Molten Chocolate Cakes
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Molten chocolate cakes, also known as lava cakes, are rich individual chocolate cakes with oozing molten centers.
Molten chocolate cakes—also known as chocolate lava cakes—are rich individual chocolate cakes with oozing molten centers. The original recipe was created by master chef Jean-Georges Vongerichten fortuitously, when he pulled a chocolate cake out of the oven before it was done and discovered the center to be enticingly warm and pudding-like. Surprisingly, molten chocolate cakes are easy enough for even the novice baker to make at home. What’s more, they can be prepared ahead of time, stored in the fridge, and then baked at the last minute. The key is to serve them right out of the oven; if they sit too long after baking, the molten centers will cook through.
“I made this for a dinner party, and it turned out perfectly…All my guests raved about it, and it is a wonderful stress-free dessert because it can be made ahead of time.”
What you’ll need to make Molten Chocolate Cakes
Find the printable recipe with specific measurements below.
- Butter: Gives the cakes a rich flavor and smooth texture, plus more for buttering the ramekins.
- Bittersweet Chocolate: Bittersweet chocolate offers a deep, rich chocolate taste. The quality of chocolate significantly impacts the flavor of the cakes, so use a high-quality brand.
- Eggs + Egg Yolks: Provide structure and richness to the cakes. The additional yolks make the cakes extra rich.
- Light Brown Sugar: Adds sweetness and a hint of molasses flavor, which complements the chocolate.
- Vanilla Extract: Complements the chocolate flavor.
- Salt: A small amount helps balance the sweetness and intensify the chocolate flavor.
- All-Purpose Flour: Gives the cakes structure, but only a small amount is used to keep them moist and fudgy.
How to make Molten Chocolate Cakes
You’ll need six oven-proof 6-ounce ramekins for the recipe, which you can find at any kitchen store. If you have ramekins that are slightly larger, the recipe is still doable, but you’ll likely need to add a minute or two from the baking time (and this will also impact the number of servings you get from the batter).
Begin by buttering the ramekins liberally to ensure the cakes release easily.
Melt one stick of butter and add the chopped chocolate to the bowl.
Stir until the chocolate is melted and smooth. If a few chunks of chocolate remain, place the bowl back in the microwave for 20 seconds, then stir again.
Next, combine the eggs, egg yolks, brown sugar, salt and vanilla extract in a bowl.
Beat until pale and thick, about 4 minutes.
Add the flour and melted chocolate mixture (the chocolate mixture sinks to the bottom).
Gently fold to combine.
It will deflate a bit—that’s okay.
Spoon the batter evenly into the prepared ramekins.
Bake for 10 minutes in a 450°F oven. (If you’re not ready to bake the cakes right away, you can cover the ramekins with plastic wrap and store them in the fridge; just bring them to room temperature before baking.)
They’ll puff up just over the edge of the ramekins. Be sure not to overcook them, or the centers won’t be molten. Let the cakes sit in the ramekins for a minute, then carefully invert them onto plates.
Dust with confectioners’ sugar and serve with vanilla ice cream or sweetened whipped cream and berries.
Frequently Asked Questions
Yes, the batter can be spooned into the ramekins, covered and refrigerated for several hours before baking. Take them out of the fridge about 30 minutes before baking so they come to room temperature.
Use the a good-quality bittersweet chocolate, such as Ghirardelli or Guittard. It makes a difference!
Achieving the perfect molten center in a chocolate cake can be a challenge, mainly because every oven is different and, unlike other cakes, you can’t tell by looking at them. The typical baking is about 10 minutes, but it’s a good idea to start checking a couple of minutes before the suggested time, as even a minute too long in the oven can result in an overcooked center.
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- Chocolate Bundt Cake
- Chocolate Mousse
- German Chocolate Cake
Molten Chocolate Cakes
Molten chocolate cakes, also known as lava cakes, are rich individual chocolate cakes with oozing molten centers.
