Chocolate Molten Lava Cake
Save RecipeHi Bold Bakers! I love chocolate lava cake but sometimes they just don’t turn out. So this week I’ll show you how to make an amazing dessert every time, and we’ll make it BIG & BOLD with a NEW no machine ice cream flavor. Enjoy!
Chocolate Molten Lava Cake
Ingredients
- 1 cup (8.5 oz) Dark Chocolate (72% cocoa solids)
- ¾ cup (6oz) unsalted butter
- ½ cup caster sugar
- 4 eggs (at room temperature)
- 4 yolks
- ½ cup All purpose flour , sifted
Instructions
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First step, melt the butter and chocolate together over a bon marie or in the microwave gently
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In a stand mixer (or hand beater) Beat the eggs and sugar on high until really fluffy and pales in color. This takes around 4 minutes.
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When thick and hold ribbons, turn the machine on slow and drizzle in the cooled chocolate mix. Turn off the machine and run a spatula around the bowl to make sure all the chocolate is mixed in
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Sift the flour over the chocolate mix and gently fold in until dispersed. Take care not to over mix the flour in. It will toughen your cake.
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Butter tea cups, mug or a ramekin (roughly 1 cup) well. Scoop 1 cup of cake mix into your cup. If not baking off straight away, store in the fridge for up to 4 days. It will be happy in there. Here's the tricky part: Set a timer and bake the Lava cake on a baking tray at 400F for 10-12 minutes. Watch carefully if your oven tends to run hotter and that they don't over cook.
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TIP: Bake off one on its own first to check your desired baking time. Depending on how much 'Lava' you like there are seconds in the difference so check the fondant at 10 minutes. If you want to cook for longer check them in another 30 seconds. My sweet spot is around 11 minutes, not too much Lava, a bit runny and the cake is mousse like.
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Once baked you can let it sit for a minute but know that the longer it sits them more it cooks inside and is not as gooey.
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Serve in the mug with Gemma's No Machine Ice Cream!
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Pistachio Raspberry Ice Cream: Mix in ¼ cup of chopped, lightly toasted pistachios and ¼ cup of raspberry puree into 2 cups of no machine Ice cream base. Freeze for 6-8 hours and serve with your Lava Cake.
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Meet Gemma
Hi Bold Bakers! I’m Gemma Stafford, a professional chef originally from Ireland, and I’m passionate about sharing my years of experience to show you how to make game-changing baking recipes with over-the-top results! Join more than 1 Million other Bold Bakers in the community for new video recipes every week!
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Hi Gemma
Is there a variation to the recipe to have a Salted Caramel center?
Susan
Hi Susan,
I do not know! I will need to research this. The issue will be the relative weight of the caramel. This type of cake is a bit like a mousse, a really light thing in terms of the sponge. The chocolate forms its own sauce so to speak, I will add this to my list for sure, it sounds divine the more I think about it!
Gemma 🙂
Hi Gemma!
Where do you get your beautiful cups that can go into the microwave and oven?
Hi Chassidy! I’ve been collecting these mugs for some time now. It is a combination of vintage store finds, TJMaxx and some from here https://www.maxwellandwilliams.com.au/
Hi Gemma,
Can I ask whether it is 4 eggs PLUS 4 yolks? Sorry I’m a bit confused
Hi Uma,
Yes that is correct 4 eggs plus 4 more yolks.
Hope you like this recipe,
Gemma.
Hi Gemma, I want to halve this recipe. What would the baking time be??
Baking time the same. Make sure you make the same size lava cakes as I did though.
Best,
Gemma.
Sorry Faiza, I misread your question.
Now the baking time will be different and I can’t exactly give you the time because I also don’t know what dish you are using. Maybe check out the individual ones here : https://www.biggerbolderbaking.com/chocolate-lava-cake/
Hope this helps,
Gemma.
Thank you!
Hi, I have kept the leftover batter in the fridge. Do I need to leave is out to let it thaw to room temperature or can I just bake them when it is still cold.
Hi Lyn,
you can bake this from the fridge but the baking time may change. Do take note of this tip in the instructions:
Bake off one on its own first to check your desired baking time. Depending on how much ‘Lava’ you like there are seconds in the difference so check the fondant at 10 minutes. If you want to cook for longer check them in another 30 seconds. My sweet spot is around 11 minutes, not too much Lava, a bit runny and the cake is mousse-like.
Once baked you can let it sit for a minute but know that the longer it sits the more it cooks inside and is not as gooey.
