Molten Chocolate Cakes

Prep 20 min
Total 20 min
Servings 6

Need to pull off a feat of dessert magic to impress your guests? These molten chocolate cakes will do the trick every time! While many might think chocolate lava cake is the domain of restaurant chefs only, it is truly doable in your home kitchen, with common ingredients. All you need is the right molten lava cake recipe to walk you through the steps and you’ll be turning out gooey chocolatey wonders at every dinner party you host!

By Betty Crocker Kitchens

Updated July 1, 2019

Make with

Gold Medal Flour

Ingredients

Unsweetened baking cocoa
6

oz semisweet baking chocolate, chopped
1/2

cup plus 2 tablespoons butter
3

whole eggs
3

egg yolks
1 1/2

cups powdered sugar
1/2

cup Gold Medal™ all-purpose flour
Additional powdered sugar, if desired

Steps

1

Heat oven to 450°F. Grease bottoms and sides of six (6-oz) custard cups with shortening; dust with cocoa. In 2-quart saucepan, melt chocolate and butter over low heat, stirring frequently. Cool slightly.
2

In large bowl, beat whole eggs and egg yolks with wire whisk or eggbeater until well blended. Beat in 1 1/2 cups powdered sugar. Beat in melted chocolate mixture and flour. Divide batter evenly among custard cups. Place cups on cookie sheet with sides.
3

Bake 12 to 14 minutes or until sides are set and centers are still soft (tops will be puffed and cracked). Let stand 3 minutes. Run small knife or metal spatula along sides of cakes to loosen. Immediately place heatproof serving plate upside down over each cup; turn plate and cup over. Remove cup. Sprinkle with additional powdered sugar. Serve warm.

Greasing the custard cups well is important. Using shortening and then dusting the cups with cocoa will ensure that your lava cakes come out without a hitch. This dessert is not one you want to try to pry out of the pan. Using cocoa to dust the cups maintains the chocolatey color—using flour would leave a white residue.
Another reason these lava cakes are perfect for entertaining? They can be made ahead! Make the batter and pour it into custard cups, cover them with plastic wrap and then refrigerate them for up to 24 hours. You may need to bake them 1 to 2 minutes longer, but you should still check them at the shortest stated bake time, as noted above, to avoid overbaking.
Baking the cakes at the right temperature is critical in this recipe. Test whether your oven is registering accurate temperatures by using an oven thermometer and turning the oven on to the temperature listed in the recipe.
Baking your cakes for the right amount of time is also incredibly important. If they’re baked too long, the centers will be cakey. Always check on your cakes at the shortest recommended baking time before deciding whether they need to bake longer.

Nutrition Facts

Serving Size: 1 Serving

Calories: 550
Calories from Fat: 290

% Daily Value

Total Fat: 32g; 49%
Saturated Fat 19g 94% Trans Fat 1g
Cholesterol: 235mg; 78%
Sodium: 190mg; 8%
Potassium: 60mg; 2%
Total Carbohydrate: 56g; 19%
Dietary Fiber 2g 9% Sugars 46g
Protein: 7g

% Daily Value*:

Vitamin A: 15%; 15%
Vitamin C: 0%; 0%
Calcium: 4%; 4%
Iron: 10%; 10%

Exchanges:

1 Starch; 0 Fruit; 2 1/2 Other Carbohydrate; 0 Skim Milk; 0 Low-Fat Milk; 0 Milk; 0 Vegetable; 0 Very Lean Meat; 0 Lean Meat; 0 High-Fat Meat; 6 Fat;

Carbohydrate Choice

*Percent Daily Values are based on a 2,000 calorie diet.

Believe it or not, you can have these wow-worthy lava cakes ready in just 20 minutes. With a few ingredients you probably already have around, you’ll impress company with their own individual desserts or surprise your family with a restaurant-worthy weeknight treat. Once you make these easy sweets, you’ll be excited to try your hand at all things cake. Betty’s got your back with tons of tips and tricks for making perfect cakes every time. Can’t get enough chocolate cake recipes? Find more decadence right this way.