For a while now I have been seeing posts about chocolate cakes that are solid on the outside but have a liquid chocolate inside. How good does that sound?!? A dark chocolate cake with a melted liquidy chocolate center! I have been wanting to try them since I first saw them but I thought that they would probably be difficult to make. With it being that chocolate time of year it was the perfect time to roll up my sleeves and get to it. The molten chocolate cakes turned out to be pretty easy to make. The recipe reminded me a lot of a souffle with the egg yolks being mixed into the main batter and the beaten egg whites that are then folded in. The cakes also baked like a souffle, rising a lot and then deflating quickly as they cooled. The molten chocolate cakes turned out great! They were just baked solid on the out side and still liquid on the inside! Both the solid outside and liquid center were nice and light and fluffy and so good! I really liked how the cakes were not sweet and that the nice slightly bitter dark chocolate flavour came through really well.
These cakes are best served just out of the oven, well, as soon as they are cool enough to eat anyways and who could wait? They only take a few minutes to bake so you can easily make them after dinner. Luckily the batter keeps well in the fridge so you can make it ahead of time and just toss them into the oven when ready. You can either serve the cakes in the ramekins that they were baked in or you can easily turn them over onto a plate and they slide out without a mess. I served the cakes simply with a dusting of powdered sugar or a dollop of whipped cream which melted into the still warm cake with nice results. You could also serve them with ice cream or sauces (I am thinking chocolate or raspberry) or fresh berries etc. I will definitely be making these again and again!
Molten Chocolate Cake
Chocolate cakes with a decadent warm melted chocolaty center.
ingredients
- 4 ounces bittersweet chocolate
- 1/2 cup unsalted butter
- 3 egg yolks
- 1/4 cup sugar
- 3 egg whites
directions
- Lightly grease 3 ramekins with butter.
- Melt the chocolate into the butter in a double boiler and let cool a bit.
- Beat the egg yolks and sugar and mix into the chocolate.
- Beat the egg whites in a bowl until they form soft peaks.
- Fold the chocolate into the egg whites.
- Pour the batter into the ramekins, no more than 2/3 full.
- Bake in a preheated 400F/200C oven for 7-10 minutes. The outside will be set and possibly crack and the inside will still be liquid.
- Let cool for a few minutes and then run a knife around the edges and tip onto a plate. (Optional; Feel free to eat it right out of the ramekin with a spoon.)
Chocolate Pots de Creme
Chocolate Cheesecake
Asparagus Souffle
Chocolate Stout Cake with Bailey’s Cream Cheese Frosting
Orange Chocolate Cream Cheese Mousse
Guinness Chocolate Cheesecake
Chocolate Red Velvet Cheesecake for Two
Dark Chocolate Souffle Cheesecake
Raspberry White Chocolate Lava Cakes
Dark Chocolate Lava Cakes
Dark Chocolate Cheesecake
Ultimate Fudgy Cocoa Brownies
Guinness Chocolate Pudding
Hollandaise Sauce
Avgolemono Sauce
Azuki (Red Bean) Ice Cream
Black Sesame Ice Cream
desserts like this are pure HEAVEN!
Love your baking dish! Looks like a great dessert.
This looks like the absolutely most perfect choice of dessert for tomorrow. It looks amazing. You make it sound quite easy to make. I may have to attempt this one. Thanks!
My husband tried those in Brazil and he loved it, I have been planning on making them since then.I didn’t know you could keep the batter in the fridge, that sure is convenient.
Can you tell me what size are your ramekins? Tx
Rita: My ramekins are about 3 inches across and 2 inches deep.
These cakes are so good .. who can resist chocolate ?
Those look so good! I totally know what you mean about a dark chocoalte cake wiht a melty center..yum!!
We went over to a friend’s house recently for dinner and she made these for us. I was amazed at how easy they were! She did not even make them in ramekins, just large muffin tins! They came out perfectly.
And just in time for Valentine’s too! Looks soo decadent Kevin!
