Chocolate lava cakes with their deliciously rich molten chocolate center come together with 6 simple ingredients. Ready in just 25 minutes, this surprisingly easy and quick dessert always impresses. If you don’t have ramekins, follow my instructions for using a muffin pan instead.
One reader, CB, commented: “Absolutely perfect! I made these for my family tonight and they were amazing. I included some raspberries, strawberries, and vanilla ice cream on the side. Perfect Valentine’s Day dessert! ★★★★★“
Today we’re making straight-up chocolate lava cakes. Even though peanut butter chocolate lava cakes are truly magical, I’ve received a lot of requests for a plain chocolate version.
Molten cakes are always a crowd favorite, and they’re infinitely better when made fresh at home. 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. 🙂
Tell Me About These Chocolate Lava Cakes
- Flavor: There’s no doubt about it: rich chocolate is front and center in this lava cake recipe. They’re even more chocolatey than this reader-favorite chocolate cake!
- Texture: This lava cake pairs moist chocolate cake with an ooey-gooey molten center. Be careful not to over-bake these.
- Ease: The secret for making chocolate lava cakes? There is no secret. These lava cakes require zero complicated steps or special tools.
- Time: The best part about this recipe is that it whips up fast: Make a quick cake batter and bake in ramekins or a muffin pan. Then, serve immediately with your favorite toppings like ice cream, homemade whipped cream, or a drizzle of salted caramel. Dreamy!
If you prefer a gluten-free option, consider making this rich and fudge-like flourless chocolate cake.
In Short:
- Warm, rich chocolate cake
- Thick, gooey molten chocolate in the middle
- Quick and easy to make
- Only 6 ingredients
- No mixer required
- No cooling time!
Overview: How to Make Chocolate Lava Cakes
The full printable recipe is below, but let’s walk through it so you can see how easy these are to make.
Prepare four 6-ounce ramekins. Grease each ramekin with a little nonstick 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.
Make the chocolate cake batter.
Spoon the batter evenly into each ramekin, and bake. The high oven temperature cooks the outside of the mini cakes but leaves the center gooey. The tops may look somewhat soft.
Invert the ramekins. Carefully flip the freshly baked lava cakes upside down onto plates, and dig in while warm!
If 4 or 6 lava cakes are simply too many, try this 2-serving recipe for chocolate fudge cakes instead!
You Can Make These in a Muffin Pan Instead
I highly recommend using 6-ounce ramekins for these lava cakes—they’re the perfect size to make 4 of these single-serving portions. Plus, you can use the same ramekins for most custard recipes, chocolate fudge cakes for 2, chocolate soufflé, peanut butter chocolate lava cakes, and lemon pudding cakes.
If you don’t have ramekins, you can use a standard muffin pan. Grease 6 muffin pan cups and dust with cocoa powder to prevent the lava cakes from sticking. Because your lava cakes will be slightly smaller, you’ll get 6 lava cakes instead of 4. Bake at 425°F (218°C) for 8–10 minutes. Use a spoon to release the cakes from the pan and place each upside down on plates.
Optional Toppings
Once the warm lava cakes are inverted onto plates, the fun really begins! So many toppings pair wonderfully with these chocolate lava cakes. Here are a few of my favorites:
- Ice cream and/or whipped cream
- Raspberry dessert sauce or strawberry sauce
- Melted peanut butter or Nutella
- Salted caramel
- Mocha whipped cream from this flourless chocolate cake recipe
- Fresh berries
All of Your Chocolate Lava Cakes
Many readers tried this recipe as part of a baking challenge!
PrintChocolate Lava Cakes
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Cook Time: 14 minutes
- Total Time: 25 minutes
- Yield: 4 or 6 cakes
- Category: Dessert
- Method: Baking
- Cuisine: American
Description
Chocolate lava cakes with their deliciously rich molten chocolate center come together with 6 simple ingredients. Ready in just 25 minutes, this surprisingly easy and quick dessert always impresses. If you don’t have ramekins, follow my instructions for using a muffin pan instead.
