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.
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. 🙂
If you prefer a gluten-free option, consider making this rich and fudge-like flourless chocolate cake.
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!
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.
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:
Many readers tried this recipe as part of a baking challenge!
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.
