Two individually portioned chocolate fudge cakes so rich, they put all other chocolate desserts to shame. This recipe for chocolate fudge cakes for 2 is a 30-minute small-batch recipe, and is perfect for when you don’t need to feed a crowd. They’re perfect for date night, Valentine’s Day, or any time you need a scaled-down dessert.
I originally published this recipe in 2015 and have since added new photos and a video tutorial.
This small-batch recipe yields 2 undeniably fudge-like, melted-chocolate-in-the-middle cakes. One for you and one for your sweetheart or best friend/kid/sibling/parent/any chocolate lover in your life.
Or… 2 for you. 😉
One reader, Jean, commented: “I followed the recipe exactly as written and they came out perfectly! My husband and I love to go out to eat and we always order dessert. We both agreed these cakes were probably better than anything we have had at a restaurant! We have been married 40 years so that is a lot of desserts. ★★★★★”
You need 2 ramekins, the 6-ounce size like these, which is the size commonly used for most custards, chocolate lava cakes, chocolate soufflé, etc. (You can get a lot of use out of this size.) While the centers are melted chocolate, the outer edges of the cakes taste like a combination of my chocolate cake and homemade frosted brownies recipes. Amazing, right?
Grab the Following Ingredients (You Don’t Need Much!)
- Semi-Sweet Chocolate: This is THE source of chocolate flavor (no cocoa powder here), so make sure you use quality chocolate. Using cheap chocolate or chocolate chips will negatively affect the taste and texture. For all my recipes calling for chopped or melted chocolate, I chop up baking chocolate bars, which are sold in the baking aisle of the grocery store. I like Baker’s, Lindt, and Ghirardelli brands.
- Heavy Cream: Melt half of the chocolate with heavy cream to create the fudge-like base of the cakes. The combo of these 2 ingredients is how both chocolate ganache and chocolate truffles begin. So you can imagine what it does for these little cakes!
- Brown Sugar: Use a touch of brown sugar not only to sweeten the cakes, but to also provide a little extra flavor and moisture.
- Vegetable Oil: Oil adds wonderful moisture to the cake crumb; the cakes would be dry without it.
- Egg: You will not use an entire egg. Rather, you will crack an egg, beat it, and use 2 Tablespoons in this chocolate batter. When testing this recipe, I found using the entire egg made the cakes taste eggy and spongey, which is not what you’re going for here. Mix any leftover egg with more eggs to make some scrambled eggs for breakfast if you do not wish to waste it.
- Vanilla Extract: Flavor enhancer.
- Flour: All-purpose flour provides structure.
- Baking Powder + Baking Soda: These lift the cakes up as they bake.
The chocolate flavor in these chocolate fudge cakes is deliciously intense. Don’t expect sickeningly sweet; you’re using semi-sweet chocolate and only 3 Tablespoons of added sugar for the entire 2-cake recipe. All you’ll taste is rich chocolate.
How to Make Just 2 Chocolate Fudge Cakes
This is a pretty quick and simple recipe, but since it’s a bit unique, let me share some step photos and brief explanations so you know exactly what to do when it’s your turn to make them. Tonight, perhaps?
Chop up half of the bar of chocolate (2 ounces/57g), and set aside 2 squares (1 ounce/28g total) of the remaining half… those two squares (0.5oz/14g each) will become the melty chocolate center of these fudge cakes. Melt the chopped chocolate with the heavy cream, either in the microwave or in a double boiler if you have one:
Whisk in the brown sugar, and then the oil, egg, and vanilla. Then, fold in the dry ingredients: a mix of flour, baking powder, and baking soda. The batter is a little thick. I usually mix it all up in a 2-cup liquid measuring cup:
Pour/spoon the batter evenly into 2 greased 6-ounce ramekins. Press 1 square (0.5oz/14g) of the remaining chocolate into the center of each filled ramekin. Use a spoon to fully submerge the chocolate:
Bake cakes on a lined baking sheet (in case they overflow—they probably won’t, but just to be on the safe side).
Optional Toppings
Serve immediately while the cakes are warm. They’re fabulous on their own in all their warm and fudgy chocolate glory, or topped with a scoop of vanilla ice cream, whipped cream, raspberry dessert sauce, strawberry sauce, or salted caramel.
I like to garnish them with fresh mint and raspberries.
