Molten Chocolate Lava Cake
Molten Chocolate Lava Cake is gooey, warm, perfectly baked and oh so chocolatey! This timeless and impressive treat is easier to make than you may think and tastes even better than what’s served at most restaurants. Make this indulgence for Valentine’s Day to show your sweetie some love!
Molten Chocolate Lava Cake
Is it almost Valentine’s Day already? Whether you’re celebrating with your significant other or a group of friends (we all love galentine’s), this decadent dessert is always a huge hit.
After all, you just can’t beat the warm, gooey, chocolatey goodness of a perfectly baked Molten Chocolate Lava Cake! And unlike so many restaurants, we’re not reheating ours from frozen.
If you’ve never had one of these absolute indulgences before, you’re seriously missing out. A chewy, yet soft exterior gives way to a purposefully undercooked center that’s the real star of the show.
The gooey center is what’s referred to as the molten lava, and you’ll be all but licking the plate to savor every drop of it!
While you can dust your lava cake with powdered sugar and top it with fresh berries, you can also make it even sweeter with a dollop of ice cream and chocolate sauce.
Are you drooling yet?! Impress your special someone or a party of friends when you serve this decadent dessert with all of the toppings available to choose from, that way everyone gets a little something sweet that’ll make them smile.
How to Make a Molten Chocolate Lava Cake
Aim to impress when you serve this chocolate fantasy of a dessert!
- Prepare. Preheat your oven to 450°F. While that’s heating up, grease your ramekins with shortening and dust them with cocoa powder. Tap out any excess powder.
- Melt the butter and chocolate together. Chop the chocolate and place it in a large bowl. Melt the butter in a saucepan, then stir the still warm butter with the chocolate and let it sit, untouched, for 1 minute. Stir until there are no lumps.
- Mix more ingredients. In a separate bowl, mix together the sugar, eggs, and yolks until the mixture is light in color and it starts to thicken.
- Combine. Combine the egg mixture and flour to the melted chocolate mixture until smooth.
- Bake. Divide the batter between the 4 ramekins. Place the ramekins on a baking sheet and bake at 450°F for 8-9 minutes.
- Enjoy! Let the baked lava cakes sit at room temperature for 1 minute. Place a plate on top of the ramekin and flip it carefully. Let it sit for a few moments, then remove the ramekin. Serve immediately with your desired toppings, and enjoy!
Tips and Variations to Try
- Grease the ramekins. Make sure that the ramekins are well greased and dusted! Otherwise, the cakes will stick when you’re trying to flip them onto the plates.
- Don’t boil the butter. The butter should be warm and melted, since it’s what’s used to melt the chocolate. However, don’t let it come to a full boil! That will burn the butter and chocolate both.
- Make it gluten-free. All you need to do is swap out the all-purpose flour for gluten-free flour to make this dessert gluten-free.
- Use good chocolate. This may seem obvious, but it really does matter what chocolate you use! A good quality chocolate bar will yield the best tasting results for these little lava cakes.
- Don’t over-bake them. If you bake lava cakes for too long, the lava will cook through and you’ll lose the desired gooey effect. When done baking, the cakes will have puffed, and the tops will just look set but still jiggle.
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Get the Recipe: Chocolate Lava Cake Recipe
Ingredients
- ½ cup unsalted butter
- 4 oz dark chocolate bar, cut in pieces (a high quality chocolate tastes best)
- 2 eggs
- 2 egg yolks
- ¼ cup granulated sugar
- 2 tsp AP flour, you can use gluten free AP flour for a gluten free option
- butter, to grease each ramekin
- About 1 tsp cocoa powder to dust the ramekins
Equipment
- 4 Ramekins
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 450 degrees. Grease (4) four oz (about 118.29 ml) ramekins with butter, then dust with cocoa powder, tap out any excess cocoa.
- Make sure that it is well greased and dusted or the cake could stick.
- Place the chopped dark chocolate in a large mixing bowl.
- In a small saucepan, melt the butter on low heat until completely melted. (*The butter should not come to a boil; it should just be thoroughly melted. The heat from the melted butter is what will melt the chocolate.)
- Add the melted butter to the bowl with the chocolate pieces and let it sit for 1 minute (do not touch it!). After sitting for one minute, stir or whisk the chocolate until it is melted and smooth. (No lumps)
- In a separate bowl, mix the sugar, eggs, and the egg yolks together with a hand mixer fitted with a whisk or single beater. Beat on medium speed until it is light in color, and it starts to thicken, about 1-2 minutes.
- Add the egg mixture and the flour to the melted chocolate mixture. Using a spatula or small whisk, stir the mixture to combine for 1 minute.
- Evenly divide the cake batter into the 4 prepared ramekins (about 3-4 ounces per ramekin).
- Place the ramekins on a baking sheet and bake at 450 degrees for 8 to 9 minutes. The cakes will have puffed, and the tops will just look set but still jiggle.
- Remove the cakes from the oven & let sit in the ramekin for one minute.
- Place a plate onto the top of the ramekin and turn it over carefully, the ramekin will still be hot. Let sit for a few seconds then carefully remove the ramekin.
- Serve immediately as desired with dusted powdered sugar, ice cream or whipped cream, or all the above.