This Chocolate Lava Cake is rich, decadent, and surprisingly easy to make! With a perfectly gooey molten center and a tender cake exterior, it’s the ultimate date-night dessert or special treat — and it comes together in under 30 minutes with just a handful of pantry staples.
Why You’ll Love This Recipe
- Gooey center, every time – These cakes bake just long enough to set on the outside while staying molten inside. Magic!
- Simple ingredients – You probably already have everything you need in your pantry.
- Better than a restaurant – Seriously, once you see how easy these are to make, you’ll never need to order one out again.
- Perfect for date night or guests – Elegant and impressive, but secretly low effort.
Ingredients to make Chocolate Lava Cake
Unsalted butter – Butter gives the cakes a rich, tender texture and helps create that molten centre. Don’t forget to butter your ramekins too!
Bittersweet chocolate – Use high-quality chocolate here — it’s the star. I like 60–70% cocoa for that deep, intense flavour without being too bitter.
Eggs + egg yolks – This combo makes the batter rich and custardy, helping it set on the outside but stay soft and runny in the centre.
Granulated sugar – Just enough to sweeten things up and balance the bittersweet chocolate.
Flour – Only a touch! It helps the edges set while keeping the centre soft.
Salt – Enhances all the chocolatey goodness. Please don’t skip it.
Powdered sugar or ice cream – Optional, but a little dusting of sugar or a scoop of vanilla ice cream is chef’s kiss.
Substitutions & Variations
- Peanut butter lava cake – Drop a spoonful of peanut butter into the centre before baking.
- Espresso chocolate – Add 1 tsp instant espresso powder to the batter to deepen the chocolate flavour.
- Gluten-free – Sub in almond flour or a 1:1 gluten-free flour blend.
Chocolate Lava Cake
Course: DessertCuisine: FrenchDifficulty: Easy4
servings10
minutes11
minutes4
cakesIngredients
½ cup unsalted butter (plus more for greasing)
4 oz bittersweet or semi-sweet chocolate (60–70%)
2 eggs
2 egg yolks
¼ cup granulated sugar
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
Pinch of salt
Powdered sugar or ice cream, for serving
Directions
- Preheat oven to 425°F. Grease 4 small ramekins (6 oz) with butter and lightly dust with cocoa powder to prevent sticking.
- In a double boiler or microwave-safe bowl, melt butter and chocolate together. Stir until smooth. Let cool slightly.
- In a medium bowl, whisk together eggs, yolks, and sugar until light and slightly thickened (about 1 minute). Stir in the melted chocolate mixture.
- Gently fold in the flour and salt until just combined. Be careful not to overmix.
- Divide batter evenly between ramekins. Place them on a baking sheet and bake for 11–13 minutes — the edges should be set, but the centers still jiggly.
- Let cakes sit for 1 minute, then gently run a knife around the edges and invert onto plates. Dust with powdered sugar or serve with ice cream.
