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
i was going to make this but is there a way to make this in one big cake rather than separate small cakes?
btw i love ur recipes
Do NOT use gluten free flour! Lol. I tried making these for my daughter, but the GF flour was a disaster.
However, the regular flour was delicious! Amazing recipe!!!
I was planning on making these for my granddaughter, but I was going to freeze them first, Is the chocolate lava still soft when they are thawed out or do you have to heat them up first? She wanted icing on them that is why I am asking. Thanks so much
Cheers Dianne
Hi Dianne! We recommend warming the thawed lava cakes in the microwave to enjoy after freezing. Hope they’re a hit!
These are absolutely amazing and so easy to make! I was a bit intimidated initially but my son requested them last year for his birthday so decided to give them a whirl. I wasn’t sure how I’d feel about them. I’m not one to eat batter or raw cookie dough or anything of that nature and I’d never had a “real” lava cake so was afraid it would taste like that. I couldn’t have been more wrong. They were a hit with everyone and my fiancé actually said it was the best cake he’d ever had.
Excellent recipe with easy to follow instructions. I made it for the first time last night and it was a hit!
I have made these before and they were amazing! I just can’t remember how much to fill the ramekins? Do they rise when cooking?
Hi Matt! You can fill them almost to the top – see step by step photos in the post above for a visual.
hey guys,
I don’t know what happened to my cakes but they turned out sinking and super flat, they didn’t have any “lava” inside.
Tell me what I did wrong,
Attia
Hi Attia, Thank you for trying this recipe. Did you happen to make any ingredient substitutions or changes to the recipe? Usually when there is no lava it’s from not using high quality chocolate (see recipe note) or from over-baking. Both of these are easy fixes if you decide to try this recipe again!
Hi Sally,
Thanks for all your amazing recipes – I love your blog!
I want to make these lava cakes ahead of time and freeze them in individual ramekins.
Do I freeze the batter raw? or cooked?
And then how long do I cook them for from frozen?
Please help! Thank you so much 🙂
Annabelle
Hi Annabelle, you can freeze the baked lava cakes for up to 3 months. Allow them to cool completely before freezing. Re-heat in the microwave to your liking — enjoy!
Can salted butter be used instead? I have everything but the butter and would like to make these tonight. Thanks!
Hi Tami! Yes, you can use salted butter. You likely won’t need the 1/8 tsp of salt the recipe calls for.
I always use salted butter but make the recipe exactly the same otherwise and it’s WONDERFUL! I actually prefer that little bit of extra salt.
This is a great recipe! I used Nestle Toll House semisweet chips and it worked great!! I doubled it and made them in a silicone cupcake mold. I did half as described and half with dollops of peanut butter in the middle. (PS- If you don’t know this already, put your mold on a baking tray BEFORE you fill them!) I had to bake mine for about 14 minutes and I had to let them cool for somewhere around 10 minutes. I was able to gently pop mine out with my fingers. Gently palpitate the bottom and sides of the cup and carefully pop the cake out. I wrapped the extras individually and I will be freezing some of them for a ray of sunshine on a rainy day or for a special occasion.
I made this and OMG it was sooo good!! Thank you so much for this recipe. If someone hesitates to make this cake I can assure it’s delicious!
Can I omit the confectioners sugar?
Hi Jenny, we don’t recommend it. The taste, texture, and structure will be compromised without it.
I love this recipe! However my cakes didn’t lava at all, I use ceramic ramekings and bake them for about 13 min. Is it posiible I overcook them? They are moist and really good flavor though. I also let them cool longer than I wanted but i reheat them in the microwave and nothing ooze.
Ok, I replaced the flour with cornstarch to make them GF and they totally worked. I also used the Costco bag of semisweet chipits. I over cooked by about a minute but still very gooey! Delish!
Do these work exactly the same with gluten free flour? Thanks!
Hi Juliana, We haven’t tested these lava cakes with gluten free flour, but let us know how it goes if you give it a try!
Hi can I double the plain chocolate recipe and just add peanut butter to half if it?
Hi Julia! Yes, the chocolate cake batter recipe can be doubled. Feel free to add peanut butter to half of them!