Ingredients
- 1 stick (½ cup) unsalted butter, plus more for buttering the ramekins
- 6 ounces bittersweet chocolate, chopped, best quality such as Ghirardelli
- 2 large eggs
- 2 large egg yolks
- ¼ cup plus 2 tablespoons light brown sugar, packed
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- Pinch of salt
- 3 tablespoons all purpose flour
For Serving (optional)
- Confectioners sugar, vanilla ice cream or sweetened whipped cream, and berries
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 450°F and set an oven rack in the middle position. Generously butter six 6-ounce ramekins (really be generous, and do not substitute non-stick cooking spray). Set the ramekins on a baking sheet.
- Melt the butter in a medium bowl in the microwave. Immediately add the chopped chocolate and stir until the chocolate is completely smooth and melted. If a few chunks remain, place the bowl back in the microwave for 20 seconds, then stir again. Repeat if necessary. Set aside.
- In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle or beaters, beat the eggs, egg yolks, brown sugar, vanilla and salt at high speed until thickened and pale, about 4 minutes. Add the melted chocolate mixture and flour to the egg mixture and fold with a rubber spatula until just combined (the chocolate sinks to the bottom so be sure to scrape it up into the batter).
- Spoon the batter evenly into the prepared ramekins and bake for 10 minutes, until the cakes are set and puffed over the edges of the ramekins. Let the cakes cool in the ramekins for 1 to 2 minutes; then, holding the hot ramekins with a dish towel, carefully invert the cakes onto dessert plates. They should pop right out, but you can run a thin-bladed knife around the edges if necessary. Serve immediately. (It's important not to let the cakes sit after baking, as the centers will continue to cook.)
- Make-Ahead Instructions: The batter can be spooned into the ramekins, covered and refrigerated for several hours before baking. Take them out of the fridge about 30 minutes before baking so they come to room temperature.
Nutrition Information
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- Per serving (6 servings)
- Calories: 416
- Fat: 31 g
- Saturated fat: 18 g
- Carbohydrates: 35 g
- Sugar: 29 g
- Fiber: 2 g
- Protein: 5 g
- Sodium: 85 mg
- Cholesterol: 174 mg
This website is written and produced for informational purposes only. I am not a certified nutritionist and the nutritional data on this site has not been evaluated or approved by a nutritionist or the Food and Drug Administration. Nutritional information is offered as a courtesy and should not be construed as a guarantee. The data is calculated through an online nutritional calculator, Edamam.com. Although I do my best to provide accurate nutritional information, these figures should be considered estimates only. Varying factors such as product types or brands purchased, natural fluctuations in fresh produce, and the way ingredients are processed change the effective nutritional information in any given recipe. Furthermore, different online calculators provide different results depending on their own nutrition fact sources and algorithms. To obtain the most accurate nutritional information in a given recipe, you should calculate the nutritional information with the actual ingredients used in your recipe, using your preferred nutrition calculator.
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Jenn, I made these for a dinner party last night and they were a huge hit! For me, I would have liked LESS lava. Is there a way to have a more cake-like middle? I did cook them @450 for 10 min and it looked like the top was just getting ready to burn at the 10 min. Thank you
Hi Marcy, If they were starting to burn on top, but were a little too “molteny” for you, I might suggest reducing the oven temp a bit next time, so they can cook on the inside a bit longer without burning on the top.
Hi
How can I make it eggless?
Sorry Sonia, I don’t think this one would work without eggs!
No lava. Tasty, but they were brownies & a little burned on top. On the plus side, they rose well & did release from the ramekins easily, which is why I decided to try this recipe after having sticking issues with my old recipe. I’ll try them again with a lower oven temp &/or less cooking time.
Hi Jenn,
I will be using 8 oz ramekins. Do you think I need to change the baking time/anything else? Thanks so much. -Christine
Hi Christine, If using larger ramekins, I’d probably reduce the number of ramekins to 4 or 5, and increase baking time by a few minutes.
Hi. Thinking of trying this recipe. Would it be okay to use custard cups instead if ramekins? Thank you!
