Chocolate Molten Lava Cake
Today is a special day. It is my anniversary! Today I am celebrating another wonderful year of being married to my incredible hunk of a husband.
Today called for a recipe that could do this day some justice.
There is not a more romantic food than chocolate in my honest opinion. Which is why I couldn’t think of a more suiting recipe I could share on this special day ;)
Let me tell you a little bit of history. No- I am not talking about mine and my husband’s epic love story, as I am sure you are all dying to hear (probably not)- but I am going to give you some history between me and Chocolate Molten Lava Cake.
I don’t remember the exact birthday, but sometime in high school my tradition began. Every year on my birthday, I would get a Chili’s Chocolate Molten Lava Cake. The tradition still lives strong today.
My husband, being the smart man he is, knows that Chocolate Molten Lava Cake is a smooth sailing ride to my heart and on special occasions he will take me out just for that dessert :) In fact, when he really is trying to impress, we START with that dessert at Chili’s and then work our way to dinner. It is just a sure way to make sure our calories and empty stomachs are spent and utilized wisely ;)
I initially had a hard time wrapping my head around what I am about to tell you, but after the second bite there was no looking back. This Chocolate Molten Lava Cake FAR exceeds Chili’s version. The cake melts-in-your-mouth far better and the oozing chocolate is far more delicious. Trust me. I am never looking back.
I found this cake first over on Carlsbad Cravings. If you haven’t heard of her blog or read her story, you are missing out. It is incredible and you won’t be able to stop the tears. Along with her touching and moving story, she shares some fantastic recipes. When I feasted my eyes upon this cake, it was only a matter of time seconds, before I had to make it for myself.
This cake is jaw-droppinging amazing! It is cooked to perfection with the perfect amount of warm creamy chocolate flowing from the center. I’m tell you, this dessert is epic.
Top it off with some ice cream and Homemade Magic Shell, and you will be IN FOOD HEAVEN!
If you love rich, velvety, melt-in-your mouth chocolate, and if you love cake, then you need to make this dessert! You will be left speechless!
Chocolate Molten Lava Cake
Ingredients
- 4 ounces semi-sweet baking chocolate I have also used 4 ounces semi-sweet chocolate chips with success. The baking chocolate is better though.
- 1/2 cup butter
- 1 cup powdered sugar
- 2 eggs
- 2 egg yolks
- 6 Tablespoons flour
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 425 degrees F.
- Spray 4 small (6-8 oz) ramekin dishes with cooking spray and place on a baking sheet. Set aside.
- In a small microwave safe bowl, combine butter and chocolate and melt in 30 second increments, string between each increment until chocolate and butter are combined and smooth.
- Add powdered sugar and stir in evenly.
- Add eggs and egg yolks and beat in until well combined.
- Stir in flour until well combined.
- Pour and distribute batter evenly in the 4 prepared ramekin dishes.
- Bake at 425 degrees F for 12-13 minutes until edges are firm and center is soft, but not super jiggly.
- Let cool for 2 minutes. Using a knife, gently pull cake away from the edges then invert onto plate or serving dish.
- Serve with dusted powdered sugar, ice cream, magic shell or however desired. No matter how you want to eat it, serve immediately.
Nutrition
Enjoy!
Emily @ Life on Food
This looks amazing. I am a huge fan of Chocolate Molten Lava Cake too. And your birthday tradition is marvelous!
Averie @ Averie Cooks
Happy Anniversary!! I love this post, Nikki! All the little details about eating this cake FIRST at Chili's but now, you don't need theirs! I have read Carlsbad Craving's story before (crying my eyes out!) and now I know I need to make this recipe because 'If you love rich, velvety, melt-in-your mouth chocolate, and if you love cake...' yes, that is ME! I hope you and your hubby have a wonderful and super special day together today :)
Ellie
Brb, dying from happiness! :)
Ginghun
ive tried to describe my feelings and there are no words! Al I can say is OMG.