By the way, if you love small cakes like this, try my peanut butter chocolate lava cakes. The recipe yields 4, so it’s another small-batch dessert favorite.
This 1 giant double chocolate cookie is another small-batch chocolate option and perfect for Valentine’s Day. If you want more inspiration, here are all of my favorite Valentine’s Day desserts. This recipe also joins 30+ others in my collection of Quick Dessert Recipes—ready in 1 hour or less!
Two Small Chocolate Cakes
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Cook Time: 15 minutes
- Total Time: 30 minutes
- Yield: 2 cakes
- Category: Cake
- Method: Baking
- Cuisine: American
Description
Two individually portioned chocolate fudge cakes so rich, they put all other chocolate desserts to shame. This recipe for chocolate fudge cakes for 2 is a 30-minute small-batch recipe, and is perfect for when you don’t need to feed a crowd. Great for date night, Valentine’s Day, or any time you need a scaled-down dessert.
Ingredients
- 3 ounces (85g) semi-sweet chocolate (3/4 of a standard baking chocolate bar)*
- 1/4 cup (60ml) heavy cream*
- 3 Tablespoons (36g) packed light brown sugar
- 2 Tablespoons (30ml) vegetable oil*
- 2 Tablespoons (30ml) beaten egg (crack 1 egg, beat it, and use 2 Tbsp)
- 1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- 6 Tablespoons (46g) all-purpose flour (spooned & leveled)
- 1/4 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/8 teaspoon baking soda
Instructions
- Lightly grease two 6-ounce ramekins with butter or nonstick spray. Place them on a baking sheet. Set aside.
- Preheat oven to 350°F (177°C).
- Coarsely chop 2 ounces (57g) of semi-sweet chocolate. Reserve 1 ounce (28g) for step 5 (don’t chop). Combine the chopped chocolate and heavy cream in a medium heatproof bowl. Microwave in 20-second increments, stirring after each increment until melted and smooth. Whisk in the brown sugar until no lumps remain. Whisk in the oil, 2 Tablespoons of beaten egg, and vanilla extract until combined. Set aside.
- In a small bowl, whisk the flour, baking powder, and baking soda together. Pour the dry mixture into the wet ingredients and fold with a silicone spatula until all of the ingredients are combined and there are no lumps. Pour evenly into the ramekins; they should be just about 3/4 of the way full.
- Cut the remaining 1 ounce of chocolate in half. Place a piece of chocolate (0.5oz/14g) into the center of each filled ramekin and use a spoon to fully submerge the chocolate.
- Bake for 15–17 minutes, rotating the baking sheet at the 8-minute mark.
- Remove from the oven and serve immediately. The centers will be slightly gooey, with melted chocolate inside. Serve warm.
Notes
- Make Ahead Instructions: I do not suggest making these cakes ahead of time. They are so quick to make, just about 30 minutes from start to finish. If anything, prepare in full, then reheat in the oven before serving. They may not be as gooey.
- Special Tools (affiliate links): Two 6-Ounce Ramekins (like these or these) | Baking Sheet | Glass Mixing Bowls | Whisk | Silicone Spatula
- Larger Batches: If you would like more than 2 cakes, this recipe can easily be doubled or tripled. If making 6 cakes (tripling the recipe), use 2 full eggs. If making 4 cakes (doubling the recipe), 1 full egg is not enough; you will need to beat 2 eggs and use 4 Tablespoons of egg.
- Chocolate: Quality chocolate is ideal. Chocolate is the main ingredient, so using chocolate chips (which contain stabilizers) will negatively affect the taste and texture. For most recipes calling for chopped or melted chocolate, including this one, I use chocolate baking bars, which are typically found in the baking aisle, in 4-ounce (113g) packages. I like Baker’s, Lindt, and Ghirardelli brands. Semi-sweet (56% cacao) and bittersweet (60% cacao) chocolate are ideal for this recipe.
- Heavy Cream: I strongly recommend using heavy cream for the best taste and texture. I don’t recommend any cream substitutions in this recipe.
- Oil: Canola or melted coconut oil can be substituted for the vegetable oil.
- Bake Time: I’m unsure about the bake time for other size ramekins. 6-ounce ramekins are standard for many other recipes, so you’ll get a lot of use out of them, including custards, chocolate lava cakes, chocolate soufflé, lemon pudding cakes, and mousse.