Hi Carla, I haven’t tried these in custard cups. They may not rise quite as well, but will still be tasty. If you make them, please let me know how they turn out!
It worked out well! Awesome recipe!!! Thank you.
Made them for Valentine’s Day in custard cups….delicious. Next time I would bake for 15 minutes at 425 degrees.
I have to add that I bought the wrong size ramekins, I think they were 12 oz. I made three cakes instead of six and we shared….it was still perfect! I baked 13 minutes instead of 10. 🙂
LOVED THIS!!! The recipe is perfect and foolproof. Thanks, Jen, for another amazing recipe!
ARGH! I under cooked them and the bottom and top separated as I was taking them out of the ramekins! So, it was more of a puddle of yummy goodness (with vanilla ice cream, of course) than a lava cake. I left them in the oven for 10 minutes but maybe my oven is funky…still five stars because I had to restrain my family from licking their plates…I’ve got two left in the fridge and will try again this evening..
ARGH!! AGAIN! This time I left them in the oven for too long! Not that anyone complained about the flavor! But, my son did say that I needed to try again, preferably as soon as possible…
Making this now…I’m sure it will be just a delicious as everything I have made that you have posted!
Thanks for all of the delicious inspiration!
I made these this evening. Great tasting but no lava though. I then realized that I did not pay close enough attention and added the flour to the egg and sugar mixture instead of adding the flour after I mixed the egg mixture…Could this be where I went wrong…? Thank you.
Hi Susan, Possibly, but it could also be that your oven was a little too hot or they cooked a little too long. Next time, reduce the cook time by a few minutes.
Love this recipe. It was amazingly simple to make! I put it together while preparing my family dinner. Popping it in the oven while everyone was finishing dinner was brilliant. Can’t wait to try it with other varieties of chocolate.
I have tried this one so many times! My kids absolute favorite. I follow the recipe not changing one thing and it comes out perfect each and every time. Two thumbs up!
Made these once but they came out all cake and no lava. Searched and found the original recipe on Food and Wine and this recipe makes only 4 servings, not 6. Made recipe again for 4 and it worked! Lava!
Recently tried these in 6 – 4 oz ramekins. They came out the best yet with just the right amount of lava!
At first I felt intimidated thinking this recipe for molten chocoate cakes would be difficult. The last time I tried molten cakes was in a restaurant in Kuai for dessert years ago. It just happened that my children gave me 6 rankings for a holiday gift a perfect size to make molten cakes. Your pictures helped me over come my fear and then become excited to shop for ingredients and make it. Thank you for such a rich, delicate dessert. I made it last night for dessert. My kids loved adding ice cream and raspberries. So scrumptious All of loved eating each delicious bite.
The lesson form me is to read and study your pictures prior to making which gave me more confidence.
This is my families favorite dessert now.
Thank you
I make these cakes every year for a Christmas dinner party and my guests ask for them! They are wonderful served with Graeter’s Peppermint Ice Cream!!!
Fabulous dessert and super easy to make especially in a busy kitchen. We used 4oz ramekins and baked for about 8:30 minutes…they were delicious. Next time will serve with small scoop of vanilla ice cream. This will be our go-to super delicious dessert to impress our friends! Thank you!
Hi Jennifer,
I would like to know what size ramekin you used? And do you fill the ramekin to the top?
Thanks,
Richard
Hi Richard, I use 6-ounce ramekins; you’ll fill them a little more than halfway.
I am searching for a molten chocolate cake recipe to make for my bestfriend’s birthday. I found your website:). Could you please explain to me how the proportion of butter to chocolate will affect the cakes? I noticed you have a bit more butter than chocolate in your recipe, but I also saw lots of recipes with the same amount for chocolate/butter and also some with more chocolate than butter. Please enlighten me, this will help me understand what texture to get:)
Thank you for your lovely blog and sharing with us your expertise!
hanh
Hi Hanh, To be honest, I really haven’t compared this recipe to others in terms of the chocolate-butter ratio. There are so many factors in each recipe — such as the amount of flour, eggs, cook time, etc. — that affect the the quantities of the all the ingredients so it’s really hard to say. But I can tell you is that this recipe is based on the original and works really well. I hope you’ll try it 🙂
Hi Jenn
How long can these sit after baking before eating them. I want to make these for a dinner party but don’t want to bake after guests arrive. thanks.