Caitlyn
Wow! That is my same exact tradition I do on my birthday! And it's also the me and my boyfriend's anniversary. I will definitely be making this recipe.
Claudia
How much in grams is half a cup of butter salted or unsalted
And what's powered sugar??? Do you mean sugar
Or icing sugar.
This is in relation to your molten lava cakes.
Rachael
Powdered sugar is the same as icing sugar.
1/2 cup of butter is about 125g
Generally, you always use unsalted butter for baking, as you add the salt in with the receipe.
Hope that helps!
Delilah
So yummy. Was going to add some vanilla, cuz why not, and accidentally added mint extract. Wow so unexpectedly good.
Rasmiya
Hi dear....i love ur Molten cake n intend to make it as soon as possible.....but i am really new to baking n wondering if u would help me out with measurements.....how many cups is 4 oz chocolate chips?
Plz help me....n keep making amazing foods n keep posting them.....
angel
4oz is half a cup :)
Judy Fager
Is it possible to make a larger recipe and bake this in an 8 or 9" cake pan? Or are the results dependent on the size?
Nicole
Dear Nikki, I'm not very good when it comes to baking. Usually I end up with things that taste really good, but look deformed and you could probably beat someone to death with my cakes. So, I didn't hold my hope very high when I tried your recipe. It was such a pain to transform your measurements to the German ones I use at home (being Gramm and Milliliter, as well as Celsius). I was relatively sure that some vital part of your recipe would get destroyed while doing so.
But when I finally turned the cake around it came out smoothly and the outside was just perfectly fluffy and the inside looked sooo great flowing out, oh, and the TASTE - I felt like I was in heaven! Thanks for this great recipe, you really made my day (and that of my guinea pigs - my poor parents ;) ).
Next time I will try to add a small amount of Grand Manier and a little more flour so it doesn't get too liquid from the liqueur. But that's just testing, your lava cake is just perfect the way it is now. Thanks!
Sarah
Thanks Nikki! This is by far THE best recipe I have tried. I used to work at a four diamond restaurant with a well known pastry chef, and this cake is on par with theirs. Very velvety and smooth. I used salted butter to grease the ramekins and I must say that the little tingle of salt around the edge makes me think that a smidge of salt would be delicious too! Also, for those of you trying this for the first time, cook the cakes for nine to ten minutes to start and then adjust as needed. I did mine for ten minutes and they were perfect!
Ana
Made these last night for dessert and they turned out great! This is the first time that I've attempted making molten lava cakes so I was happy to not have over-baked them. Great recipe!
kali
Chocolate molten lava cake heaven! I made them for my boyfriend and he approved! Instructions were easy and I had all the ingredients, it was very convenient.
WENDY SWANSON
So there is No BAKING SODA or BAKING POWDER ? Thank - You In Advance ! :)
Chef in Training
nope, no baking soda or powder :) You will have to let meek now how you like them!
Thomas
What has my diet ever done to you??? Oh my gawd. This is going to be CHRISTmas Desert. Thanks Yew Very much...
Jayna
Do you have to serve immediately?
Chef in Training
yes or the "Lava" insides will set up.
Olya
Wow! This turned out amazing! I used 6" ramekins, so was afraid to leave them in the oven too long. I ended up baking for 10-11 minutes and used coconut oil to coat the inside. One of the best desserts I've ever made. I also used pastry flour. Bravo and thank you!
Melissa
I just made this tonight for 5 so I did 11/2 the recipe. It turned out amazing and everyone loved it!! Might bake a little longer next time so it comes out of the ramakens easier! Thank you for the recipe!!
Ally
I used this amazing recipe, and it worked. I have looked for a recipe that has the chocolate flow out and this one worked. I would highly recommend this website!
Thanks so much for making this!
Marissa
I made these tonight and they were absolutely delicious! They came together so quickly and were very easy to make. It could be dangerous as I often have all of these ingredients on hand! I made a raspberry safe to top the cakes off and they were extra delicious! Thanks for th great recipe!!
