! It’s one of my favorites too..so easy and really delicious!
I think the photos turned out great! I’m super picky about my picture taking as well. This looks delicious!
Thanks Kathleen…actually I am not that super picky but sometimes I just don’t like some photos and then it becomes really difficult for me to share them on the blog!