Molten Chocolate Cakes

I don’t know where the recipe went wrong. Wether it was written wrong or the creator of the recipe enjoys burnt and bitter tasting desserts.
I strongly advice you to DO NOT bake it at 450F for 12 minutes. The end result will most likely be fed to the trashcan.
The ratio of chocolate and sugar is off. It caused the dessert to taste bitter.
With a huge selection of other recipes for a molten cake, ditch this one and find another one that is edible and doesn’t make you waste money on a pricy chocolate.

I used bittersweet but it wasn’t that good I used milk chocolate and it tasted a lot better

This is excellent! So decadent - YUM. *those saying it tastes like egg have not made sure their eggs are at room temp and they've overheated their chocolate. I cooked it for 5 min at 450 and turned down to 400 for another 4 min(thanks to those posting tip) and it was perfectly molten lava in the middle.

Delicious, half recipe filled a cupcake pan that holds six. Cook for 9 minutes instead of 12. Pretty rich, center is somewhere between molten and fudgey.

THIS WAS SO BAD MY MOUTH WAS CRYING. Made this for my dad’s bday and it was the MOST disappointing thing about the day. It tasted like bitter rocks. Never making this again!!!

Can I make it in the microwave

If you look up the definition of a molten cake, it will give you a description or a recipe of a cake where the center is cooked to 160° but still left "liquid". It's not undercooked, it's safe to eat eggs once they've reached that temperature. Just to clear up some of the confusion and poor reviews. What you may be looking for instead is a cake with a ganache center.

Great recipe! I usually don't review, but I saw a few comments that just didn't know what a molten lava cake is (understandable) and I wanted to set the record straight. Probably not what some people expect, but this is how chocolate lava cakes are made in pretty much every restaurant. Again, great recipe! If it doesn't work for you you cooked it too long. Ovens vary in how they distribute heat so trial and error is involved with heat sensitive recipes like this sometimes. Just try again, and if you're making it for the first time for guests, maybe don't 😂 or just be very careful

Where is the recipe for the ganache center? A cake isn't molten because it's undercooked. It's molten because of the ganache in the middle. This just shows how to under bake a cake. Not make a TRUE molten lava cake

This recipe is way too bitter for us, we tried one cake and threw the rest away. They did not taste good like chocolate or rich at all like one would expect. The only tasty part was the vanilla ice cream we put on top.

I've made this recipe 3 times now in the past month and it is amazing. It's extremely easy to do and it's mostly unattended time. If it's tasting like eggs then you're probably using bad chocolate, but it has came out amazing for me every time. I recommend letting it cool for around 5 minutes instead of 1 though.

This recipe is absolute fire. Crank the oven up to 475 slap umm in and drop it to 400-375, if your middles aren't gooey and lava your cooking them to long. Cook until the center top of the cake just starts to finish. As soon as the top gets bubbly like a cake rip these out. Flip umm and serve. Ps .... It doesn't taste like egg your just using cheap chocolate. Get 60-72% dark.

I liked it a lot. But it doesn't come out as lava. Do I need to reheat it for it to be nice and liquidy? Overall. Amazing work dude!

Edit: I just baked it again for about 11 mins. And it's just perfect!

I’m glad I read the reviews! I was very confused why there was so many mixed reviews. I figured it could be to the fact that some people are using 8 oz ramekins?? I just assumed mine was whatever standard was…6 oz, but when I measured it, it was 8 oz. I cooked it for less time and it came out yummy, but just not lava flowing cake. I’ll use 6 oz ramekins next time or add extra batter to the 8 oz.

Needs better directions. Mine came out completely cooked even though I timed it and it felt soft in the middle. Ovens vary. Should have been checked at the 10 min mark or less.

The people complaining that it tastes like chocolate eggs are doing something wrong. This recipe is decadent. I loved it so much there was a time when I had it memorized. It taught me so much about melting chocolate properly. Give it a go, you will seriously enjoy it!

I followed the recipe step by step and it turned out to be a scam. When I brought it out of the oven there was butter boiling over, when I tried it tasted like bittersweet chocolate and eggs and it looked a greasy hockey puck. It turned out to be a waste of my night.

The only thing I changed was to butter my ramekins and coat with sugar. This recipe was simple yet gloriously impressive! I will make these forever!!!

This just tastes like chocolate and egg. I was really hoping this would be good, and I was SEVERELY disappointed. Even the texture I bad. -5/10 would not recommend.