Ingredients
- 6 ounces (170g) high-quality semi-sweet chocolate*
- 1/2 cup (8 Tbsp; 113g) unsalted butter
- 1/4 cup (31g) all-purpose flour (spooned & leveled)
- 1/2 cup (60g) confectioners’ sugar
- 1/8 teaspoon salt
- 2 large eggs
- 2 large egg yolks*
- optional for topping: ice cream, berries, and/or chocolate syrup
Instructions
- Spray four 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 7. Or spray half of a 12-count muffin pan and dust with cocoa powder. If baking in a muffin pan, the recipe will yield 6 cakes.
- Preheat oven to 425°F (218°C).
- Coarsely chop the chocolate. Place butter in 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 or muffin cup.
- Place ramekins onto a baking sheet and bake for 12–14 minutes until the sides appear solid and firm; the tops will still look soft. *If baking in a muffin pan, the cakes only take about 8–10 minutes.
- 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. *If you used a muffin pan, use a spoon to release the cakes from the pan and place each upside down on plates.
- Add toppings. Serve immediately.
Notes
- Make Ahead & Freezing Instructions: You can prepare the batter through step 4. Cover tightly and refrigerate for up to 2 days. Allow to come to room temperature (takes a couple hours) before continuing with step 5. You can freeze the baked lava cakes for up to 3 months. Allow them to cool completely before freezing. Reheat in the microwave.
- Special Tools (affiliate links): 6-Ounce Ramekins or 12-count Muffin Pan | Glass Mixing Bowls | Whisk | Silicone Spatula or Wooden Spoon | Baking Sheet
- Chocolate: Make sure to use high-quality chocolate, not chocolate chips. You won’t have much “lava” with chocolate chips. I always use pure chocolate baking bars (found in the grocery store baking aisle), such as Baker’s, Ghirardelli, or Lindt. They’re typically sold in 4-ounce bars, so you will need 1 and 1/2 bars total.
- Eggs: For this recipe, you need 2 whole eggs plus an additional 2 egg yolks. (Use the 2 extra egg whites in an omelet or in any of these recipes with egg whites.) After 10–14 minutes in an oven this hot, the eggs should be cooked to 160°F, which is considered safe to eat. If you’re concerned, you can take the temperature with an instant read thermometer to be sure.
I made these and they were incredible-thank you!!! I made a few extra and put them in a container and left them on the counter. Do you think that’s ok? I can rebake them…
Hey, if I’m using a muffin pan can I double the recipe to make 12 cakes? Will it come out the same?
Hi Tani, yes you can double this recipe for 12 cakes made in a muffin pan!
Mine were delicious but they didn’t ooze lava. Should I try reducing the baking time? Thanks!
Yes, a minute or two less bake time is an easy fix for next time!
Super easy and crazy yummy! Mine stuck a little to the pan so the chocolate oozed a little early. But we ate it all up !
I made these cakes exactly as directed in ramekins. I cooked them eight minutes and the cakes had a lovely molten interior. The recipe is perfection. Thank you for the tip of preparing the ramekins with cocoa. The cakes were a great hit and I would highly recommend this recipe.
So we’ve made this like 8 times. We just use 1 cup of semi sweet store brand chocolate chips and it turns out perfectly every time. We also have subbed Bobs red mill 1 to 1 GF flour and it turns out just as great for a gluten free option. Anyways, if you’re on a budget I wouldn’t buy expensive chocolate, the chips were totally great for us.
These were delicious and super easy to make! Great recipe!
I made them in a muffin tray because I didn’t have any ramekins. Came out perfect. Lowered temp to 195c because my oven is fan assisted. Took them out just before 6 min. My oven cooks fast! I added a tiny bit of vanilla because I love vanilla + chocolate. Thanks for another great recipe
My 10 year old has been watching a baking show all summer and decided she wanted to make a confection 🙂 She made these all by herself and did a fantastic job for her first time doing anything like this. Great recipe, easy to follow.
Just made these tonight for my son’s 12th birthday. He requested lava cake and I was so happy to see you had a recipe. We doubled the recipe and did 12 in a muffin pan. The whole family loved them! Thanks again for another amazing recipe!
I used semi-sweet chocolate chips, baked for 12 mins , and had the molten lava effect, no problem! Absolutely delectable, fast, simple and fancy 🙂
Oh. My. Goodness!! This is amazing! My granddaughter asked for a molten lava cake for her birthday, and I was slightly freaked out! Your recipe was a lifesaver; so easy and so delicious! We have a new birthday favorite in our family!
