Whip up a restaurant favorite at home with a tried-and-tested recipe for the best Chocolate Lava Cakes with Raspberry Sauce.
Just look at that silky river of melted chocolate spilling from the center of a tender cake. It is chocolate dessert perfection!
One of the most common questions I get is, “What’s your all-time favorite dessert?” My answer has been the same since I was 10 years old: chocolate lava cake with vanilla bean ice cream and raspberry sauce.
The combination of intensely sweet chocolate and slightly sour raspberries is a winning flavor duo. Add the pairing of warm chocolate with cool ice cream and we have the most winning combination.
The beauty of this recipe is that from start to finish, you only need 18 minutes to make it all happen. I repeat: 18 minutes!
The cakes bake up beautifully in small ramekins, which means YOU get a lava cake and YOU get a lava cake and YOU get a lava cake!
There is no sharing required for these individual chocolate lava cakes. All you have to decide is if you’re serving yours with a cool scoop of ice cream or a pillowy dollop of whipped cream.
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Ingredients
For the lava cakes:
- 1/2 cup unsalted butter, plus more for greasing ramekins
- 4 oz. semi-sweet chocolate, chopped
- 1/8 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 2 large eggs
- 2 large egg yolks
- 1 cup confectioners’ sugar
- 2/3 cup all-purpose flour
- Whipped cream or ice cream, for serving
For the raspberry sauce:
- 1 cup fresh raspberries
- 1/4 cup sugar, or more to taste
- 1/4 cup water, plus more as needed
Special Equipment: four (6-oz.) ramekins
Instructions
Make the lava cakes:
- Preheat the oven to 425°F. Grease the ramekins with butter and set them aside.
- In a large microwave-safe bowl, combine the butter and chocolate and microwave in 30-second increments, stirring as needed, until melted.
- Whisk in the salt and vanilla extract.
- Whisk in the eggs and egg yolks then whisk in the confectioners’ sugar and flour just until combined.
- Divide the batter evenly among the greased ramekins then place them on a baking sheet.
- Bake the lava cakes for 10 to 12 minutes until the cake it set but still slightly jiggly in the centers. (Note: Make the raspberry sauce while the lava cakes are baking.)
- Remove the lava cakes from the oven and allow them to sit for 5 minutes.
- Carefully run a knife around the inside edge of each ramekin then invert each lava cake onto a serving plate.
Make the raspberry sauce:
- Combine the raspberries, sugar and water in a blender. Purée the sauce until smooth, adding 1 tablespoon of additional water as needed, until the sauce thins to your desired consistency.
- Strain the sauce through a sieve to remove the seeds (optional).
- To serve, drizzle the raspberry sauce around each lava cake and top with a dollop or whipped cream or a scoop of ice cream (optional).
- ★ Did you make this recipe? Don't forget to give it a star rating below!
Nutrition
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Recipe adapted from Perfect Recipes for Having People Over by Pam Anderson.
Can you make this as a non-gluten cake using all-purpose non-gluten flour with xanthan gum? Is there a white chocolate version of this recipe?
Hi Ronald! I haven’t tried this recipe with those substitutes so I’m not sure. Let me know if you give it a shot!
My question is that the picture shows the raspberry spilling out of the cakes(which is what I’m looking for), but the directions say to bake the cakes without the raspberry sauce.
I would like to make these with the raspberry sauce spilling out of the cakes. What should I do? Please respond quickly!!
Hi Gina – That’s chocolate spilling out of the cakes. The raspberry sauce is drizzled around the side.
I have 12 oz ramekins. This recipe would make 2. How long would I bake these?
Hi Mary! I haven’t ever made this recipe with that size so unfortunately I’m not sure.
It smells soooo good!!!
Woohoo! Enjoy!
Super excited to make this recipe!! Have you ever made the sauce with strawberries (I’ve got a picky eater!)? Thank you so much- I can’t wait to make these!
YES! Strawberries work great, Stephanie!
Excellent recipe and fast and easy too! I made in muffin tins, which made a slightly smaller cake, but worked great!
I’m so thrilled you enjoyed the recipe, Frieda!
Just finished reading and drooling over your Chocolate Lava cake recipe! The addition of raspberry sauce, adding a scoop, or 2, of vanilla ice cream- oh my my! I’m so excited to try it! I thank you & my hips thank you!
I hope you enjoy the recipe, Joan! :)
What size ramekins do you use for these?
Hi Pauline – As noted in the recipe above, you’ll need four (6-oz.) ramekins. :)
I would like to try making this recipe using a mini muffin pan. How full should the muffin cup be so that the muffin doesn’t expand too high or out onto the pan?
Hi Steve! I’d recommend about 3/4 full. I hope you enjoy the recipe!
Will these be good the next day? Or should you eat them right away?
Hi Megan – Sure! After the cakes cool, store them tightly covered in the refrigerator. To reheat, microwave until the centers are soft, about 30 seconds to 1 minute.
Can you prepare the lava cakes and refrigerate them earlier in the day to bake later that evening?
Yes! You can refrigerate the lava cakes uncooked in your ramekins for up to one day.
Absolutely divine!
Thank you so much, Becky!
Would dark chocolate or milk chocolate be best for this recipe?
Whatever chocolate you prefer! Either will work great :)
can you do this with strawberries or blackberries
Definitely!
How much is 2 sticks of butter in grams?
Hi Faheema – You can use this online butter converter: http://www.traditionaloven.com/conversions_of_measures/butter_converter.html
Do the chocolate cake come out undone ? Like doughy?
Hi Taeler! They’ll be liquid chocolate and slightly soft in the centers.
Just made these and they were a chocolate phenomenon. I used Ghirardelli chocolate and blueberries as the top… I used a 9 quanty cup cake pan and cooked for 11 minutes. The lava cakes were soft and moist in the center and incredibly delicious.
Awesome! So glad you enjoyed the recipe, Michael!
Love, love, love this! I love chocolate and raspberries! I can’t wait to try these. Thanks!
what size cupcake tin do you use?
sorry, maybe it was my oven but I followed the directions to a T & they were pretty average… a bit rubbery & no flavour.. sorry to disappoint :(
This sounds devine… as does the white chocolate version with blackberry puree.