Homemade peanut butter chocolate lava cakes are the ultimate dessert decadence. Each rich, fudgy, and warm chocolate cake is filled with melty peanut butter and topped with vanilla ice cream. You’ll be surprised at how quickly this indulgent dessert comes together!
Welcome to the best dessert on earth! I’m pretty sure we haven’t lived until we’ve all had a peanut butter chocolate lava cake. Today’s peanut butter version is just like my chocolate lava cakes recipe, only filled with peanut butter. The great news is that this recipe makes 4 individually sized peanut butter chocolate lava cakes and the bad news is that this recipe makes 4 individually sized peanut butter chocolate lava cakes. Let’s be honest here… self control fades fast when you have 4 chocolate lava cakes in the house.
These Peanut Butter Chocolate Lava Cakes Are:
- Rich and fudgy
- Easier than you think
- Made with only 7 ingredients
- Super quickโonly 12 minutes in the oven (it joins 30+ others in my collection of Quick Dessert Recipesโready in 1 hour or less!)
- Decadent and indulgent
- Gooey in the center
- Perfect for small dinner parties, date night, or as a Valentine’s Day treat
- Peanut butter + chocolate!!
I worked at Chili’s throughout collegeโI know a good molten lava cake when I see one. While the molten cakes came to the restaurant frozen, a quick zap in the microwave made that chocolate completely ooze out with the first bite. Molten cakes are obviously a crowd favorite, but believe me when I say this: they’re 78,439x better made fresh at home with pure chocolate and lots of butter.
Ingredients in Peanut Butter Chocolate Lava Cakes
You only need 7 basic ingredients for today’s peanut butter chocolate lava cakes. I adapted this recipe from Food and Wine. Let’s review:
- Chocolate: Pure chocolate is the base of these lava cakes. Use quality chocolateโno cheap varieties and absolutely no chocolate chips. (Save them for your chocolate chip cookies!) You will be dreadfully disappointed if you use lower quality chocolate. I prefer Ghirardelli or Lindt.
- Butter: Butter is melted with the chocolate for incredible taste and decadence.
- Flour: We only use 1/4 cup of all-purpose flour for added structureโtoo much and the cakes would dry out.
- Confectioners’ Sugar: A little confectioners’ sugar sweetens the cakeโdon’t expect a super sweet chocolate cake. These are very rich as opposed to very sweet. In my recipe testing, I preferred confectioners’ sugar over granulated sugar. I found the cakes had a grainy texture with granulated.
- Salt: Salt adds flavor.
- Eggs: The most important ingredient! There are 2 whole eggs and 2 egg yolks in this recipe (2 egg whites and 4 egg yolks total)โan entire egg yolk in each cake. The egg yolks provide unique moisture and richness to each cake and the egg whites give structure, combining all the ingredients into one smooth batter and 4 sturdy cakes.
- Peanut Butter: Each lava cake is filled with creamy peanut butter. Do not use natural style peanut butter, crunchy peanut butter, or any other nut butter. The best, in my peanut butter lava cake experience, are commercial brands like creamy Jif or Skippy.
How to Make Peanut Butter Chocolate Lava Cakes
They may look fancy and complicated, but peanut butter chocolate lava cakes are incredibly simple to make. Let’s review the quick and easy steps:
- Prepare 4 ramekins.
- Make the chocolate cake batter.
- Spoon the batter evenly into each ramekin.
- Top each with peanut butter. Use a spoon to slightly press it down into the batter.
- Bake. The high oven temperature cooks the outside of the mini cakes but leaves the center slightly gooey. 12-14 minutes and they’re done! The tops may look slightly soft.
- Invert the ramekins. Carefully flip the freshly baked lava cakes upside down onto plates.
- Add toppings & enjoy! Top with melted peanut butter, chocolate ganache, ice cream, sprinkles, salted caramel, or whipped cream… choose your favorites ๐
Best Ramekins to Use
I highly recommend using ramekins for these lava cakes. Here are the 6-ounce ramekins I use and suggest you pick up as well. They’re the perfect size for these lava cakes. Grease each ramekin with a little non-stick spray and a dusting of cocoa powder before filling with batter. This preparation helps the baked lava cake release seamlessly from the ramekin onto the plate for serving.
