Make better-than-restaurant Chocolate Lava Cakes For Two with this easy lava cake recipe. These rich, luxurious molten lava cakes are quick and easy to make and only require 5 ingredients. They’re the perfect make-ahead dessert for Holidays and date nights!
CHOCOLATE LAVA CAKES FOR TWO
For some reason, making chocolate lava cakes for two gives me rich housewife vibes. Like, it’s Monday afternoon, you have no worries, hair & makeup done, and you whip up a batch of molten lava cakes for your hard-working (aka hella rich) husband lol.
I guess the reason behind it is that lava cakes look super fancy and taste luxurious, I mean, they’re rich, decadent, and oh-so chocolatey!
When in reality… they’re ridiculously easy to make. All you need is an egg, a chocolate bar, butter, flour, sugar, 1 bowl, and a whisk.
Also, lava cakes are the perfect make-ahead dessert. You can make a big batch of these and store them in the freezer for months and bake them whenever you feel like it. TIP: if you want to make more than 2 lava cakes, simply double or triple this recipe!
Get your chocolate bars out & let’s get started! 🍸
WHAT DO I NEED TO MAKE CHOCOLATE LAVA CAKES FOR 2?
- Baking chocolate (no chocolate chips for this recipe)
- Unsalted butter
- 1 egg
- Sugar
- All-purpose flour
HOW DO LAVA CAKES WORK?
When you bake a lava cake inside a very hot oven, the outside of the cake bakes much faster than the inside. By removing it from the oven when it’s not done yet, you get a velvety ganache-like center!
So yea, technically lava cakes are undercooked chocolate cakes. But they’re 100% safe to eat. By baking them in a really hot oven (over 400F), the molten center will be over 160F when you take them out which means they’re safe to eat!
TIPS TO MAKE THE BEST LAVA CAKES EVER.
- Use high-quality chocolate for your lava cakes. Chocolate is the main ingredient so you want to use some high-quality baking chocolate for your cakes. No chocolate chips or cheap chocolate for this recipe. Grab a quality chocolate bar from the baking aisle and chop it up! Lindt and Ghirardelli are great options but feel free to use your favorite brand.
- Use ramekins. I like using aluminum foil ramekins so I can easily store these babies in the freezer for months, bake them, remove them from the ramekins and throw them ramekins tf away lol. I don’t have time (aka I don’t want) to clean up. If you don’t have ramekins, you can use a muffin pan instead (instructions will be in the recipe card).
- Grease the ramekins with butter and flour them with unsweetened cocoa powder. If you don’t have cocoa powder, you can use your favorite non-stick spray instead of butter and skip flouring. *But* if you do have extra butter & cocoa powder on hand, put them to work. They’ll make unmolding easier while adding extra flavor to your cakes.
- Don’t walk away from the oven. Chocolate cakes are all about the molten (aka lava) center. To achieve that, you basically need to underbake your cakes. If this is your first time making lava cakes, I recommend keeping an eye on them as they bake. The cakes are ready when the top is soft and slightly jiggly. If you accidentally overbake the cakes, you won’t get that nice molten center that we all love. Even one minute can make a big difference! I like mine at exactly 13 minutes.
CAN I MAKE LAVA CAKES AHEAD?
Yes! Lava cakes *should* be made ahead! You can whip up a batch of these and store them covered in your freezer for up to 2 months. Remove them from the freezer and bake them when you’re ready to eat them. Do not thaw the cakes!
HOW DO I STORE THEM?
I don’t recommend storing baked lava cakes as you’re supposed to eat them as they’re made. You’re better off storing lava cake batter in the freezer! Follow my recipe to step 4 and simply store the lava cakes in the freezer for 2-3 months.
HAPPY BAKING LOVES!! I hope you’ll love these Easy Chocolate Lava Cakes For Two as much as I do!
Please leave a comment and/or give this recipe a rating if you make it! I LOVE hearing from you! 💘
OH! YOU MIGHT ALSO LIKE MY:
Chocolate Lava Cakes For Two
Ingredients
- 2 tbsp unsalted butter
- 2 oz high-quality chocolate chopped - no chocolate chips, use a chocolate bar from the baking aisle
- 1 egg room temperature
- 2 tbsp white granulated sugar
- 2 tbsp all-purpose flour
- Extra butter + unsweetened cocoa powder or non-stick spray for greasing and flouring
Instructions
- Place the butter into a medium microwave-safe bowl. Add the chopped chocolate on top. Microwave on high in 10 seconds increments stirring between each increment until completely smooth and combined. Allow the mixture to cool slightly before moving onto the next step. Meanwhile, grease two ramekins with butter and flour them with unsweetened cocoa powder.
- Add the room temperature egg and sugar to the chocolate mixture. Using a whisk, whisk until fully combined.
- Add in the flour and mix until combined again. Your batter should be completely smooth so use your whisk to get rid of any lumps.
- Pour the batter into your ramekins, cover with aluminum foil and freeze for 2 hours.
- Preheat the oven to 425F. Bake for 12-14 minutes or until the top looks soft and is slightly jiggly. I like mine at 13 minutes. Remove the cakes from the oven, unmold and invert onto a plate, add your favorite toppings, and serve immediately. If you're baking them in a muffin pan, the cakes might take about 8-10 minutes to bake, use a spoon or knife to release them from the pan.
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