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 chocolately. 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.
- ¼ cup (60 grams) unsalted butter
- 2 ounces semi-sweet chocolate, chopped
- ½ cup (60 grams) powdered sugar
- 1 large egg
- 1 egg yolk
- ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
- ¼ cup (32 grams) all-purpose flour
- ½ teaspoon instant espresso powder (optional)
- 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!
I’ve never made molten lava cakes and have no idea why, because I’m a huge chocolate lover! These sound too easy not to make and I love that it’s a nice small batch. These look just delicious Danielle!
Thank you, Marcie!
Oh my word, Danielle, these cakes look INSANE – in the best kind of chocolate-filled way. WOW! Love that it just does two and lava cakes always intimidated me but these don’t look too tricky – will have to try.
They use to intimidate me too, but they’re so easy! Thanks, Jess!
Can the batter sit for a little while before baking? I want to prepare the batter before dinner and bake after dinner.
I haven’t tried it yet, but I think it may be okay in this recipe since there’s no baking soda/powder. I would cover it and refrigerate the batter until you’re ready to bake it. If you give it a try, I’d love to hear how they turn out!
I’ve done it before and it works perfect to have the batter done even the night before and pouring it in the ramekins when were ready to enjoy.
Thank you for sharing, Haley! Glad to know that it works great to prep these ahead of time!
For the Molten Chocolate Lava Cakes For Two. If I wanted to prepare more than two (2). One would have to double the ingredients correct?
I haven’t tried doubling the recipe yet, but I think it would probably be okay if you’re wanting to make more.
I doubled the recipe and they turned out perfectly! My family loves these 💕
So glad to hear they turned out great!
I made the lava cupcakes with my 4th grade grandson, and they came out perfectly! He didn’t wait long to sample his cupcake and, when I asked about the taste, I got a “thumbs up”. Thanks for this easy recipe that gave me quality time with my precious grandson !!!!!!!!!!!
I’m so glad you and your grandson enjoyed the lava cakes, Terri! 🙂
I doubled it was great. This was so easy and tasted yummy
So glad to hear you enjoyed the lava cakes, Linda!
I let mine bake a little too long, but this is delicious, even without the lava effect!
So glad you enjoyed the lava cakes, Sam! 🙂
I made these last night for me and my husband. Ummmmm yum is all I have to say!!! Thank you so much for this delicious and simple recipe. They blew restaraunt lava cakes out of the water!
So glad you enjoyed the lava cakes, Jen!
Very easy to follow and came out wonderful.. This would be the second time im makin it. The first time i left it in the oven a bit too long but still tasted lovely.
So glad you liked the lava cakes! 🙂
I always thought molten lava cakes were difficult to bake and this recipe deffinitly changed my mind! I made them last night and they were awesome! Tonight I’m making them again with dark chocolate instead of the semi sweet. I prepared mine ahead of time and left them covered in the fridge until baking time and they turned out perfect. Thanks for the great recipe. Can’t wait to impress my friends with this one!
I always thought they were difficult too until the first time I made one, Beverly. The dark chocolate would be fantastic in these too! I hope everyone enjoys them 🙂
Delicious!! Just enough for hubby and I – although I could have eaten more – thanks!!
I’m glad you liked the lava cakes, Patti!
If there’s anyone out there more hesitant about the espresso powder, I just made these with some instant coffee powder from Starbucks. It comes in individually sealed packets so it’s always fresh and it disolves completely in the recipe. I’ve used their flavoured coffee packets before too for extra vanilla or hazelnut flavour. A good alternative if you don’t want a bag of espresso powder going stale in the cupboard/freezer.
That’s a wonderful suggestion, Krystyna!
I am not a baker and not only was this delicious but was easy as well! Thank you for a great Valentine’s recipe! I too left it in maybe a minute too long, getting used to my new oven — doh! But, if I’d paid more attention to your instructions I’d have known to take them out earlier as you clearly specify they’re done when the edges look firm while middle is soft — at 12 minutes that’s how it was, should’ve listened to you!
Only change was I added a cocoa powder dusting over the butter in the ramekins (made no difference I’m sure) and I had no espresso powder. One tip: I should’ve run a knife around the edges before attempting the flip 🙂 I’ll be making this again soon and I know it’ll be perfect then, 2nd time’s a charm.
I’m glad you liked the lava cakes, Kerry!
Oh my gosh!! I made these delectable pots of goodness for our Valentine’s Day dessert and they did not disappoint! I used ghirardelli 60% cacao chips and they were mouthwatering delicious! Thank you for adapting this recipe for two! ❤️❤️
I’m so glad you enjoyed the lava cakes, Anita!
Thank you for the easy and tasty recipe. My husband and I made this together – I made him separate the egg with his fingers. 🙂 It was fun and added to the dessert experience. 12 minutes was perfect for us. Note: the batter really fills up the cup – don’t worry, it comes out perfectly.
So fun that you made these lava cakes together, Heather. I’m glad you liked them!
Worked great, except I used 1/2 C flour instead of 1/4 C made the cake a wee bit dry. Still chocolate is chocolate, even if I did use cocoa powder .
Glad to hear you liked the lava cakes, Fred!
Fantastic! Followed the recipe exactly as written (did leave out the coffee because we aren’t coffee drinkers) and it turned awesome! I cooked it for 12 minutes because I was worried about overcooking. It was probably a little underdone but that wasn’t a problem – it was extra gooey! Next time I’ll probably add another 2 minutes so it solidifies a little bit more. Added vanilla ice cream and chocolate shell on top (trying to be like the restaurant that has a chili on their logo, lol). Husband loved it and practically licked the plate! Will ABSOLUTELY make this again!
The chocolate shell on the ice cream is a fantastic idea, Katie! I’m glad you both liked the lava cakes!
Hi Danielle 🙂
Greatly thanking you for this recipe- I just made it and served it to my partner and his son – they loved it 🙂 🙂 :). They said it was like in the posh restaurant – the nuts :). I look forward to baking more with you :). Thank you for helping me to discover the beauty of baking.
Magdalena
So sweet of you to make these for your partner and his son, Magdalena! I’m so happy to hear that everyone loved them!
Thank you for the great recipe. I just made it for my husband’s birthday. It was perfect! I’m looking forward to baking with you again. I love the recipe for two.
What a fun treat for your husband’s birthday! I’m glad you liked the lava cakes!
My go to chocolate lava cake recipe!