Conveniently, you can use the same ramekins for other recipes we have published like chocolate fudge cakes, chocolate soufflรฉ, chocolate lava cakes, lemon pudding cakes, and upside down key lime pies.
If you don’t have ramekins, you can use a muffin pan: Grease 6 muffin pan cups and dust with cocoa powder to prevent the lava cakes from sticking. Your lava cakes will be slightly smallerโyouโll get 6 lava cakes instead of 4. Bake at 425ยฐF (218ยฐC) for 8-10 minutes. Use a spoon to release the cakes from the pan and place each upside down on plates.
I included this recipe over on my Valentine’s Day dessert recipes page, but they’re just as rich and tasty without a holiday on the calendar. ๐
More Chocolate Peanut Butter Recipes
- Soft & Thick Monster Cookies
- Peanut Butter Cupcakes
- No-Bake Peanut Butter Bars
- Peanut Butter Balls (Truffles)
- Chocolate Peanut Butter Cheesecake Bars
- Peanut Butter Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies
Peanut Butter Chocolate Lava Cakes
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Cook Time: 12 minutes
- Total Time: 35 minutes
- Yield: 4 cakes
- Category: Cake
- Method: Baking
- Cuisine: American
Description
This easy recipe for peanut butter chocolate lava cakes is the ultimate dessert decadence!
Ingredients
- 6 ounces (170g) high quality semi-sweet chocolate, such as Ghirardelli or Lindt
- 1/2 cup (8 Tbsp; 113g) unsalted butter
- 1/4 cup (31g) all-purpose flourย (spooned & leveled)
- 1/2 cup (60g) confectioners’ sugar
- 1/8 teaspoon salt
- 2 large eggs
- 2 large egg yolks
- 8 teaspoons (42g) creamy peanut butter (about 2 teaspoons per cake)*
- optional for serving: ice cream, melted peanut butter and/or chocolate syrup for drizzling
Instructions
- Spray 4 6-ounce ramekins with nonstick cooking spray and dust with cocoa powder. This ensures the cakes will seamlessly come out of the ramekins when inverted onto a plate in step 6.
- Preheat oven to 425ยฐF (218ยฐC).
- Coarsely chop the chocolate. Place butter into a medium heat-proof bowl, then add chopped chocolate on top. Microwave on high in 10 second increments, stirring after each until completely smooth. Set aside.
- Whisk the flour, confectioners’ sugar, and salt together in a small bowl. Whisk the eggs and egg yolks together until combined in another small bowl. Pour the flour mixture and eggs into the bowl of chocolate. Slowly stir everything together using a silicone spatula or wooden spoon. If there are any lumps, gently use your whisk to rid them. The batter will be slightly thick.
- Spoon chocolate batter evenly into each prepared ramekin. Top with peanut butter and use a spoon to slightly press it down into the batter. Some may still be exposedโsee photo above for a visual.
- Place ramekins onto a baking sheet and bake for 12-13 minutes until the sides appear solid and firm. The top may still look slightly soft. Allow to cool for 1 minute, then cover each with an inverted plate and turn over. Use an oven mitt because those ramekins are hot! The cakes should release easily from the ramekin. Top with ice cream and melted peanut butter and/or chocolate syrup for serving, if desired. Serve immediately.
Notes
- Make Ahead Instructions: This batter can be prepared through step 4 ahead of time. Cover tightly and keep in the refrigerator for up to 1 day. Allow to come to room temperature before continuing with step 5.
- Special Tools (affiliate links): ย 6-Ounce Ramekinsย orย 12-count Muffin Panย |ย Glass Mixing Bowlsย |ย Whiskย |ย Silicone Spatulaย orย Wooden Spoonย |ย Baking Sheet
- Peanut Butter: Do not use natural style peanut butter, do not use crunchy peanut butter, do not use any other nut butter like almond butter. The best for this recipe is commercial brand peanut butter like creamy Jif or Skippy. I use Jif creamy.
- Plain Lava Cakes: I’ve gotten some questions about making these plain, without peanut butter. Yes, it’s possible! No changes necessary, just donโt add the peanut butter and bake for only about 12-13 minutes.
- Ramekins: I like these 6-ounce oven-proof custard cupsย or these 6-ounce ramekins). I’m unsure about the bake time for ramekins any other size than 6 ounces. I highly suggest just buying the specified size if you do not own them already.ย The good news: this standard size is typicalย for other dessert recipes likeย custards, soufflรฉs, creme brรปlรฉes, chocolate fudge cakes, and mousse.