Rabia
hi! just wondering if it's ok to make the batter ahead of time..like an hour, then bake it fresh for guests?
Kim
I was wondering the same thing! Did you find out ?
Rita
Did you get an answer I wanted to do this also.
Helia
I have the same question :) Can I make it couple of hours ahead?
sarah
did you make the batter ahead of time? Did they turn out?
Sumi
Hi
When you say flour, what flour is it? Plain floir? Self raising flour?
Cathy
This was the easiest, most delicious lava cake recipe I have tried.
Thank you sooo much for this recipe.
Schyler
Can I put these in cupcake tins? Thanks!
Bridget Weaver
Yes, this was delish, I had tried another recipe but this was much better. Thanks for sharing
Marifel
So 4 oz of semi sweet baking chocolate plus 4 oz of semi sweet chocolate chips or either 1 of the two mentioned?
Lesley
Hi, if I freeze the batter, how long will I have to cook these cakes for?
Marcia DeVries
I tried this two nights ago, and it turned out perfectly. The chocolate oozed out of the middle just like it should. It was sooo good! However, it was so rich that afterwards I was like a slug on the couch waiting for my body to digest it all! One thing was confusing, though. The initial list of ingredients called for 4 oz. of semi sweet chocolate AND 4 oz. of semi sweet chocolate morsels (ch. chips); but the list of ingredients with the directions only call for 4 oz. of semi sweet baking chocolate. I went ahead and used a total of 8 oz. of semi sweet chocolate chips. It worked well, so that is what I will used from now on.
Kay Hulsey
Can the batter be made ahead of time? Do I double the recipe to make 8 servings?
Dhvani
Hello Nikki,
This is just want I needed but unfortunately, I don't own ramekin dishes. Would I be able to use a muffin tray instead? If yes, do I need to change any part of the recipe or baking instructions?
carolyn
Do you have a suggestion on a different way to cook the cake other then a remekiu dish?
Mahnoor
Great recipe. I accidentally doubled the chocolate, and kept the remaining ingredients in the same quantity, but despite that, it was so good and so heavenly. Best molten lava cake recipe! Must try!
My only issue was that the batter was very thick, so the lava was also pretty thick.
But flavor was great
Mahnoor
5 stars from me!
Kim
I was wondering how many calories are in this molten cake? I am doing weight watchers and trying to stick to it.
Yamini
Can I use cocoa powder instead of chocolate chips? Even then have you got to melt the cocoa powder with butter?
Isa
Can I halve the recipe and expect the same delicious results?
dee
Any chance you could tell me how to make this for a crowd in a crock-pot? There are many crock-pot lava cake recipes online, but this one looks particularly good and has high ratings so I'd prefer to use your recipe. Can you help, please? Thanks, dee
MARGARET ERBEN
I HAVE TO TRY THIS! MY DAUGHTER ASKED ME TO MAKE THESE AND THIS SOUNDS LIKE THE BEST RECIPE I HAVE COME ACROSS!! THANKS SO MUCH
Jane
Can this recipe be doubled or tripled? And can it be made ahead? I assume if I refrigerate I would have to cook longer. I'd love to try it for my book club, but have up to 12 people coming. Looks delicious.
Jane
Can I double or triple this? And can the batter be made early in day, be refrigerated and then baked?
Sarah
Can you make the batter and then wait to bake it?
Emma
Just made this for my husband and I on our one year wedding anniversary! It was FABULOUS! A quick and delicious dessert, and by far the best lava cake I’ve ever had!
lana
Absolutely divine, no doubt the best recipe I have tried. It was super gooey inside and so so delicious I was speechless:)) I can’t recommend this recipe enough!! Thanks for the beautiful recipe!!
Holly
Do you think you can mix all the ingredients together and have them in their individual dishes prepared and ready to go a couple hours ahead of time?
Cynthia
Can the batter be made ahead of time?
Margie
I’m looking for a LEMON molten lava cake.
Do you know where I might find such a recipe??
Many thanks