- Adapted from Chewy Fudgy Frosted Brownies, Chocolate Cupcakes with Vanilla Frosting, and Cook’s Illustrated.
Reader Comments and Reviews
Delicious! This recipe was perfect for a 2-serving Valentine’s Day treat. I used semi-sweet chocolate chips for the chocolate. Baked for 16 minutes (convection) and they were pretty liquid, but we didn’t mind. Next time might do 17-18 minutes to get a bit more cake in the dish.
Wow! Made these for an at-home date night and we both loved the results! Super easy and very tasty. We’ll definitely be making these again!!
Wow! So good! A rich chocolate flavor. I served it with fresh whipped cream and will serve this again!
Oh my word! Scrumptious, and so easy! I wish I’d had ice cream to top it off. Thanks for another great recipe Sally!
These were fantastic! I didn’t have ramekins so used 8oz glass Pyrex dishes and they worked perfectly. I topped with a little raspberry jam and YUM!
Made this for myself and a friend over Valentine’s Day weekend. Turned out great. Perfect for a girls night and a great recipe for times when you don’t want to make a huge batch of treats.
I made these cakes for my husband and I for a special Valentines Day dinner. I followed the recipe exactly as written and they came out perfectly! My husband and I love to go out to eat (more before Covid) and we always order dessert. We both agreed these cakes were probably better then anything we have had at a restaurant! We have been married 40 years so that is a lot of desserts.
We’re so thrilled to hear that you and your husband enjoyed these chocolate fudge cakes, Jean!
Sally! Firstly, thank you for sharing all your divine recipes with us all.
I would like to know if this recipe could be multiplied to be used for a cake?
Hi Tanya, We don’t recommend it. But you may enjoy this Flourless Chocolate Cake that is just as fudgy!
Instead of heavy cream can I use evaporated milk? Using heavy cream means a grocery run. Otherwise everything else are ingredients that are always on hand.
Hi Arlene, that swap should be fine in a pinch.
Did I miss where you said how big the ramekins should be? And can you use bittersweet chocolate, 60%?
Thanks!
Hi Laura, you’ll want 6-inch ramekins here. If you like the taste of bittersweet chocolate (and they are pure baking bars), you can certainly use those here. Enjoy!
can this be made with white chocolate instead ? anything extra need to be done if i am using the white chocolate ?
Thanks !
Hi Teri! We have not tested it with white chocolate, so can’t guarantee results.
Also, where is the salt? I added 1/8 teaspoon because everything needs salt. If you use salt, you don’t need as much sugar.
I altered this recipe and still achieved fantastic results. I used only 10 grams of coconut oil and 20 grams of brown sugar. 30 grams of heavy cream was enough and I used a whole egg.
I added 1/8 teaspoon of instant espresso powder and used 2 ozs. of Guittard baking chips and 1 oz Theo 70% baking choc, melting it with half the chips and saving the other ounce of chips to add to the batter whole. Also made them ahead of time and put them in the fridge.
My version still has 477 calories each, without the ice cream, which I do add. Yeah, I know it’s not supposed to be diet food, but, c’mon. Do you really need all that?
Easy peasy! Tasted great. I used a Stevia/Turbino sugar blend and added a little bit of coffee. Baked up a treat and made a wonderful addition to our V-Day lunch. Used a 72% dark Endangered Species bar for chocolate and it worked perfectly.
I loved the texture and how Airy and fluffy it was it’s easy and wasn’t dry like most
Do I need to bake this for a longer period of time if baking for 6 people?
Hi Monica, The bake time would be the same but for a larger recipe you may want to use Chocolate Lava Cakes.
This recipe was so easy and SO good – will make these again for sure!
Can I use this to make mug cakes in the microwave? I have some very large mugs I can use 🙂 When I make mug cakes, I generally just heat them in the microwave until they look set and a toothpick comes out relatively clean, so I don’t need time instructions, but do you think this batter will hold up, or will the chocolate burn or something…? Thanks, Sally!
SO delicious. I need to make this again!
I had no vegetable oil so I substituted with olive oil. It came out great!! I’ve been baking during quarentine and this one of my favourite recipes so far. I’m definitely gonna make this for my sister’s birthday.