- If you don’t have ramekins, you can use a muffin pan: Grease 6 muffin pan cups and dust with cocoa powder to prevent the lava cakes from sticking. Your lava cakes will be slightly smallerโyouโll get 6 lava cakes instead of 4. Bake at 425ยฐF (218ยฐC) for 8-10 minutes. Use a spoon to release the cakes from the pan and place each upside down on plates.
Reader Comments and Reviews
Absolutely love lava cake. Now can you make a Guinness lava cake?
Sounds delicious, Martha!
These tasted great. The batter was a little thicker than I had anticipated. Also, mine didnโt quite bake long enough, but I didnโt realize it until they were flipped out. I popped mine in the microwave for 30 seconds because it was pretty raw throughout a good portion of it. It still was gooey in the middle and made my husbandโs night!
Easy & delicious recipes! Made 6 using 4oz ramekins and there were the perfect size.
Very good lava cake! Just the right consistency. Personally I think that the peanut butter I used overpowered the chocolate — I might fill with a more delicate flavor next time. But overall very delicious, perfect for valentines day!
This is a simple, delicious recipe! I halved it and used two 8 oz Pyrex dishes which worked well.
WOW!!! These are so so delicious and decadent. I made a half batch and they filled 4 muffin cups. Will definitely be making again!
I made this for my daughterโs 3rd bday today and it was AMAZING! We opted out of the peanut butter and added vanilla ice cream and fresh raspberries on top. There was nothing but crumbs left!
These were so quick and easy to make!
I’ve never had a lava cake before, but this recipe was delicious. It was simple to make and was very rich, perfect for a sweet tooth craving. I didn’t have ice-cream but I topped it off with the extra confectioners sugar leftover from the recipe and it tasted amazing. My partner adored it as well, definitely something to make again in the future.
I made this for the February 2025 baking challenge because I needed a smaller treat this month than a layer cake. The recipe was easy and tastes good, but I think I prefer a chocolate pudding cake to individual lava cakes.
Super easy and quick! Yummy with a scoop of cold ice cream.
Made these for a small birthday celebration and they were delicious!
My first time making anything like this, but weโll be making them again and again! Surprisingly easy, and soooo delicious. Used chocolate peanut butter for the filling and topped with salted caramel ice cream. I needed 5 cakes so I just divided the batter among 5 ramekins and watched them for doneness (the listed timing in the recipe was still perfect).
Decadent, rich and super easy! A very special occasion dessert. Made it with salted caramel sauce and not peanut butter. Served with vanilla ice cream.
1st time making a lava cake! Thanks for the recipe and monthly challenge!
Quick, easy, and delicious! I made the batter while my dinner was cooking and baked them while we ate dinner. They were done just in time to have them for dessert. We are big chocolate peanut butter fans so this recipe was a hit!
Very good. I recommend using a circle of parchment paper in the bottom of the ramekin and then greasing the bottom and sides so that the cake comes out easily.
We love all of the recipes that we try from Sally’s Baking! The recipes are always so in-depth, so easy to follow, and I learn so much from each recipe. This lava cake was so easy and fun to make. Thank you for always creating such great recipes that our whole family can enjoy!
Can I make these ahead of time to deliver to a friend? If so, do I take them out of the ramekin, let them cool, then wrap for delivery & she can re-heat?
Thank you!
Hi Michelle, we have found that these are best when served immediately. There are make ahead instructions in the recipe notes.
Can these be frozen and baked later?
Hi Renee, you can freeze the baked lava cakes for up to 3 months. Allow them to cool completely before freezing. Re-heat in the microwave.
Delicious!!! It is so easy to make on an evening when my husband and I get a chocolate craving and it can be very easily halved to make only 2 lava cakes.
Thank you for posting this re: halving the recipe!
This was easy and delicious. I was wondering if white chocolate could be used and jam instead of peanut butter?
Hi Donna! We havenโt tested this recipe with white chocolate before. However 1 reader commented the following on our regular chocolate lava cakes: “Iโve tried this recipe substituting the chocolate with white chocolate (and added 1 tsp vanilla extract) and it worked very well!” Jam would be delicious in the center. Let us know if you try it!