These Molten Chocolate Lava Cakes for Two are the perfect small batch dessert! These lava cakes are incredibly easy to make and ready in less than 30 minutes.
Do you ever have those moments when you want something sweet, but you don’t want to make a huge batch? Maybe it’s just you and one other person living in your home and you really don’t have a need for a lot of desserts. That’s where small-batch desserts come in super handy. And can I just tell you something? These molten chocolate lava cakes may be my favorite small batch recipe to date and that’s saying a lot given the number of times I’ve made this small batch chocolate chip cookie recipe.
You can mix everything up for these lava cakes in one bowl and be eating them in less than 30 minutes. Oh, and how perfect would these be for Valentine’s Day?!
You’ll start out by melting some butter and chocolate together in the microwave. I like to buy a 4-ounce bar of semi-sweet chocolate and save it for whenever I want to make these lava cakes. You’ll only need 2-ounces, so I just cut it in half and save the other half for later. I really love Baker’s semi-sweet chocolate bars for this recipe and I use them all of the time in other recipes as well.
Once the chocolate is melted and smooth, you’ll whisk in some powdered sugar, an egg, one egg yolk, and a little vanilla extract. Then, you’ll mix in some flour and a little instant espresso powder. The espresso powder just enhances the chocolate flavor in these cakes, it won’t make them taste like coffee. I love to add a little espresso powder to chocolate desserts to make them even more chocolatey. If you don’t have any espresso powder, you can feel free to leave it out of the recipe.
I also used two 6-ounce ramekins to bake these and they worked perfectly for this recipe. I have ramekins in a few different sizes and use them all of the time, they’re inexpensive and great to have on hand!
The cakes won’t take very long in the oven, I typically bake mine for right at 13 minutes. The edges should be firm, but the center will be just a little soft. That’s when you want to remove them from the oven, so the center flows out like the picture above!
You can really top these with anything you like as well. A few of my personal favorite toppings are ice cream, chocolate sauce, and even homemade salted caramel sauce.
Molten Chocolate Lava Cakes For Two
Ingredients
- 1/4 cup (60 grams) unsalted butter
- 2 ounces semi-sweet chocolate chopped
- 1/2 cup (60 grams) powdered sugar
- 1 large egg
- 1 egg yolk
- 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1/4 cup (32 grams) all-purpose flour (spooned & leveled)
- 1/2 teaspoon instant espresso powder optional
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 425°F. Spray two 6-ounce ramekins well with nonstick cooking spray and place on a baking sheet. Set aside.
- Add the butter and semi-sweet chocolate to a large microwave safe bowl and microwave in 20-30 second increments, making sure to stir well after each increment, until melted and smooth. Remove from the microwave and whisk in the powdered sugar until well combined, then add in the egg, egg yolk, and vanilla and mix until fully combined.
- Add in the flour and espresso powder and mix until just combined, making sure not to over mix the batter. Evenly divide the batter between the two prepared ramekins.
- Bake at 425° for 12-14 minutes or until the edges are firm and the center is slightly soft. Remove from the oven and allow to stand for 1 minute. Carefully invert each ramekin onto a small plate, serve, and enjoy!
Adapted from The Pioneer Woman
If you love small batch desserts, try my Apple Crisp For Two next!
Hi. Every single time I’ve made desserts that require me to melt my butter and sugar together , they turn out dense and have a rubbery texture.
I want to try this recipe out but I’m worried about the rubbery and dense texture. Could you please help me out? 😶
Thank you!
I don’t find this cake to be rubbery or dense.
The recipe calls for meltin the butter and chocolate and then stirring the sugar in after. Maybe try using a double boiler to melt the butter/chocolate until it’s smooth? I made this yesterday and it was amazing.
Beautiful.. and even my 3 year old helps to bake it. So delicious and easy to follow. Thank you
Just go ahead triple this recipe. God blessed you thanks for sharing
Hi,
I want to try this recipe can you tell me what kind of espresso powder you use and where I can purchase it?
I really like Medaglia d’Oro or King Arthur espresso powder, I usually get them on Amazon. You can also use instant coffee granules or leave it out of the cakes.
i tried these last night and oh my goodness – they were divine. I followed your advice and did not overmix the batter. And i left out the Espresso since i didn’t have any.
Thanks
So glad the lava cakes turned out great for you, Glenda!
Hi. Want to make these for Valentines day. Can the batter be made ahead of time, kept in the fridge then taken out to get to room temp before baking?
Thanks.
That should be fine! I would just make sure they’re at room temperature before baking.
Can I make these in a muffin tin if I don’t have ramekins?
That should be fine. I’m not sure if it will affect baking time, but I would just check and remove them from the oven once the edges are firm and the center is still soft.
Easy and delicious.
Made this for Valentine’s Day. Topped with strawberries and vanilla ice cream. Very good!!! Will make again. So easy!
Perfect recipe. Comes out beautiful each time!
Hi! I really loved the taste of this recipe, but my cakes stuck to the sides of the ramekins. I greased them as directed and followed the recipe. 🙂 I baked them for 13 minutes and let them sit for one minute before flipping. I’d be grateful for any suggestions you can share for my next baking attempt. Thank you!
So sorry to hear that, Virginia! I would try spraying them really well with nonstick cooking spray or you can butter the ramekins then dust them with some cocoa powder and that should help too.
These are a quick and delicious dessert! I made them in a cupcake pan and think I over cooked a little but they were still very moist inside. HUGE thumbs up!!
Just made this. Topped with a blueberry and blackberry compote. Delicious and easy to make. I (accidentally) doubled the recipe and gave some to the neighbors. I would for sure repeat the recipe, but next time I would make sure to top with ice cream. Thanks for the recipe!
Such an amazing dessert to satisfy a chocolate craving, also it’s good that there’s not much of it because it’s not the healthiest haha. Thanks for this!!! So easy to follow and it was my first time making it.
Waah! I followed the instructions and kept it for 14 minutes but the center was well baked. No molten lava. I’m gonna try 12 minutes and see what happens. Wish me luck!
Sorry to hear that, Priya. I would keep an eye on them and take them out as soon as the edges are set and the center is still soft. You also don’t want to let them sit too long otherwise the center will firm up.
I love this recipe. I’ve made it enough times I can make it from memory. I usually add two whole eggs (I can never find something to do with just one egg white) and tweak my baking time based off the oven I’m using (usually start prodding them around the 8 minute mark and wait for the last minute growth spurt when the eggs cook around the edges), and this recipe has never failed to produce perfect lava cakes!
Start a freezer bag of egg whites. Use a sharpie and put a tick mark or check when you add one. When you get 9 or 10 thaw and make angel food cake.
This is a great recipe for my chocolate craving
No topping, still luscious
Fabulous! This recipe is wonderful because it’s easy to make, doesn’t require special ingredients, and is so quick to make. The dessert has a beautiful presentation and is absolutely delicious!
Delicious! What a treat. This was my first try at chocolate lava cakes and they came out beautifully. 12 minutes was perfect. So good we didn’t even need ice cream. Loved them!
Made them yesterday and again today! So easy to whip up and they turned out amazing 😍😍😍
Can I add more espresso to this? I’m hoping for a stronger coffee taste
You could add some espresso powder, maybe 1/4-1/2 teaspoon.