When these are baked they tend to pull slightly away from the container/ramekin/mold.
I hope you like this one!
Gemma 🙂
I wanted to thank you for all your lovely recipes. You brought My children and i closer together in the kitchen . They absolutely love your ice cream. And so do I. I have shared your recipe with many people. And everyone’s always stunned how easy it is . So thank you Gemma. You’re cooking is bringing families together. 💜
Hi, how would i make it eggless.. i did use buttermilk but it wasnt wat it shud be.
Hi there, you can use a flax egg instead.
you have wonderful recipes and I enjoy applying them
Hi Syeda,
thank you for your kind words. I am happy that you are baking with us,
Gemma 🙂
Hi! I’m a great fan of your recipees Thanks a lot for sharing this recipe. It taste better then most of the chocolate lava cake I have had.
Please advise– I have lot of nutellaa , can I substitue a portion of chocolate with it?
Hi there,
I have a lot of Nutella recipes here (https://www.biggerbolderbaking.com/?s=Nutella). This will help you to decide how to use this great ingredient. Well done making the lava cake, it can be tricky!
Gemma 🙂
Hey Gemma , can I use cocoa powder instead of chocolate ?..
Hi there,
Not for this precise recipe, but there are recipes online for this.
i think you need to find a small recipe, using perhaps one egg, and try it. You would be using the cocoa, sieved with the flour, 1/2 and 1/2 of each combined with the egg to make a mousse. Slightly under-baked chocolate cake really. It will be safe to eat, so try it,
Gemma 🙂
Hi Gemma,
I want to bake 5 bowls together. How long should I bake them for?
Hi Jenny,
These are baked in a conventional oven, and can be baked in a cup/ramekin/dariole mold etc.
This matters! the batter will bake faster in a metal mold, and according to how the cups/molds are loaded. It is impossible to give a precise response to this.
Follow the instructions carefully. Butter and flour the mold, have the oven ready to bake, and then watch them. When they are done they will feel slightly firm to the touch, the sides will be pulling away, slightly, and they will smell baked!
This is a very difficult recipe for many professional chefs, it is all about the timing, so keep an eye, but do not keep on opening the oven, check after 10 mins.
I hope this is of help,
Gemma 🙂
Hi Gemma,
Have just prepared my dessert bowls with the lava batter which I will bake tomorrow evening. Just wanted to know, how long should I bake 5 bowls put together in a convection oven?
Hi Jenny,
Yes, I meant to say this, bake as many as you like together,
Gemma 🙂
Thanks Gemma, my cakes turned out just fine. They were lovely. I served them with salted caramel ice cream. Awesome! It’s a pity I forgot to post the pictures. My lava however was a bit thin in texture and not thick like the one you showed. Any suggestions on that?
Hi Jenny,
First of all I am delighted you tried this recipe, thank you for sharing your results with me.
1 cup (8.5 oz) Dark Chocolate (72% cocoa solids)
¾ cup (6oz) unsalted butter
½ cup caster sugar
4 eggs (at room temperature)
4 yolks
½ cup All purpose flour, sifted
This is the recipe for easy reference. If I were to guess I would say it had something to do with the chocolate! Go back over it, you can probably see what it was. This type of bake is a type of baked mousse, there really is no ‘liquid’ ingredient. Let me know what you think was different in the ingredients,
Gemma 🙂
Hi gemma, can i store the batter one day in the fridge then bake it the next morning.
Hi Anas,
Yes you can, in the mold/s that you will bake it in. Then cover it down well with foil or cling wrap, and refrigerate.
You can remove to room temperature when you are heating the oven. Remember very cold batter will take longer to bake. Keep an eye on it. When it is done it will feel slightly firm to the touch, and have pulled slightly from the mold. Over baking is the issue to look out for here. Leave in the mold for a minute or so to firm up.
This is a tricky thing, but it is well worth trying,
Gemma 🙂
Hey Gemma I need a little bit of recommendation for the lava cake.
Can I make the lava cake in the muffin silicone mold? And if it does, what would be the timing for the lava cake to bake?
Hi there,
In theory, yes, but you have to consider how you will remove them. Individual dariole molds will be easier to manage, because you have to turn the lava cakes out, without breaking them. I suppose you could turn the whole tray upside down, and allow them all to come out, but I would not like to do this!
Individual portions of this whill bake in about 15 mins. If it has been refrigerated it will take a little longer. You need to watch it, it will begin to pull slightly away from the sides of the mold when it is done.