Hi Maria, Unfortunately, they really can’t be kept long — maybe 20 minutes at most. You can do all of the prep ahead of time so they’re ready to pop in the oven, but it’s best to bake them right before serving. Sorry!
Hi, I really want to make these little cakes but my oven temp can’t be trusted. With the center being molten how do you check for doneness? Thank you, Dolores
Hi Dolores, it’s a little bit challenging to tell with these because of the molten centers! You could insert a toothpick on the edge of the ramekins to make sure it comes out clean and then again in the center to see if that’s still a bit gooey. Hope that helps!
I don’t think my cakes rose enough in the oven. Still delicious though I left them in a couple more minutes to see if rise more so not molten in middle, just undercooked. Delicious though! Any idea where I went wrong?
Hi Molly, Did you beat the egg mixture for the full 4 minutes? Were your ramekins a bit bigger than mine?
Finally got around to making this dessert. Simplistic, delicious. To top it off, I made my own raspberry sauce by sprinkling some sugar on raspberries and threw them into a food processor with a few drops of water. Really brought it all home for me, much like I imagine the ice cream or fresh raspberries would.
I was not able to bake the cake and the mixture has been refrigerated for 5 days. Is it still usable or should I throw it out?
While I didn’t make this dessert, it was made for me, it was quite tasty and seemed really simple to put together. And I had it served with a raspberry sauce- totally pulled it together.
I had some leftovers and they didn’t do well the next day, but they did taste like a brownie- so they didn’t go to waste!
I think I’ll try this again and add some cayenne spice to it- making it more like a “mexican molten lava cake”.
Taste good and easy. A keeper.
I made these for my sister on her birthday and she loved them! I did everything that the recipe called for and just added strawberry syrup that I made on top and that was it… She loved them and wants me to make them every year for her birthday. 🙂
Would it be possible to have metric equivalents of the amounts? I looked at an online conversion, but I really want to make these and I’m nervous about trusting the online conversions because the amounts look weird.
Bryony, Unfortunately, I don’t use metric measurements — and trust me, you don’t want me doing the math 🙂 But this is a good conversion chart:http://www.foodgeeks.com/resources/conversion_charts#fm
Here are equivalent measures:
http://www.craftybaking.com/howto/measuring-techniques-conversions
These look great! If I freeze them should I bake them first or freeze the batter? Also – once I take them out of the freezer do they need to come to room temperature before I bake them?
Thanks!
Hi Christina, You can freeze them raw and put them in the oven frozen; they’ll take a few more minutes to cook.
Hi! If you freeze them, do you take them out of the ramekin once frozen? Or do you keep them in the ramekin to put them in the oven? Wouldn’t it be bad for the ramekin to go from the freezer directly to the oven? Or do you put them in a new room temperature ramekin to put them in the oven?
Hi Wendi, You don’t need to put the cakes in room temperature ramekins. I’d just take them out of the freezer and let them sit for about 30 minutes before putting them in the oven. Hope you enjoy!
Thanks!
Hi- How many days can the batter stay in the fridge covered?
Thank you-
Hi Jessica, I’d say 1-2 days. Hope you enjoy!
WOW!!! These we’re AMAZING! And I’m so glad they were not overly sweet, since we added a scoop of vanilla ice cream and fresh strawberries on top. And it was so quick and easy to make, too. Thanks Jenn, for another perfect recipe!
A really easy recipe with delicious results! If you want to impress but want something easy to prepare, this is a fantastic recipe!
