These molten lava cakes for two are a surprisingly easy (but gorgeous!) dessert for date night at home, girls' night, or whenever you need a little chocolatey treat. With just a handful of ingredients, they come together in under 30 minutes and trust me, they are next-level good! Eat them with ice cream, berries, or simply a dusting of powdered sugar, you can't go wrong.
22 year old me would be absolutely shocked by the idea of date night at home. Why sit on the couch when you can dress up, wear lipstick, and sip a craft cocktail in a busy bar?
But 30 year old me on the other hand? Yeah, she loves a date night at home. Not that I don't like going out, because trust me, I'm a dinner-at-a-restaurant kind of a girl. But sometimes, I just want to wear chill on the couch with a glass of wine while my husband grills steak, ya know?
And with Valentine's Day coming up super quick, I thought I would share one of my favorite romantic, restaurant-style desserts that is actually super easy to make at home! The recipe is based on Chef Jean-Georges Vongerichten's recipe that I learned in pastry school.
But, I scaled the recipe down for just two people and made some small tweaks based on personal preferences. Trust me, I've had lots of molten chocolate cakes in my day, but this recipe is by far my favorite! It's nice and gooey, fudgy, and sweet but not-too-sweet. Perfect for V-Day in your sweatpants. 🙂
Semisweet chocolate
While the original recipe uses bittersweet chocolate, I actually like semisweet chocolate in these cakes! I just think it's more balanced, but if you like a deeper, more bitter chocolate flavor, feel free to use bittersweet. Either will work!
Please don't use chocolate chips in this recipe. Chocolate chips have additives that will make the center of the cakes solid instead of molten. Use a semisweet or bittersweet baking bar instead!
Make this recipe
Be careful not to over-bake the cakes, or you won't get that molten center! The cakes should spring back when gently poked on the edges, but the centers will still be a little soft.
How to release the cakes from the pan
Serve the cakes right away! If the cakes sit too long, the center will turn solid instead of melty and molten.
When it comes to small batch baking, I always recommend using a scale to measure the ingredients. Just a small amount of flour can make or break an entire recipe. But if you don't have a scale, use the fluff, spoon, & level method to measure flour, cocoa, & other dry ingredients. Here is a whole guide on how I measure ingredients for small batch baking!
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Amazing Molten Lava Cakes for Two
Equipment
- 2 4-6 ounce ramekins
- Hand mixer or whisk
Ingredients
- 60 grams unsalted butter, plus more for greasing (¼ cup)
- Dutch process cocoa powder, for dusting
- 85 grams good-quality semisweet chocolate, roughly chopped (3 ounces)
- 1 large egg, room temperature
- 1 large egg yolk, room temperature
- 25 grams granulated sugar (2 Tablespoons)
- ⅛ teaspoon Kosher salt, I use Diamond
- ½ teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- 15 grams all purpose flour (2 Tablespoons)
- Powdered sugar, berries, and/or ice cream, for serving
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 425°F (218°C). Grease two 4-6 ounce ramekins with unsalted butter or baking spray. Then, lightly dust the bottoms and sides of the ramekins with cocoa powder.
- Add the butter and chopped semisweet chocolate to a small heatproof bowl. Microwave in 30-second increments, stirring in-between, just until the chocolate and butter is melted. Whisk until smooth and let it cool for a few minutes.
- Combine the egg, egg yolk, granulated sugar, and salt in a medium mixing bowl. Using a hand mixer, beat the eggs and sugar until it's thickened and lighter in color, 2-3 minutes. Mix in the vanilla extract.
- Add the melted chocolate mixture and all purpose flour to the egg mixture. Use a rubber spatula to gently fold the ingredients together, just until the batter is well-combined and there are no more streaks.
- Divide the batter between the two prepared ramekins, and use a rubber spatula to smooth out the tops. Bake the cakes for 11-14 minutes, until the edges of the cakes are set and the centers are still a bit soft. To test if the cakes are ready, gently press the edges of the cakes, they should spring back right away!
- Let the cakes set for 1 minute. Then, cover the top of each ramekin with an inverted plate. Using oven mitts, quickly flip the plates so the ramekins are upside down. Gently tap the bottoms of the ramekins, and then use an oven mitt to lift the ramekins and release the cakes. They should pop out easily.
- Top the cakes with a scoop of ice cream, a few berries, and/or a dusting of powdered sugar. Serve immediately and enjoy!
Did you make this recipe? I'd love to hear what you think!