I’ve made this multiple times, love this recipe. I actually use half the sugar because I like it a bit more chocolate flavored instead of sweet. Phenomena recipe and does well made ahead of time and going straight from fridge to oven

I made the recipe as directed but followed the advice in comments to turn the temp down to 400 after 5 minutes and remove after 8. I used 6 oz ramekin cups. Cakes were overdone still, and the center was not really lava but more like a thicker brownie.

They were very bitter. I kept second guessing the 1/4 cup sugar to amount of chocolate and second guessing it but ended up following the recipe. I wish i had gone with my first instinct and upped the sugar. I will keep searching for a winning lava cake recipe but this doesnt work as is.

Made to the letter! I used Lindt 70% chocolate. Did 12 min and it was slightly runny in the middle. Next time I’ll try 9 minutes.
Do whip the eggs and egg yolks well to get a super fluffy and light cake. Well worth it. Making again next week ;)

this recipe is very very easy and tasted too good especially with cream. planning to make this when i have guests at home. wonderful recipe. thank you so much for this recipe

You know... I wouldn't call myself a baker, but I am a huge lava cake person.... I made this and not only impressed my guests, but myself. This was easy and VERYYYYYYYYYYY rich and chocolatey in flavor. I used the Ghirardelli 60% cacao bittersweet chocolate chips and it went crazy. Will be making this every day.

This is currently my favorite dessert. I am a new baker and this is so easy and quick to make. A great recipe, really! I recommend checking the doneness of the cake with a fork or preferably a toothpick. The edges should be cake like, a clean toothpick dip, and the center should still be batter like when you dip the toothpick

First time ever making. Recipe was easy , bake time was off I baked for 9 min and they were perfect

Don't use listed cooking times 8-9 minutes is good enough unless you want a regular chocolate cake. Also the batter was thick making hard to put in Ramekin. Also put 4 eggs instead of 2 eggs and 2 yolks. It will make it more liquidly so it doesn't become thick if you put 4 eggs normally don't waste those whites use them shameful recipe bad recipe also if you like put a bit of vanilla extract way more D E L I S O U S then this recipe. 0 out of 1001 shame.

I used Valrhona as recommended. My oven temp tends to be unreliable at high temps - so I baked my cakes at 425 for 11 minutes (watching closely after 8 minutes). The cakes were perfectly done outside with fabulously molten centers. I found them to be slightly more bitter than I'd ideally like - but suspect that's just down to personal preference. My family loved them! I found the instructions to be a bit vague on the egg beating step ( how thick and pale should the mixture be??) I beat the egg blend until the mixture had grown to roughly 2.5 times the original volume and the color was a light buttery yellow. I don't know if that's right.. But it worked out

Well I have never made lava cake before but I don’t think it supposed to be like this... the batter was really thick and hard to spread in the cake pan. There was not but a little lava in the center of the cake and it was really bitter. I’m not sure one again I have never made lava cake before but I have sure eaten it and it never tasted like this

Followed the recipe exactly, except we halved everything for two. Looked like a hockey puck and tasted much the same, except for a teeny, tiny bit of molten chocolate in the middle, which tasted like...bittersweet, buttery chocolate. We had M&Ms instead!

Can i ask

Recipe itself was delicious! I question cook time and temp - at about 5 minutes in I lowered temp to 400 and took it out in 11 minutes. Way too long- I would recommend taking it would around 8 minutes at 400

So easy and so good! Probably the best dessert I have ever made! Thank you!

Jean Georges video with make Bittman show him using equal parts chocolate to butter. Please adjust

So easy, so fast, so delicious. I even used a muffin pan instead of ramekins and it worked great (I only did a few cakes at a time on one side for easy inverting). I added a small scoop of vanilla ice cream and a couple of raspberries on top. Delish! Definitely something you could make for yourself or for a few guests.

I’ve made it with Gluten Free 1-1 flour and worked perfect. I cook for less time ~10 minutes or lower the temperature to 425, or Troy lose the molten centre. We make them all the time love them!!

Sorry! But I found this recipe to be a disappointment, both bitter and dry! I will not be making this again.

Extremely fast and easy to make! Foolproof recipe even for a noob!

Incredibly easy to make. I could not believe I actually made it! Thank you so much for this recipe!

It was delicious!! I used an 8 ounce ramekin and it was much gooier. Overall, really quick, easy, and tasty!