Hi Sally! I have the jumbo muffin pan for the blueberry muffins and was wondering if that would work for this recipe/how long should I cook it for? I’ve been loving every recipe I’ve made of yours (specifically the Nutella brownies!) Thanks so much!
Hi Emily, we haven’t tested it but other bakers have reported using a jumbo muffin tin with success – they should be about the same size (and bake time) as the 6 oz ramekins, though you can measure yours to make sure (will yield 4 lava cakes).
Delicious and simple. Came out perfect. This is a save for sure
Great recipe, I love it. It came out amazing. I made 4 ramekins, 12 min in oven, but I should let its for 13-14 because it’s was big ramekins. I tried a few recipes and i need to ajust its a lot to came out right….. This was perfect. Love it, al my family love it. Thank you Sally ❤️
Hi / I only have 8 oz ramekins – should I make less servings or fill them up less? Also how full should the ramekins be?
Hi LF, 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.
Very good / family loved. Easy to make but was wondering if batter is made and put into ramekins & then refrigerated – how much if any, is cooking time increased?
Hi Jessica, you can make the batter ahead of time and refrigerate for up to two days. We recommend then bringing it to room temperature before spooning into the ramekins. See recipe notes for more details. Glad to hear this recipe was a hit for your family!
Appreciate this info. Will make it easier to serve. Can be with friends/family and just have to put lava cakes in oven. Great desert!
These are soooooo good! I totally recommend them and i think they are great and I don’t think any changes are needed. I made them in a muffin tin and worked great! perfect size as they are rich and fill you up quick! Thank you sally! 🙂
Hi Sally! We love this recipe. The richness of the chocolate is amazing!! I’m making them again this evening but hoping to freeze a couple for a later date. Do you have a recommendation on how to wrap them for freezer? Thanks in advance! Your website and all of your tips has been so incredibly helpful to me!!
Hi Kim! Allow them to cool completely before freezing. You can either cover them tightly with plastic wrap or place them in an air-tight container (or both for best protection). Enjoy!
Made these yesterday. I did half the recipe, as it was only me eating them. Only concern I had was when half of something ended up being “.5”, my scale is whole numbers. Tried to get as close as possible. Guess I did OK as they turned out great. Used 2-6oz Pyrex ramekins. Made the batter early and stuck in the fridge. Took them out after I ate dinner and baked them off. Thanks Sally for a quick and easy dessert.
I only have 4oz ramekins…. how long should I bake them?
Hi Renee! Bake time will be shorter, but we’re unsure exactly how long the smaller cakes will take.
Hi Sally,
I’m about to try these out for my sister’s birthday and I was wondering if I could use a 6 inch cake pan and just increase the baking time by a couple minutes?
Thanks! Love all your recipes. Just made your granola bars this morning!! So good!!
Hi Phoebe, we haven’t tested that so can’t say for sure. You may love this 6 inch chocolate cake recipe instead!
I made them for Fat Tuesday. They came together in no time. I can’t believe it was this easy. The kids think I am superwoman!
I made these last night as a late Valentine’s dessert for me and my sisters! OMG…so incredibly rich and delicious! So much lava! I topped these little lava cakes with a little mint flavored melted chocolate, whipped cream and shaved chocolate curls! This recipe is definitely a keeper! Thank you for sharing!
I made this for my wife (and me) for Valentine’s Day. At age 75, I decided that it might be fun to start baking. I’ve only baked a few things so far, this being one of them. I used ramekins as suggested. I found the recipe very easy to follow, and the results were great. My wife who is somewhat of a chocoholic was impressed that I could make them and that they tasted so good. Thanks for your help.
I am not sure why you say, “And, if 4 or 6 lava cakes are simply too many to have around, try this 2 serving recipe for chocolate fudge cakes instead” because the ingredients are very easy to cut in half and make just 2 ramekins which is what I did.
My batter split and the resulting cakes were a disaster. They tasted wonderful but overall inedible. Any suggestions to avoid broken batter?
Hi Andrew, batter usually splits when your ingredients have too much variation in temperature. Make sure to let the chocolate cool so it’s not piping hot when you add the other ingredients. Bringing your eggs to room temperature before beginning should help next time as well. Thank you so much for giving this recipe a try!