OK, i love chocolate….no, really, i LOVE chocolate. These molten chocolate cakes are wonderful! They are chocolatey, gooey, and wonderful! I have made them for guests before also – made the batter earlier in the day & covered ramekins like she suggests, took them out of refrigerator & let sit out for 30 min & they were perfect! Easy, yummy, and everyone loved them! I’ve also made them just for my husband & I (no, we didn’t eat all 6 at one time) – another great recipe! Try them!
Hi. I’m 12 years old and I want to become a baker. How can I start a website for tasty treats like yours?
Hi Alexandra, It’s easy to start a blog. Look into wordpress.org or google’s blogger.com and maybe ask a parent to help you set it up. You can also look for videos that take you through the process. If you have questions along the way, you can email me at jennifer@onceuponachef.com. Good luck!
I don’t have ramekins. Is there any way I could make this recipe in muffin tins or something else?
Hi Naomi, Yes, it should work in muffin tins.
What if I have 4 oz ramekins? Would that work with a smaller amount in each?
Yes that’s fine…baking time will be slightly shorter too.
just made this for my daughter’s birthday dinner, huge success!!!!
everyone loved!!!!
These are wonderful!! They turned out perfectly! I substituted the flour with my Gluten Free All Purpose Flour Mix that I make and it turned out perfectly. They really are to die for! My hubby is a chocolate lover and he was smitten.
I had not made these in years and your recipe was just right! 10 minutes was perfect timing! I did not have bittersweet chocolate so used semi-sweet chips which worked quite well.
I made this for Valentine’s Day. It was easy to make and turned out very well. I didn’t make any changes to the recipe other than cooking it a little longer than it called for. Unfortunately, I over-baked it slightly, but it still was a winner recipe. I served it with a little bit of vanilla ice cream, which definitely was needed.
I was looking for a good molten cake recipe for a little while, and this one came up on the first page of the Once Upon a Chef newsletter a few weeks ago. It looked so decadent I decided that this was going to be the one I was going to try. I am glad I did! I followed the recipe as is, and it turned out perfect: moist, rich and delicious!!! Being a cook myself, it gave me inspiration to develop a dulce de leche molten cake recipe, which I am planning on making in a few weeks (we just need a small break in between two molten cakes 🙂 Thanks for sharing such a great recipe again!!!
I made these for dinner a few times and they are amazing. The first time I made them I forgot the flour and they still turned out delicious, just a little flat. That way, if you have glutton free people these are easy to transform.
I made these on valentines day for my husband! Huge hit.
What an easy recipe, it’s so fast to make and cooks up so quick. One of our favorite desserts. Thank you Jennifer !!
This was so good I could have made them every day but… they are perfect for that special dinner with friends or family. My husband was very impressed with my skill. Thanks for making me look good!
gorgeous pics. my husband has been asking me to make molten lava cakes… need to do this very soon. 🙂
Made this tonight for a small dinner party. It was delicious! Easy to follow recipe. I will definitely make again. Thanks!
I can’t wait to try these! Have you tested these to a gluten free recipe? I was wondering if a flour substitute could be used.
I haven’t, Tess, but I imagine a flour substitute would work.
I made something like this during a cooking class last year…always wanted to try them at home! Yummy!
Those look glorious!! I’m sure they taste the same. Beautiful pics!
If these are made ahead stored in the fridge, do they need to come to room temp before baking and does refrigerating the batter first change the cooking time? Also, to make ahead is it okay to refrigerate in the ramekins or should I leave the batter in the mixing bowl? Sorry for all the questions ; )
Hi Robin, You can pour the batter into the ramekins and cover them with plastic wrap, then definitely bring them to room temperature before baking. There are instructions for this in the recipe, but I should definitely include it in the post as well…updating it right now. Thank you!
Thank you, Jenn! I have only made this recipe when we were going to have it right away….sooooo glad I can make it ahead and still know the “lava” part won’t change. My boys will be thrilled to have this tomorrow night! Thank you!!!
Oh yea, this looks simple and yummy. The best part, just in time for a sweetheart dinner/dessert.
Bake at 450 degrees? That seems hot!
Yep, 450. It is hot, but they’re only in there for 10 min.