It is a tricky thing, even professional chefs have trouble getting this just right!
Gemma 🙂
Thank you a lot for the advice. Also is there any difference of using the regular sugar as compared to caster sugar?
And is the caster sugar the same as the powdered sugar and icing sugar??
so caster sugar is very common in europe and it is a granulate sugar that is blended fine for baking. However the sugar in the U.S and in other countries is already quite fine so you can just use that regular sugar.
I hope I cleared that up,
Gemma.
Hi Gemma, i have tried chocolate lava cake on my daughter’s birthday. It was so good. My daughter was so happy because of your receipe. Thank you very much. Can u please also share receipe for Raffel.???
Hi there,
Thank you for your kind comment, i am happy that this recipe suited you.
I do not know what Raffel is?? Is this the right name for it?
Gemma 🙂
Sorry Gemma its waffel.
thank u so much Gemma this recipe has helped me a lot. Love you?!!!!!!
That is great, thank you for being with us,
Gemma 🙂
Hii gemma, just want to quickly ask, 8.5 oz of dark chocolate is how many grams? Kinda still new at all this but I want to give it a shot for a friend. Thank you ?
Hi tasya,
this is 241grams. Happy baking,
Gemma 🙂
Hi gemma
I’m a new bolde baker so please help me out
Can I use baking powder in the recipe
Hi there, this recipe calls for plain/all purpose flour, there is no raising agent in it, you would not adjust a recipe if you do not need to, it will change the results. As a new baker it is important to follow every recipe carefully, as you become experienced you will know when to make changes, and what will work best,
Gemma 🙂
Thank u gemma for your help
Hi Gemma!
What will the measurements be if I just want to yield 1 serving? Thanks so much! <3
This is a huge recipe, easily feeding 10 people. So, divide the recipe down by 10, if you have too much in that portion you can freeze the excess for another time,
Gemma 🙂
Okiee, thank so much Gemma! I love your curt reply 🙂 Please continue to make more recipes, I love them 🙂 Could you make a series of healthy snacks/meals/desserts? I’m a dancer and always on the hunt for those recipes. Thanks again! 😀 <3 <3 <3 <3
Ha ha Carmela, Sometimes I am trying to fit in answers between a thousand other things, and on the go! sorry, I do not mean to be curt.
Dancers must use extraordinary amounts of calories, I suppose this means lots of carbs, but good ones! I will add this to my list, i wish I could dance! and sing! lol. Gemma 🙂
No no no, sorry pls dont feel bad at all. I was just pertaining to a “brief” reply, but no I didnt feel at all that it was curt. 🙂 I really meant that I love how you do your best to reply to comments, even if its short. 🙂 hope this clears out everything lol.
Thank you so much for adding to your list! 🙂 Im sure you have lots on it 🙂
<3 u! 🙂
No offense taken Carmela, I am just happy to have such loyal followers, I have the best community in the baking social media category, and that is all of you!
Gemma 🙂
Hi… Gemma… Is there any substitute for eggs??? To get the same texture to make equally good vegan cakes
Hi there, certainly not for this recipe. This is reliant on eggs, they are essential in this one.
There is an egg substitute chart here on the website, which is useful for some recipes. When you change an ingredient in a recipe you will change the results too, the recipe is never the same. Some recipes are designed to be egg free, these work best,
Gemma 🙂
Thanks you so much for the wonderful explainations.? I will definitely try it. And on behalf of my son and me thanks for a genious icecream recipe. I will soon share photos. It is absolutely delicious.
Thank you Liron,
Gemma 🙂
Hi Gemma. I found your videos on youtube a month ago. I’ve already made your wonderful icecream recipe twice. It was a huge success. Im ready to be bold and try baking. I would love to try baking this cake. Can you please tell me if i can use oil instead of butter and if so, how much oil? As for the chocolate and butter, how many gramms are one cup? Thanks. Liron.
Hi Liron,
butter has a bad name, I think this is undeserved! It is a natural ingredient, full of good fats, and a superior ingredient for baking. Now, I must clarify this, I do mean ‘real’ butter, from cows milk, and not a butter like product which has been manufactured!
I prefer butter. Here however is the recommended substitution: Try two thirds to three quarters as much oil, so a little less oil,
Gemma 🙂
Thanks you for the rapid reply. As for the chocolate, one website states that a cup of chopped chocolate is 170 grams and another claims it is 120 grams. Can you please explain what is the amount of chocolate needed for this recipe? Thanks. Liron.
