Chocolate lava cakes with their deliciously rich molten chocolate center come together with 6 simple ingredients. Ready in just 25 minutes, this surprisingly easy dessert always impresses. If you don’t have ramekins, follow my instructions for using a muffin pan instead.
Today we’re making straight-up chocolate lava cakes. Even though peanut butter chocolate lava cakes are truly magical, we’ve received a lot of requests for a plain chocolate version. So my team and I decided to make them. It IS chocolate molten lava cake, after all.
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. 🙂
If you prefer a gluten-free option, consider making rich and fudge-like flourless chocolate cake.
Tell Me About These Chocolate Lava Cakes
- Flavor: There’s no doubt about it: chocolate is front and center in this lava cake recipe. They’re more indulgent and chocolatey than our 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 and equipment. In fact, you’ll be delightfully surprised with how remarkably simple the prep is.
- 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 homemade whipped cream or even a drizzle of salted caramel. Dreamy!
In Short:
- Ultra molten-like center
- No mixer required
- Only 6 ingredients
- A super quick bake time
- No cooling time
Overview: How to Make Chocolate Lava Cakes
The full printable recipe is below, but let’s walk through it quickly so you understand each step before you get started.
- Prepare four 6-oz 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.
- Bake. The high oven temperature cooks the outside of the mini cakes but leaves the center slightly gooey. The tops may look somewhat soft.
- Invert the ramekins. Carefully flip the freshly baked lava cakes upside down onto plates.
- Add toppings and dig in while warm.
If 4 or 6 lava cakes are simply too many to have around, try this 2-serving recipe for chocolate fudge cakes instead.
Ramekins Versus a Muffin Pan
We highly recommend using 6-ounce ramekins for these lava cakes—they’re the perfect size for these single-serving desserts. Plus, you can use the same ramekins for 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 muffin pan. Grease 6 muffin pan cups and dust with cocoa powder to prevent the lava cakes from sticking. Since 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 for Chocolate Lava Cakes
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
- chocolate ganache
- red wine chocolate ganache
- melted peanut butter
- salted caramel
- whipped cream
- mocha whipped cream from our flourless chocolate cake recipe
- sprinkles
- fresh berries
Chocolate Lava Cakes Success
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
Here’s how to make incredibly decadent homemade chocolate lava cakes!
Ingredients
- 6 ounces (170g) high-quality semi-sweet chocolate*
- 1/2 cup (115g; 1 stick) 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, raspberries, 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 rubber 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 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 Muffin Pan | Glass Mixing Bowls | Whisk | 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.
Keywords: chocolate lava cake, lava cake
Oh wow, definitely dangerous to discover how easy these are to make in a pinch. I did 1/3 of the recipe and just filled 2 of a 6 count muffin tray, and baked for 8 minutes. The only thing I didn’t strictly divide by 3 was the egg and yolks – I just used 1 whole egg. For the chocolate, I did half endangered species 88% dark bar and half ghirardelli bittersweet chips. I know Sally warns against chips, but having half of it be a bar was still enough for a nice gooey center. (I went half and half because it’s what I had in the house, and I figured only use 88% might have been a bit much). Mostly to say, even with a few tweaks, this recipe is pretty much foolproof for getting something delicious.
★★★★★
Hi,
My son is celiac can I use gluetin free flour instead? Also do you have a celiac yummy chocolate chip cookie or muffin
I’d be so grateful
Hi Courtney, we haven’t tested this recipe with gluten free flour so we’re unsure of the results. Here are all of our naturally gluten free recipes, if you’re interested in browsing. Hope you can find a few new ones to enjoy!
The best chocolate dessert I’ve ever had! Addictive
★★★★★
Hi Sally!
I made this tonight but I used 4oz ramekins. I used the baking time instructions but they came out like a brownie (still good). What would you recommend for time with 4oz ramekins?
Hi Nadia, we’re unsure of the exact bake time, but it will be a bit less. You will have some leftover batter, too. Thank you for giving this recipe a try!
This was my first time making these and they turned out perfectly. Thank you for making this so easy!
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!
I made the batter yesterday, and refrigerated it. I took it out an hour ahead of time, not realizing how solid it would be. This batter definitely needs several hours to come to room temperature if you’re thinking about making it ahead of time.
I’m excited to try these! I only have regular salted butter.. should I make any adjustments on the recipe like omitting the salt?
Hi Samantha, yes, you can omit the salt if using salted butter. Enjoy!
These look delicious! I only have 8 oz. ramekins available. Do you these would work okay? Do I need to increase/decrease baking time? Thank you!
Hi Laura, 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.