OH. MY. GOSH. I was more than surprised when I made this recipe! If you’re someone who doesn’t cook too often this recipe is so easy to whip up and the effort is WORTH IT! If you are interested in making this recipe, don’t hesitate, there was a nice crisp to the tops of the cakes, and in the center was a melty fudge-like pool soaking up the moist cake crumbles it was surrounded in. I don’t have a microwave so I used a double boiler instead. The recipe still worked out and I recommend this alternative! Thank you so much for such an amazing recipe!
Hi Sally! This recipe is divine! I’ve made this twice already but each time I’ve triple or double the recipe. I have one concern that I was hoping you could help me with! Each time I’ve made this, the cake seems to be very dry and dense; rather than moist and fluffy. None the less, it still tastes spectacular. Can you recommend any tips so the cake isn’t so dry? Less flour? Please help! Xoxo
Hi Dania– I’m unsure about the cake being dry but it’s supposed to be very dense. Are you overcooking it? It’s supposed to be a little underbaked and gooey/chocolate-y inside.
Well, it’s not so much dry as it is flour-y if that makes sense. It is a bit gooey but the texture of the cake in your mouth seems drying. It has a flour-y after taste. It’s a bit confusing. I understand if you wouldn’t know how to help that. Maybe it has to do with the chocolate I’m using. I prefer using extra dark chocolate while baking. Between 65%-80%. Do you think that plays a role in the consistency?
The dark chocolate shouldn’t. Are you using all-purpose flour or another kind? Try reducing by 1 Tablespoon.
Hi Sally! These just got out of the oven and they smell incredible but sort of cracked a lot on the top and rose unevenly. I dunno what I did wrong! Any ideas?
Gayatri, that’s completely normal and fine! They ingredients don’t make a very stable cake. That’s why they are baked and served in the dishes. Did you like the taste?
Would 4-6oz custard cups oven safe of course work?
Two 6 ounce custard cups will work for this recipe
Sally, thanks for the great recipe! I made it last night for a dinner guest we had and it was perfect.
I made two slight modifications and it still came out perfectly and thought it might be helpful for your other readers to know.
1) I used 5 oz ramekins and poured approx. 4 oz into each ramekin since your recipe above makes 12 oz. Baked at 400 for approx 15 minutes and was perfect.
2) We had a dinner guest, so I didn’t want to be assembling all of this for 30 minutes when she was here, so I mixed all the wet ingredients about 2 hours in advance and put it in the refrigerator. I did the same for all the dry ingredients, but left that out on the counter. I took out the wet ingredients about 10 minutes before I was going to bake it and mixed the wet and dry together at that time and poured into the ramekins. No problems at all rising or baking! It was moist and perfect.
Thanks again for a great recipe!!
I just made these last night for Valentine’s Day and they were delicious. It was the perfect dessert just for 2. I made some whipping cream to add to the top and I would definitely do that again. Thanks for this great recipe.
I followed the recipe exactly and these cakes came out PERFECTLY! I made these for Valentine’s day for my husband and I and we really enjoyed them. Thank you so much for sharing this great recipe!
Sally – I made these last night for my boyfriend and I. He raved about how delicious they were. 🙂 Thank you!
Sally – thanks so much for this delicious recipe!! I made these tonight for my husband and brother-in-law and they were a huge hit!!! They reminded me of the famous (in my family) ‘chocolate melting cakes’ served on Carnival cruise lines, but my husband said he liked these even better! I love how these are easy to whip together and don’t leave leftovers to be tempted by. Thanks again – this recipe is a keeper!! 🙂
Hi Sally, wanted to let you and the other reader above know that I made these yesterday – I made them up in the ramekins and stored them in the fridge for about 4 hours unbaked. After dinner, we baked them up right from the cooler and they were perfect! DIVINE!!! Also, I made this one recipe and divided it up into 4 smaller 4-oz ramekins and it was a perfect fit. Baked them for 12mins with one rotation midway and they were perfect! Thank you for yet another absolutely delish recipe!
Sally! These look incredible! I have made sooo many of your recipes and have never been disappointed.
I would love to make these for my friends at a dinner party; it is not at my house. , however. To what extent might I prepare these in advance? Can the batter sit in the ramekins for a few hours before baking?
My sweet toothed family (especially my sprinkle loving toddler) and I thank you for your passion for yumminess !
Thanks Meg! You’re so sweet. I do not recommend making these ahead of time. If anything, you can prepare in full then reheat in the oven before serving though they may not be as gooey.
Made this for dessert after dinner. My family loves this especially when we paired it with mint chocolate chip ice cream. Devine