Hot Choco Lava cake or Mini Choco Lava cake needs no introduction. It is unquestionably a favorite of many chocoholics. This is also a popular dessert menu item in many restaurants or aboard any cruise. To recreate it at home was always on my mind. There are so many recipes for the hot choco lava cake online.
Some use oven baking, microwave cooking, and even the instant pot. I used a combination of some of the recipes. After some trial and error, narrowed it down to the one that worked out best for me. Most of them call for the use of four eggs, a stick of butter with powdered sugar, and flour. Halve the recipe to make two cakes so it helps with portion control as well.
Why you'll love this?
- The molten lava cake with its melted chocolate center and the exterior cake with ice cream are a great combination and a treat to the tastebuds.
- They are very easy to make, the trick is to know the exact time to take them out of the oven so it's not overcooked or undercooked and collapse when you flip them out of the ramekins. The safest option is to serve it in the ramekins for the latter.
- Home-made ones always taste good, and you know all the ingredients that go in.
- You can make the batter in advance, and refrigerate it in another container for up to 2 days. Transfer it to the ramekins when ready to bake
Ingredients you will need
- The best chocolate that you can get like Ghiradelli baking chocolate
- Eggs organic
- Butter
- Vanilla essence
- All-purpose flour
- Coffee powder (optional)
How to make chocolate lava cake at home?
Ramekins that can go into an oven, preferably 4 -6 oz ones are used in making this recipe. You can also use a muffin pan or cupcake tray to make this, but I have not tried that. The chocolate used should be of great quality like Ghiradelli baking chocolate. It is better to avoid the chocolate chip that you normally use for cookies in this recipe as the desired lava may not be obtained. They are designed not to melt easily. Use dark, semi-sweet, or milk chocolate whatever you prefer. Of the four eggs used in this recipe, two should be yolk only. Use powdered sugar and all-purpose flour with a little salt. Just a handful of ingredients and you are all set to make it!
Hot Choco Lava Cake Preparation Tips
Although it is very simple to make this cake, with very few ingredients, I made a couple of attempts to perfect it. The taste was on the spot always. How can a warm hot chocolate cake with molten lava go wrong in taste anyway? The challenge was to get the cake out of the ramekins intact without the lava dripping or overcooking with no lava. There is always a possibility for this. To be on the safer side for first-timers, it is best to serve it in the ramekins itself. Decorate with powdered sugar and serve with ice cream on the side.
The trick is to get the cooking (baking) time right, the earliest being 12 mins and up to 15 mins. The first time I took it out at 12 minutes and it was perfect. But after transferring it to the plate, the cake was intact however the molten chocolate oozed out, without cutting into it. I next attempted 15 -17 minutes and it worked out better. Place it in the middle rack of the oven while baking. If you are lucky, you may get it right on the first attempt itself. It also depends on the oven and climate conditions. Make sure to spray the ramekins with non-stick cooking spray, butter, and dust with cocoa so it can help with easy unmoulding. Line with parchment sheet rounds in the bottom if you like, although not necessary.
If you plan to make the batter in advance, you can also refrigerate the batter in another container for up to 2 days and transfer it to the ramekins to bake, just before you serve it. I have not tried that so can not comment on how that will turn out. The batter should be brought to room temperature before baking.
Hot Choco Lava Cake
Ingredients
- 4 oz chocolate baking Ghiradellis or any other good brand (milk, semi sweet or dark)
- ½ cup butter 1 stick
- 4 eggs 2 full and 2 yolks (organic, pasteurized)
- 1 cup powdered sugar (not granulated)
- 6 tbsp All purpose flour
- 1 tsp vanilla essence optional
- ½ tsp coffee powder optional
Instructions
- Pre-heat the oven to 425 deg F
- Spray the ramekins with cooking spray oil or butter and dust it with cocoa flour.Line with small parchment rounds if needed.
- Cut the chococlate into small piecs and transfer into a bowl .
- Add the butter into the bowl and melt it using a double broiler or using 10 sec intervals in a microwave.
- Use a whisk to mix and get a smooth brown chocolate sauce.
- Add powdered sugar to it and mix well.
- Add the eggs , vanilla and coffee powder if using .Use ahand or stand mixer beat for about 1 to 2 minutes.
