French
Molten Chocolate Lava Cakes
Small chocolate cakes bake around a frozen ganache center that melts in the oven. The cake batter itself is baked until the eggs are set.
- Prep
- 25 min
- Cook
- 14 min
- Total
- 39 min
- Servings
- 4
- Difficulty
- Medium
Why you’ll love it
- The molten center is frozen ganache, not undercooked egg batter.
- The ganache is heated until smooth before it is frozen, so it is a cooked chocolate sauce.
- The cake around it bakes until the side of the batter reads at least 160°F.
- A short rest lets the cake firm enough to turn out without dumping raw batter.
Ingredients
Ingredient amounts scale. Oven temperature and cook time do not. Salt, spices, and leaveners are a starting point after you scale. Taste and adjust.
Check the ingredients you still need, then add them. If nothing is checked, the full list is added. Saved on this device.
Instructions
- 1
For the ganache, heat the heavy cream in a small saucepan until it simmers. Pour it over the 3 oz chocolate. Stir until the chocolate is melted and the ganache is smooth and hot.
- 2
Divide the ganache into 4 small mounds on a parchment-lined plate. Freeze until solid, at least 45 minutes.
- 3
Heat the oven to 425°F. Butter four 6-ounce ramekins and dust them with the cocoa powder.
- 4
Melt the 6 tbsp butter and the 4 oz chocolate together over low heat, stirring until smooth. Cool 5 minutes.
- 5
Whisk the eggs, egg yolk, and sugar until slightly thick. Whisk in the melted chocolate, vanilla, and salt. Fold in the flour just until it disappears. Do not eat the raw batter.
- 6
Fill each ramekin halfway. Press a frozen ganache disk into the center. Cover with the remaining batter.
- 7
Bake 12 to 14 minutes, until the edges are firm and the tops look set. A thermometer inserted into the cake batter at the side, avoiding the ganache, should read at least 160°F.
- 8
Rest 1 minute. Run a knife around each cake and invert onto plates. The center should flow from the ganache, while the cake around it stays set.
Pro tips
- If the side of the cake is still jiggly and under 160°F, give it 1 to 2 more minutes.
- Do not test the center with a toothpick. You will hit the ganache and think the cake is raw.
- The ganache disks can be frozen a day ahead.
Easy substitutions
- semisweet chocolate
- bittersweet chocolate
- heavy cream
- half-and-half in the ganache
- cocoa powder
- extra sugar for dusting the ramekins
Storage and reheating
Storage
The baked cakes are best immediately. Freeze the ganache disks up to 1 week and bake the batter the day you serve them.
Reheating
These do not reheat well. The center firms up in the fridge. If you must, warm one cake 10 seconds in the microwave and accept a less molten center.
Nutrition
Estimates per serving, using standard ingredient averages and rounded to the nearest gram. This is not a lab analysis, and it shifts if you change brands or add sides.
- Calories
- 442
- Protein
- 7 g
- Carbs
- 36 g
- Fat
- 30 g
- Fiber
- 3 g
Moderate · Oven, Stovetop
You might also like
Chocolate Mousse
A cooked custard base melts into chocolate, then folds into whipped cream for a light set mousse. The eggs are heated to 160°F before the mousse is chilled.
37 min · Medium
View recipe
Banana Cream Pie
A baked graham crust holds sliced bananas and a cooked vanilla custard. The yolks and cornstarch are boiled until thick, then the pie is chilled.
55 min · Medium
View recipe
Brookies
A chocolate chip cookie layer and a brownie layer bake in one pan until both are set. The middle is fudgy, not a pool of raw batter.
57 min · Medium
View recipe
Chocolate Chip Cookies
This batch makes 24 cookies, and the nutrition and servings are written for 12 servings of 2 cookies each. Butter, both sugars, and chocolate chips bake at 350°F until the edges are set and the centers still look soft.
32 min · Easy
View recipeStill hungry?
More in the same lane, not a random mix.
Chocolate Layer Cake
A two-layer cocoa cake mixed with hot coffee, then filled and covered with chocolate buttercream. The coffee does not make it taste like coffee. It makes the chocolate louder.
1 hr · Medium
View recipe
Chocolate Pudding
A stovetop cocoa pudding thickens with cornstarch and finishes with chopped chocolate and butter. It is cooked through, then chilled until it holds a spoon.
22 min · Easy
View recipe
Flourless Chocolate Espresso Cake
A dense, fudgy chocolate cake lifted with espresso powder and no wheat flour. It slices cleanly once chilled and tastes rich in small wedges.
50 min · Medium
View recipe
Apple Crisp
Sliced apples, lemon, cinnamon, and sugar bake under an oat, flour, and butter topping. The fruit should be tender and the edges bubbling before the pan comes out.
1 hr · Easy
View recipeFind something else
From the kitchen
Kitchen tools we love
Practical tools these recipes actually use. This is not a review roundup, and these are not paid placements. If affiliate links are added later, they will be labeled and disclosed.
A heavy 12-inch skillet
Most of the chicken and steak recipes are written for one pan that holds heat. Stainless or cast iron both work.
An air fryer with a real basket
The air-fryer recipes expect a single layer. A crowded basket steams instead of browning.
A half-sheet pan
Drumsticks, potatoes, sausage, and carrots all use one. A dark pan browns faster than a very shiny one.
A sharp chef’s knife
These recipes do not need a specialty blade. A sharp 8-inch knife is faster and safer than a dull one.
A large cutting board
Big enough that the onion and the raw chicken are not sharing the same puddle.
Dry cups and a liquid cup
Desserts in particular expect level dry measures and a separate cup for milk.
An instant-read thermometer
Use it for poultry, pork chops, and meatloaf. Color is a weak guide.
Read the affiliate disclosure.