Soo easy and delicious! For a different experience cook per recipe and then let cool and put in fridge over night. Makes for a great cold chocolate cake too!

This was unbelievably easy. I made the batter in the afternoon and put them in to bake while we were finishing dinner. I followed the temp/time exactly and they were perfect. I live in a tiny, rural town, so no high quality chocolate available...... settled for semi-sweet chocolate chips. And it still was great. This will be my go to easy/fancy dessert.

I had to improvise. I melted mini Hershey bars in a saucepan and baked them in a muffin pan. I also cut the recipe in half so it made three cupcakes. Maybe it's because I used regular chocolate but it tasted like a brownie on the outside. The inside was gooey and delicious though.

Quick, easy and delicious! I tried this recipe on a whim tonight after dinner - my kids thought they’d died and gone to heaven ❤️. Cut 2 minutes off the cooking time and they came out perfectly molten in the middle.

I made this and it was gross and bitter I was really disappointed, especially because it had such high reviews, I do not recommend this to anyone.

Can anyone advise me on the kind of chocolate to use? The recipe says 6 ounces bittersweet chocolate, preferably Valrhona. I am not necessarily a dark chocolate eater so when I search i always see dark chocolate. Is this what I should use? Thanks. I am just learning to bake.

I use the 4 oz ramekins, so it makes 6 of them. I put them in a 425 degree oven for exactly 11 minutes and they come out perfect every time! And that’s right out of the frig, so they are cold going into the oven. I’ve made these multiple times and have kept them in the frig up to 2 weeks and they always turn out great! So you can make them a number of days ahead of any dinner party and they stay fresh!!

I refrigerated the batter for a few hours while i cooked dinner, and baked at 450 as instructed. came out perfect. I used guittard bittersweet chocolate, which is delicious.

I was thinking of making the batter a day before. Is the batter going to still be good the day after?

I read the reviews before making this so I lowered the cooking temp to 425 and cooked them about 12 minutes (same time). Oven temps can vary alot so it's best to keep a close eye on them. It takes about 5 minutes to get the egg mixture to get the desired color and consistency. I served them with homemade whipped cream and raspberries. My whole family loved them. Home Run.

This was surprisingly easy to make. Followed the cooking time and temperature and the molten center turned out perfect! My family raved and you would have thought I spent a huge amount of time on this dessert. Impressive results for so little energy.

After reading the comments below, I baked mine in 4 ramekins (not muffin tins as some suggested) on convection at 425 for 7 minutes, let them rest one minute before inverting, then unmolded 3-4 mins. later. They were perfectly baked with a cake-like exterior and gooey/runny interior. Used 60% Ghiradelli chocolate baking bars, lots of dark, rich chocolate flavor. Like eating a really good melted chocolate bar. Enjoy!

I’m a professional chef and when I’m traveling for business I leave in the fridge some molten cakes (using this recipe) and my husband bake them in our Breville oven for 13 minutes at 450°F, always perfect, with goey filling. Sometimes we use Truvia instead of sugar. just simple and delicious

I used this recipe today and the molten cakes turned out to be cooked. I will suggest less cooking time probably about 7-8 mins instead of 12

Tasted horrible. Not sweet enough at all. Going back to my usual recipe on food Network.

Made this dessert for visiting guests last night and it was in horrible. It was very dry and did not have enough melted chocolate in the center. I like desserts that are sweet and this one was bitter and awful. I would not waste my time or ingredients again. !!

Absolutely perfect. Made for my daughter for her birthday. The cooking temperature and time were perfect for me. They still had the molten center.

If you refrigerate your batter before cooking the 12 min at 450 is perfect, but for room temp you need to reduce heat or cook time or else the cakes will cook through.

Easy recipe. Not too sweet (but I'd recommend to reduce 2 tbsp of sugar). Mine took about 9 minutes to get molten texture inside. Next time I'll try at 7-8 minutes.

Could I substitute stevia for the sugar?

I used a muffin tin, which undoubtedly made it cook faster, but it took 7 minutes in my oven for a gooey middle (and probably could have come out after 6 for a truly molten cake)

https://youtu.be/hCiF12TnpWI

Drop the temp or reduce cook time. No molten middle, but taste was yummy.

So good! i made it for my family and we loved it! It was molten in the middle and they weren't too sweet. I'm really happy how they turned out :)

Hi, can I manually hand mix instead of using an electric mixer? Also, can I make these in a cupcake pan or in mugs instead of ceramic bowls?