- Finally add the flour and mix with a spatula until it is just combined.
- Divide the batter into the 4 ramekins and bake for 12 - 17 mins .
- The batter will rise and look cooked on the edges.
- Cool for about 2 mins , run a knife around the edges and carefully transfer to your serving plate.
- Dust it with powdered sugar .Serve with ice cream, strawberries or chooclate sauce .
Nutrition
How to serve the hot mini choco lava cake
It is best to have it immediately just out of the oven. Wait for about 2 minutes, run a knife around the edges, and turn it into a serving plate upside down. Top it with powdered sugar, ice cream, or chocolate syrup. Serve it with sliced strawberries if you like.
Thanks for reading and if you try making this delicious cake, I would love to hear how it turned out. This dessert is great for any occasion and perfect for a Valentine's day treat as well. Here are some other chocolate desserts that you may love chocolate truffle cake, chocolate cupcake, delicious chocolate cake. Enjoy!
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Mmm, so yummy! felt like having a bite from the screen, totally tempting, especially the melting chocolate part! love that these cakes are in small serving size, I can't wait to try it, Nisha!
I tried this recipe with dark chocolate in the cups. And these clicks makes me drool !!
Wonderful to hear that Suni, I wanted to try it with dark chocolate as well .Hopefully next time. Thank you for stopping by!
Thank you so much Aarthi! It's indeed so tempting right and even better with a scoop of ice cream on the side . The small servings are good so we can have it guilt free 🙂
This looks really delicious and too cute eat. Too bad saw this a bit late since V-Day has passed but I would love to try making this. Thank you for sharing the recipe.
Thank you so much , I think it's okay to make it even other wise hope you enjoy making and having it !
I have had a lava cake only once but never tried to make me on my own. Saving the recipe to try out, looks so good.
Wonderful to hear that you will try it. Hope you love it as much as we do, Thank you so much!
I love choco lava cake but I have only tried it from Dominos. But the recipe is love... <3 <3 I'll try it!
Thank you so much!
Oh wow, this looks SO good! I've made lots of different cakes, but I am yet to try a lava cake. This post makes me really want to give it a try though 😋
Thank you so much Indya, this is a good one to try !
oh I LOVE lava cakes! always so very delicious! I enjoy it a lot
They are truly delicious , Thanks a lot!
Oh wow this sounds like something I would have ordered in a restaurant pre-Covid! Yum, and so neat that you can bring this treat home with the recipe xx
This was our favorite at restaurants as well , it's very gratifying to recreate this at home 🙂 . Thank you Christy !
Those are cute little chocolate cakes, perfect for Valentine's Day! I like that you don't have to make a large cake!
Thank you so much Lori, appreciate your comments. Yes, the best part about these cakes is their mini size!
How can this not be good with all that butter!!!! I have never made this before and will be saving your recipe. Thank you!
Exactly right Diane , it's got to taste good with all the butter indeed. Thank you for the comments and hope you enjoy this delicious cake !
This looks so yummy! I can have it everyday!
Thank you so much Su , appreciate your comments!
Very inspiring 😋
Thank you so much Anita!
Yummilicious! I'm sure that the luscious chocolate lava and spongy chocolate cake will please everyone including a person with the most impeccable taste. Thanks for sharing a beautifully presented recipe.
Thank you so much Megala for the kind comments! I agree most folks would love this delectable dessert for sure .
Cool. I'd love to give it a try. It's funny how despite how simple some of these recipes are, one may likely not get it right the first. This happens to me sometimes. I took note of your methods and experiments. But as they say, "practice makes perfect".
Awesome , am sure you will enjoy making it ! Don't worry about the cake coming out intact .It can be also had from the ramekin directly as well. You can get it right the first time as well if you closely follow all the tips and instructions. One of the main factors is the temperature of the oven which varies. Good luck with it. Thank you for the comments and stopping by!
Oh Wow ! Absolutely droolllllicous lava cakes Nisha 😋😋 Perfect treat for Valentine's Day ! Bookmarking this !
Thank you so much Smitha! They are indeed heavenly and yes a perfect treat for Valentines day .Hope you enjoy making and having it as well!
Saving the recipe😋.
Thank you Anjali, hope you enjoy having it as well!
My pleasure dear, definitely I will.😀