I too stayed away from making these amazing cakes thinking they would be difficult to make. I can’t wait to make them now!
OMG Kevin, this is divine. My son loves this dessert so much, that he lean how to make it himself. He become very good at it. Delicious Kevin, what a treat!
Cheers,
Elra
WOW!!! Kevin I was thinking in something with chocolate,many times I dont made something with chocolate, this look as heaven!!xxGloria
kevin, can i just say, if you have a significant other, they are easily the luckiest person in the world?!?! gourmet meals AND molten chocolate cake?! if i wasn’t already married, i would totally be stalking you 😉
I’l be honest, I have NEVER made a molton cake despite the many recipes I have for them!!! Yours looks so lovely!
Y-u-m! Lava cakes are possibly my #1 most favorite dessert. SO good straight from the oven with vanilla ice cream. Nothing in the world is better than warm, gooey chocolate.
This recipe and a glass of Port and all is well on the western front. Melissa SW Colorado
Oooeey-goooey yum!
This looks so heavenly! You can’t go wrong with all of that chocolaty goodness!
SENSATIONAL, Kevin!!
Molten Chocolate Cakes ARE the ultimate choclate dessert. Hmmm, on the second thought maybe after chocolate soufle. But souffle sounds too scary to make.
I made Mini Cognac-Soaked Chocolate Cakes. The original recipe is by Melissa Clark at NY Times. I’ve never had anything like it before. Totally decadent and sinful, and…. boozy. You might want to try it next 😉
I just made a choc. lava cake the other night! It was an organic boxed kind…still really good. But nothing compared to what yours looks like. Great choice…whew! Makes me happy just looking at it!
i just love gooey chocolate dessert… happy valentine’s day, kev!!! 🙂
One of the best chocololate desserts that exists… Exquisitely divine!
Cheers,
Rosa
This cakes are gorgeous! I must give it a try soon
looks great kevin 🙂
I was just thinking of a nice dessert to make for tomorrow’s lunch…. this is it!!!!!
Wow, that looks great! I was just thinking that a molten chocolate cake would be perfect for Valentine’s Day.
yeah, you can’t really go wrong here!!
OMG ::drool:: this looks so good!
I love the smell of molten chocolate cake.
Hey Kevin, Awesome idea with the ramekin. While you can use a cupcake tray like I did a few days ago, I also lost one of my lovely cakes because it fell apart trying to get it out.
The ramekin solves that problem completely! Nice work.
Cheers,
Nick
Macheesmo
Beautiful picture, the cake looks incredible! Happy Valentine’s Day!!!
These chocolat fondants are criminal!! ;))
It’s times like these I am glad that I am not a choco-holic if not I’d be falling off the wagon right now!
looks fabulous, what took you so long to come over to the dark side!
Would you believe I have NEVER had this? I want to, believe me, I just need to find the right time to make it.
Looks fantastic, Kevin! Warm, gooey, chocolate! Perfectly sinful dessert!
Hi Kevin. This looks so good! We call these “Lava Cakes”.
Take care and happy valentines day 🙂
My lord Kevin, those look good, can I come over, LOL
Love this cake and that it’s so easy to prepare.
I like everything with chocolate & this dessert looks utterly delicious!!!!!
Ooey gooey chocolatey is the way to go!
WOW that is better than S*X!!!
AND it’s gluten free.
I like it.
Kevin, this looks great and so easy too!
what could be better than chocolate cake? This looks delicious.
Glad you had success with those! They are totally one of those things that seem like they will be hard but are actually fairly simple. And delicious!
A great Valentine’s Dessert, and it doesn’t hurt that it’s easy too.
Divine!! Very Tempting.
This dessert will melt anyones heart!! Happy V-day!!
Perfect for Valentine’s Day! It looks great!
Mmmm … gooooey chocolate! Happy Valentine’s Day!
‘Hot Chocolate Fondant’ is what we call them in the UK – whatever, they are yummy!