I use a conversion which is 170g is my chopped chocolate cup, and i stick to this,
Gemma 🙂
Hi gemma…..can i beat the egg and sugar with a whisk?.and can i use cupcake molds if not cupcake molds then can i use a small cake pan or a mug for the cake to bake…..??
You can use cupcake mld no worries but if you are to whip by hand you really really need to whip it up well so just be prepared for that. You want it light and fluffy. 🙂
Hi Gemma ?Very nice recipe but I had some questions..
How can I replace the egg yolks in the recipe??
And what is caster sugar?? Is is regular sugar??
Thank you again ?
Thanks for your comment, Sama. Caster sugar is just plane white sugar. Sorry, but you’ll need he egg yolks for this recipe. Hope this helps 🙂
I love your recipes of molten lava cake videos and I love you to make a vanilla molten lava cake and a strawberry molten lava cake.
Can I add milk chocolate instead of dark
Yep 🙂
Can I use milk chocolate?
Hi Gemma,
Tempted to follow your chocolate molten lava cake recipe I have just received a big tablea block of 100% Trinitario cacao. The ingredient says only Trinitario cacao, which I guess it is a pure cacao with any sugar. How can I adapt this into your recipe? Just simply grated it into powder form?
Sure 🙂
Hi Gemma, it looks great! My question is that how many min should I cook it if I do in microwave? Thanks a lot!
Hi Emma,
I haven’t cooked this in the microwave, this recipe is best for the oven. I have a microwave mug cake coming in November that will be easy and cook fast. For best results, this is best for the oven.
Hi! Love this idea and baking them in a tea cup. I wondered if you could tell me where you got your tea cups? I noticed the earlier comment about buying tea cups from the states as they are oven safe. Do you have any other info about that? I am having a hard time finding something so cute that is actually oven safe. Thanks for any other info you can give! 🙂
Thanks for your comment, Elisa. I usually fine my tea cups at thrift stores. On the bottom of the cup it should tell you if the cup is microwave safe or not. Hope this helps 🙂
Hi im really confused do you put in 4 eggs and 4 yolks, just 4 yolks or just 4 eggs? Loved the video. Xxx
Sorry for the confusion! You will need 4 full eggs AND 4 egg yolks. Hope this helps 🙂
Hy Gemma , we tried this today and everybody loved it? And I just want to ask you can we replace the dark chocolate with cocoa powder mixed with sweetened condensed milk? Thank you for sharing this great recipe with us.
Hi David, thanks for your comment. I wouldn’t recommend replacing the dark chocolate for this recipe. Hope this helps 🙂
I made it but it was still raw after 14 mins
what was wrong?
Hi Michelle, thanks for your question. The Molten cake should still be gooey and raw-like in the middle. Hope this helps 🙂
Even the outside was raw thats what I ment
Hey Gemma, is their a recipe for Microwave molten lava cake? And where are you from, I like your accent.
I’m from Ireland 🙂
Hi Gemma some of my cakes were not gooey on the inside do you know what might of caused this?
Hi Mia. It sounds like the might have been overcooked. How long did you cook them for? Next time, you might want to try cooking them for slightly less time to get that lovely gooey middle. I hope you enjoy!
Hi Gemma I love ur creations n I wanted to ask that can I use a ceramic mug for this recipe cuz I don’t have ramekins but can the ceramic mug explode in the oven or even melt pls help…
Hi! Thank you for your note. Do you know if your ceramic mug is microwave and oven safe? It will usually say on the bottom of the mug. I hope you enjoy!
What’s the ratio for the cocoa powder/melted butter if I am going to use cocoa powder instead of chocolate squares? Thanks!
I would use cocoa powder instead of chocolate as you won’t get the same result as I do and it will be dry.
Hi Gemma,
is it possible to just bake one cup at a time? If yes then How long should i bake it for?
absolutely and bake it off for the time I gave in the recipe 🙂
What size ramekins did you use? Because mine are a bit small- 4oz…..
mine is about 4-5oz . Thats why I weight out the scoop I put in there. So everyone will have the same amount for the same amount of time 🙂
For how long should we pre-heat the oven and at what temparature?
Hi! Just set your oven to the temperature for the recipe (400F/200C) until it reaches full temperature. That’s all you need! I hope you enjoy! 🙂
Hi! What kind of cups should we use?
Are there any specials ?
nI use American cups, they are just regular cups 🙂