Hi, I’ve made these a couple of times and they’ve turned out really good. I have one question though. I know you freezing instructions are mentioned but say it’s put in the refrigerator the day before or has been made 4-5 hours before it’s needed, do we still reheat in the microwave? And for how long?
Hi Radhika, They are best served warm so that the center is molten. How long you warm them up really depends on your microwave and their starting temperature. Try just 10 seconds at a time until you reach your desired temperature.
This is my second time attempting this recipe, and it has failed yet again. I can assure you that I followed the recipe EXACTLY both times, yet it was overcooked in the middle & no chocolate lava poured out. Maybe it is because I attempted this recipe using the muffin-pan method instead of ramekins, yet this is still an issue as the recipe DOES NOT work this way. I am really disappointed as I wanted to believe all the other amazing reviews, yet now I am left with a bunch of wasted ingredients and a mess to clean up. Please revise this recipe so that it suits the muffin-pan method accordingly, thank you
Hi Melissa! I’m sorry you’re having trouble with this recipe. The muffin pan version is my go-to and I’ve made them plenty of times this way. Thanks for the feedback. If you ever try the recipe again, you can reduce the bake time. The only reason the cakes are setting is because they’re fully baking through.
Loved it!!!!!!
I am SO impressed with this recipe! They turned out GREAT, and they were SUPER easy to make! Thank you so much for this!
Wow, these were great! Good directions. Served with whip cream.
These are amazing!!! They look fancy but they are really easy! Perfect for a special occasion. I triple the recipe and baked in a muffin tin, they can out great!
Oh. My. Gosh. I can’t even put into words… so good. Added a touch of bourbon vanilla.
I found these gross. I made two batches, hoping the second one would come out better but they didn’t. I wouldn’t recommend this recipe because they were very “eggy.”
Hi Harriet, if the lava cakes taste eggy, they were likely overbaked. Did you use another size ramekin or keep them in the oven longer?
Hi Sally, I’m excited to try them! Can I use dark chocolate (70% cocoa)? Thanks.
I can’t see why not!
These were delicious and easy enough for my child to help me with them. I love a recipe that’s quick and simple and doesn’t require me to pull out any gadgets!
Made this tonight for daughter’s birthday. She loved it and so did hubby!
Hi Sally
I’ve tried and failed countless attempts at this dessert for decades! yes.. no joke. From my 30s to nearly reaching 50… today, I gave 1 last shot and it was a SUCCESS!!!!!
These lava cakes turned out perfectly, even on first try! I doubled the batch and used milk chocolate bars and they were so delicious…the lave just oozing out slowly is magical. Thanks!
Sally, what did I do wrong? Cooked them 20 minutes and still so liquidy that I can’t even take them out of the muffin pan without falling apart. I did use a rubber muffin pan, if that makes a difference? Really confused, double checked the ingredient list and I definitely used every item as you said. So disappointed, this was my moms birthday dessert and now we’ll just be blowing out a candle minus dessert
Hi Kari! I know silicone baking pans usually require a longer bake time, so I wouldn’t be discouraged if you try them again. Did you try to place them back in the oven to cook longer? Sorry they turned out to be a disappointment.
Very delicious. Great dessert for special celebrations!
Is it possible to bake these in 6 ounce Pyrex dishes instead of ramekins? By the way, I made your blueberry muffin bread yesterday and it was awesome!
Any oven-safe 6 ounce dishes/cups/ramekins would be great.
Is there a way to make this into a larger version? Maybe a 5 or 6″ size cake? I want to make it for my husbands birthday. I was hoping to use this recipe but in a larger cake pan I just don’t know how long to bake it or if it just wouldn’t turn out well trying to make it bigger. Your lemon bars recipe is my back up plan, he loves them;)
Hi Autumn, I don’t recommend it. To bake properly lava cakes need to be individual sizes. However I have a recipe for a Flourless Chocolate Cake that has an amazing fudge-like texture!
Best lava cakes ever!!!
Made these in muffin tins. So easy and so decadent! Friends were utterly impressed!