Ah, Kevin, I dream of this molten chocolate cake! Beautiful!
I LOVE THIS! i’ve been craving this for so long now. looks so good. x
This is one of my favourite chocolate desserts!! Yummy with vanilla ice-cream.
My husband and I made this last night… thanks for sharing! It was pretty quick and easy except that the egg yolks we added were too cold (straight from the fridge)and they quickly hardened the chocolate/sugar mixture. We melted it all again in the double boiler set up and were good to go! Also, we chilled the batter before dinner and when we took it out after dinner, it looked a bit deflated. I think we should have put them in the ramekins before putting in the fridge. A perfect V-Day treat!
For some reason I always thought making chocolate pots was really hard…
But with this recipe I think I could do it!!
I had to laugh. your recipe says it makes three servings but you filled four ramekins. how do you pick who gets to eat two of them? btw, I always add a pinch of salt to desserts. really balances and enhances the flavors. Otherwise, I think the dessert can taste overly sweet and somewhat flat. Molten cakes were in a recent issue of the NYtimes….the author uses cocoa to dust the ramekins
I’ve been saving a recipe for this too, forever. I haven’t made them yet because of just what you said, they are best served out of the oven. One of these days I’ll do it!
Yours look divine!
I made something like this for our Valentines meal yesterday. (My recipe has about an oz of flour, but it’s otherwise very similiar). It’s one of my favourite desserts in the whole world.
I love your pretty Le Creuset ramekins.
Oh, gosh, absolute heaven.
Oooey, gooey deliciousness!
I’ll take one please!!
Great job. It looks fantastic! There was an article in Food and Wine about different fillings for these like marshmallow and caramel. I have that page in my to try pile!
My absolute favorite way to enjoy chocolate!
This cake looks incredible.
I love your blog title. Clevah clevah 😉
Leah
I agree – I always thought these would be really hard to make, but they are dead easy, and completely delicious. Yours look fabulous 🙂
These are one of my favorite desserts!
I have always fear undercooking food! So when I make food like these, inevitably they turned out fully cooked right down to the molten center!
Snap Kevin – this looks amazing!
This looks divine! I have always wanted to make this type of cake (because I love eating them!)…thanks for sharing the recipe and making it sound so simple!
Pass me a spoon now so I can taste this gorgeous molten chocolate!!!
The center of your cake is perfect. It’s not easy to make molten chocolate cake :), this is flawless.
Ha! I made those on the same day, and if I’d seen your recipe before making them, I would have gone that route. Yours looks FANTASTIC! Makes me want them again. 🙂
delicious, kevin! I’m trying to take my spoon to it but the computer screen won’t budge! 🙂
LOVE molten chocolate cake! This recipe sounds great.
Having a giveaway on my blog, check it out.
Fab. I’ll be making these for a special treat this week, fo’ sho’!
It’s one of those recipes that has intimidated me as well, but I think I actually saw a Dr. Oetker cake mix for them! I still haven’t tried making them (from scratch or with the mix) but I’ve had the recipe from the LCBO Food and Drink magazine bookmarked for some years now. Perhaps it’s time?
I have that same ramekin! My fiance made a molten chocolate cake for Valentine’s Day and I was amazed at how easy it was. This is definitely one of those more bang for your buck recipes 🙂
I didnt know molten chocolate cake is this easy! the other day i was out at this dessert house n i had this n i was wonderin how do they make it like that.. n now i know.. thanks for sharing! 🙂
I won’t be able to wait 😉
kevin – obviously this is a popular post. i am catching it at an internet cafe in padova and you’re making me think of desserts in the states – something very hard to do when one is in italy. but i will be sure to make it once i return. keep on cooking. loved the zucchini recipe too.
Absolutely Divine!
Hi,
I made the recipe, and it was delicious!
