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!
Chocolate 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.
Reader Comments and Reviews
ABSOLUTELY DELICIOUS!!!!!! I love it so much
At the store they only had milk chocolate Lindt bars. Will it still taste good?
Hi Gabby, is it pure baking chocolate? That should work just fine. Milk chocolate will make the cakes just a bit sweeter.
These lava cakes are SO good!! They came out beautifully and the flavor was fantastic! We just had semi-sweet chocolate chips on hand so that’s what we used and we felt like the lava in the center was great, but we’ll definitely try again with baking chocolate next time.
We served these with vanilla bean ice cream and it was great. Definitely a keeper recipe, thank you!
I LOVE THIS RECIPE!!!!!!!!!!
Excellent! Very easy to follow. Family loved them. Thank you!
Goey butter with a resemblance of lava cakes. Please find another recipe.
I think you may have done something wrong, I’ve made this recipe twice and they have come out PERFECT both times
Hi! I love your recipes and how easy they are to follow. Can you please tell me what would happen if I used 8oz ramekins? Just fill them less or would I have to make other adjustments?
Hi Lyana, you can use the 8 oz ramekins and simply divide the batter equally among the four. The baking time will be a bit longer, but we’re unsure of the exact amount. Try another 1-2 minutes, keeping a close eye on them.
Delicious and not too difficult. I don’t have ramekins and a muffin tin worked perfectly. Thanks!
What do you consider high quality chocolate? Name a couple brands plz
Hi Tina, our favorite brands are listed in the recipe Notes. Baker’s, Ghirardelli, or Lindt are great choices.
Freakin spectacular. Followed the recipe exactly and they turned out divine. So decadent.
If I make this is disposable foil ramekins, would I have to adjust the time at all? I’ve never made them before, and I’m excited to try!
Hi Steph, they may bake a little faster. Let us know how it goes!
this is a good recipe for beginners
Usually I am that type of person that never leave a review and rating. But this chocolate lava cake is too good and must try for everyone. Simple but delicious, no extra skill need. I loved it!
How can I add instant espresso to this recipe
Hi Stephanie, you could certainly add some espresso powder here—feel free to adjust the amount to your liking.
Can one use a round or other shape mold to bake the lava cake ?
Hi Genevieve, we’ve only tested these in round ramekins and muffin tins, but let us know if you try any other shapes!
Super easy recipe to follow and comes out incredibly delicious. Huge hit with the family.
Want to try this for Valentine’s Day. Thinking of adding espresso powder. Thoughts?
Hi Haley, espresso powder would be delicious in these!
I need 7 of these – should I do 1.5 x the recipe
Hi Helen, if you need 7 lava cakes we would make this recipe twice. That would make 8 ramekins with just one extra.
I made these, but the center is not liquid. The flavor is great. Did I bake them too long?
Hi Marlene! Yes, that would be our guess.
Took me about 15 total mins cooked for about 9 mins and they came out perfect. Family loved em will be making again
I’ve been craving chocolate lava cakes and decided to make them myself. This was the perfect recipe and surprisingly easy! It definitely hit the spot. Thanks!
Hi! Can I reheat the lava caked? All your recipes are wonderful! Thx!
Hi Claudia, certainly. You can simply reheat these in the microwave until warm. The inside should come back to lava consistency once reheated. Enjoy!
Can I make this in the morning and then reheat it later in the day for after dinner? I won’t be able to bake it fresh so wondering if it will still be good. Should I underbake it a little so when reheating it won’t over bake?
Hi Jan, The best way to make them ahead of time is to make the batter and refrigerate before baking, see the make ahead directions in the recipe notes for details. However, if you wish to bake them in the morning, you can try reheating them for a few seconds in the microwave before serving. Enjoy!
This is a great recipe! I made it with Lindt dark chocolate. Super easy to make and the directions were very easy to follow.
If I freeze the cakes, do I need them to come to room temperature before reheating them in the microwave or microwave frozen
Hi Pam, you can reheat frozen cakes directly from the freezer. No need to bring them to room temperature first.
How can you adapt this recipe to an air fryer?
Hi Laura, we haven’t tried these in an air fryer.
I want to make this recipe, however I’m worried that 1/4 cup of flour will be too much. Most recipes use 2 tablespoons.
Hi Sharon, 1/4 cup of flour is what I use and it hasn’t been an issue. Feel free to play around with the recipe if you’d like.
I have unsweetened chocolate right now. How could I make it into semi sweet?
Excellent dessert!! Super easy to make!
Absolutely perfect lava cakes. Truly finest restaurant worthy. Followed recipe with exception of adding an extra 1.5tsp flour for high altitude. They unmolded beautifully and bake time seems quite forgiving. Served with ice cream, chocolate sauce and fresh raspberries. Was special request of the birthday girl who remarked that they were perfect!
I’m also at high altitude. How long did you bake for?