Molten Chocolate Mocha Cakes

Decadent and moist cake on the outside combined with an ooey-gooey dark chocolate mocha interior.  These molten chocolate mocha cakes perfect for any special occasion. 

Special occasions always call for chocolate. Why is that? Really?? By the way, these are the kind of questions I ask myself when I’m bored and driving home. Weird I know.

Almost everyone in my family is a chocolate lover. The answer to the usual question, what would you like for your birthday, is always something chocolatey. For this reason, I always keep a few bags of Ghirardelli baking chips in my pantry for special occasion birthdays and celebrations. Great quality chocolate, very easy to melt (no butter needed for a smooth finish) and I just love the bittersweet chocolate with coffee. I don’t joke about my secret stash. Once a certain someone ran out of his generic hot cocoa powder and broke into my special dark Ghirardelli stash and it was not pretty.

Valentine’s Day is definitely a special occasion and it’s all about chocolate.  After these mini red velvet bundt cakes, I was inspired to make some more miniature desserts because I loved how we each enjoyed our own little cake (plus you all loved them too!). I busted out a bag of Ghirardelli 60% Cacao chocolate baking chips to make these molten chocolate mocha cakes that have been on my baking bucket list for a while.

At first glance, many people think that making a lava (or molten) cake is difficult. After all, fancy restaurants make them look so beautiful and daunting. Well, I’m here to tell you that lava cakes are technically very easy to make and totally irresistible. You can have these on the table in under an hour 🙂 

Let me walk you through the steps with the pictures below! You will agree they are easy to make after you review them. 

How to make Molten Chocolate Mocha Cakes

The ingredients are simple and straight forward. Like with every recipe, gathering and measuring your ingredients before you start is always a great idea. 

For the molten cake, you need to make sure your baking dishes are well greased and floured. This will enable you to easily release the cake after baking. I love using PAM baking spray as it combines butter and flour. In addition, I dust the ramekins with cocoa powder. 

Melt the chocolate and butter together until nice and smooth. 

Here’s why it is a must to use good quality chocolate. 

Whisk the powdered sugar and espresso powder into the eggs. 

Then add the melted chocolate to the egg mixture.  Mix until smooth. 

Once you have combined everything, you will have a rich smooth batter. 

Pour the batter into the prepared ramekins. 

And bake until the outsides are done and the middle is still a little jiggly. Is that a scientific term?? Consult the recipe card below for more detailed instructions. 

And that’s it. Just flip these onto a serving plate and you are good to go. I love serving mine with just powdered sugar and fresh fruits. 

These molten chocolate mocha cakes are “one of the best things you’ve baked” declared the taste-tester around here. And I have to agree with him because I ate two in a day. One for breakfast, since I took the pictures at 8 am and couldn’t help myself, and of course for a late-night sweet craving.

The cakes are perfectly moist and soft around the edges and the centers as you can see are just ooey-gooey decadent great!! I served mine with fresh strawberries but you can use your favorite berries.

You have to try them and I assure you, your Valentine will love you more. 

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Yield: 6 servings

Molten Chocolate Mocha Cakes

Decadent and moist cake on the outside combined with an ooey-gooey dark chocolate mocha interior makes these molten chocolate mocha cakes perfect for any special occasion.

Prep Time 30 minutes

Cook Time 12 minutes

Total Time 42 minutes

Ingredients

• 6 ounces Ghirardelli 60% Cacao bittersweet chocolate baking chips, chopped
• 6 tablespoons unsalted butter
• 3 large eggs, room temperature
• 3 egg yolks, room temperature
• 1½ cups powdered sugar
• 1 tablespoon espresso powder
• Pinch of salt
• ½ cup all-purpose flour
• Additional powdered sugar

Instructions

1. Heat oven to 400 degrees F. Grease six ramekin cups (6 ounce) by spraying with baking spray and dust with unsweetened cocoa powder.
2. In a small saucepan, melt the butter and chocolate over low heat, stirring continually. Let cool slightly.
3. In a large bowl, whisk together the egg yolks and whole eggs until well blended. Whisk in the powdered sugar and espresso powder until combined. Add in the melted chocolate to the flour and whisk until just combined (do not overmix).
4. Divide the batter evenly among the cups, and then place them on a cookie sheet. Fill cups only 2/3 of the way to leave room for rising.
5. Bake 12 to 14 minutes or until the sides are set, but the centers are still soft and puffed. A toothpick inserted on the edge should come out clean.
6. Remove and let stand for about 3 minutes. Carefully loosen the cakes from the sides of the cups with a knife and invert them onto serving plates.
7. Sprinkle cakes with powdered sugar. Serve warm with fresh fruits.

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