I posted some pics on my Flickr page, if anyone’s interested in seeing:
http://flickr.com/photos/maxcriden/3303207586/
http://flickr.com/photos/maxcriden/3303243195/
http://flickr.com/photos/maxcriden/3302377355/
Thanks again for the great recipe!
frankly didnt think it wud turn out well coz it seemed too easy 2 make. boy was i wrong! i’ writin this while havin one of these lava cakes. took me 15mins to put together n this is simply amazing …. YUMMMMM!
hi! Came across this lovely n simple recipe when looking for crepes.
Will definitely try it out – meanwhile hope you don’t mind me sharing this with my bf.
Hi Kevin,
I fell in love with your recipe and I am going to try it tonight. I am new with this blogging thing and I hope you don’t mind me featuring your recipe on my blog.
I was just wondering..what type of camera do you use? your pics look amazing.
Thanks!!
the Phat Baker: I am using a Canon XSI.
I tried to make this and it turns out to be so great,Kevin. I’m glad I found this recipe on your blog. It’s so good and easy to make.
It looks attractive. If this cake were a man, I would probaply marry this cake. As soon as possible, I'll make this cake for my love(fiancee), to make him love me more. What a perfect picture it is.
I have tried your recipe and it was delicious .. thanks
I made a batch and there was more than enough to fill four 6oz ramekins.
Wow! this looks impressive. love the dusted icing sugar over the top. its the little things that make all the difference isnt it?
it is wonderful , i just have a quetsion what do you think to use that like filling for a cake?
Anonymous: I am not sure what you are asking.. This is a cake. In fact if you leave it in the oven longer the molten center become cake like as well.
Firstable, thank you very mich for this adorable recipe. I've been looking for it since last summer. I have a question and I hope someone will answer me. I do not have at home any speacial remakins for this kid of bakery, so can I use simple mugs ? 🙂
Spanguolle: Any small containers that are oven safe will do the trick.
So I made these, hoping to have them for desert during a dinner party. We didn't get to them. So the batter remained in the fridge overnight (maybe upwards to 30 hours), and when I got around to making them the next night for desert, they still worked out fabulously. I was thinking the meringued egg whites would settle and the cakes wouldn't work, but the did. So If there are any of you out there who expirence the same situation, fret not. The cakes keep well unccoked in the fridge for quite a while 🙂
Looks great! Do you put the ramekins on a tray or directly on the rack? thanks.
b: Place the ramekins directly on the rack.
Could I use margarine instead of unsalted butter? I use Earth Balance buttery spread as a substitute for most of my recipes that call for butter.
Jes: I have never tired this with margarine and I would try to stick with using butter if at all possible.
i made it just now yummy as in yummy!! thanks for the recipes makes us inspired to cook!
I have a question, does this recipe double well?
Anastasia: Yes this recipe doubles well, as long as you have enough ramekins! :). Enjoy!
How to tell if a cake is done…look inside of the pan and you will see the cake has shrunk a little from the sides.
These are soufles not molten cakes. This recipe is wrong!!
Isn't this just a mousse and could be done in a bowl instead of ramekins? I'm not being rude and I would like a reply please
Judy Goldin: The idea is that it partially bakes giving you an outside that is cake like and an inside the is 'liquid'. You could remove them from their ramekins and they would retain their mini cake shape.
Looks absolutely delicious, I will definitely make this at some point!
I have had this kind of cake before and they are heavenly!
I baked them last night for 15 minutes at 400'
They did not have a liquid center!
WhT am I doing wrong?
Scoulos@aol.com
Jo Scoulos: You want to take them out earlier, at about 7-10 minutes so that the centre is still liquid.
Jo Scoulos, you cooked them for too long, if you read the recipe it says 7-8 minutes in the oven. I would personally also lower the heat. Try again, and good luck!
made these yesterday for Valentines dinner. It made six ramekins, 3 1/2 in diameter by 1 1/2 inches deep. Only baked 2 and the other four are refrigerated until next time????? Very good and rich. Mine were molten, just like they were supposed to be.