Chili’s Molten Lava Cake (Copycat) is a homemade take on the restaurant dessert: small, rich chocolate cakes baked in a muffin tin with a Lindt chocolate ball hidden in the middle of each one, flipped out warm and finished with a scoop of ice cream under a chocolate shell. The batter is semi-sweet chocolate, butter, eggs and extra yolks, light brown sugar, vanilla, salt and just 2 tablespoons of flour. It takes about 20 minutes of prep and 16 to 17 minutes in the oven, and makes 7 cakes.
How to make it: Melt the chopped chocolate with most of the butter. Whisk the eggs, yolks and brown sugar, then the salt, vanilla and chocolate, and finally the flour. Grease and cocoa-dust 7 muffin cups, fill each a third of the way, add a chocolate ball and cover with the rest of the batter. Bake at 400°F until the tops spring back, let the tin stand 2 minutes, then flip the cakes out and top them right away.
Why You’ll Love It
- A melting center every time: the chocolate ball inside turns into the “lava.”
- No ramekins needed: a regular muffin tin does the job.
- Just 2 tablespoons of flour: the cakes are mostly chocolate, butter and eggs.
- Restaurant-style topping: a scoop of ice cream under a crackly chocolate shell.
What Is Chili’s Molten Lava Cake?
It’s a small, warm chocolate cake with a gooey chocolate center, served with vanilla ice cream under a chocolate shell. The restaurant’s signature finish is vanilla ice cream, chocolate shell and a drizzle of caramel. This copycat is inspired by that dessert, not a copy of the restaurant’s recipe.
Ingredient Notes
Semi-sweet chocolate: 5 ounces of a good-quality bar, chopped to about the size of chocolate chips. It’s most of the flavor, so use one you like. Most bars are 4 ounces, so you’ll need two; shave the leftover into curls for the top.
Unsalted butter: 8 tablespoons. Seven are melted with the chocolate and one greases the muffin tin.
Eggs and yolks: 2 large eggs plus 2 large egg yolks, at room temperature for a smooth batter.
Light brown sugar: 1/2 cup, soft and gently packed. If yours is hard or clumpy, use white sugar.
Vanilla, salt and flour: 1/2 teaspoon of vanilla, 1/4 teaspoon of salt and 2 tablespoons of all-purpose flour.
Lindt chocolate balls: 7, unwrapped. Any flavor works; milk chocolate is a good start.
Cocoa powder: a light dusting for the greased muffin tin.
For serving: vanilla ice cream and a chocolate shell topping or chocolate sauce.
Ingredients
- 7 Lindt chocolate balls, unwrapped
- 5 ounces semi-sweet chocolate, coarsely chopped
- 8 tablespoons unsalted butter, divided
- 2 large eggs, at room temperature
- 2 large egg yolks
- 1/2 cup light brown sugar, gently packed
- 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
- Cocoa powder, for dusting the muffin tin
- Vanilla ice cream, for serving
- Chocolate shell topping, for serving
How to Make Copycat Chili’s Molten Lava Cake
1. Heat the oven and chop the chocolate. Heat the oven to 400°F. Chop the 5 ounces of semi-sweet chocolate coarsely, about the size of chocolate chips.
2. Melt the chocolate and butter. Cut the butter into 8 tablespoons and set 1 tablespoon aside for the pan. Put the other 7 tablespoons in a large microwave-safe bowl with the chopped chocolate. Microwave for 45 seconds, then stir for about 1 minute until smooth. Set the bowl aside to cool.
3. Make the batter. Put the eggs and egg yolks in a large bowl and let them stand until they come to room temperature. Add the brown sugar and whisk hard for about 1 minute, until smooth and slightly thickened. Whisk in the salt, vanilla and the cooled chocolate mixture until smooth. Add the flour and whisk for about 30 seconds, just until combined. Do not overmix.
4. Prepare the muffin tin. Rub the reserved 1 tablespoon of butter over 7 cavities of the muffin tin, covering the base of each one well (a hand inside a plastic sandwich bag makes this easy). Sprinkle lightly with cocoa powder and shake the tin to coat it. Tap the tin upside down over the sink to knock out the extra cocoa.
5. Fill the cups. Spoon the batter into the 7 cavities until each is about 1/3 full. Set one unwrapped Lindt ball in the center of each. Top with the rest of the batter, dividing it evenly, and smooth the tops with the back of a spoon or a finger.
6. Bake. Bake for 16 to 17 minutes, until the tops spring back when lightly pressed.
7. Flip and release. Let the muffin tin stand for only 2 minutes. Set a tray larger than the muffin tin on top and flip it over. Let it stand for about 30 seconds, then carefully lift the muffin tin off. Use a metal spatula to move one cake at a time to a plate.
8. Top and serve. Right away, top each cake with a scoop of vanilla ice cream and some chocolate shell. Serve while they are hot and gooey.
How to Get a Molten Center
The “lava” here doesn’t come from underbaking the cake. It comes from the chocolate ball in the middle:
- Layer the batter. Fill each cup about a third of the way, set the chocolate ball in the center, then cover it with the rest of the batter.
- Bake until the tops spring back. 16 to 17 minutes at 400°F, until the tops bounce back when you press them lightly.
- Serve right away. The center is melty while the cakes are hot.
How to Get the Cakes Out in One Piece
- Use a good muffin tin. A sturdy, nonstick tin makes the biggest difference.
- Grease generously. Rub butter all over each cup, especially the bottom, then dust with cocoa and tap out the extra.
- Time the flip. Let the tin stand only 2 minutes, then cover it with a larger tray and flip. Wait about 30 seconds before lifting the tin.
- Move them gently. Slide a metal spatula under each cake to move it to a plate.
A Note on Food Safety
USDA lists 160°F as the safe temperature for eggs, measured with a food thermometer. This recipe is timed and judged by touch (tops that spring back after 16 to 17 minutes), and no temperature is given for the cakes, so we can’t say they reach 160°F.
Topping Ideas
- Classic: vanilla bean ice cream and a chocolate shell.
- Caramel: a drizzle of salted caramel sauce.
- Berries: fresh strawberries or raspberries.
- Lighter: whipped cream instead of ice cream.
- Chocolate curls: shave the leftover chocolate bar with a vegetable peeler.
Storage & Reheating
Best fresh: These cakes are best served warm, right after baking.
Leftovers: Refrigerate within 2 hours in an airtight container and eat within 2 days.
Reheating: Warm a cake in the microwave; USDA says leftovers should be reheated to 165°F. The center may not be molten the second time.
What to Serve With It
It’s a dessert on its own, but for a chocolate-lovers’ table, add hot fudge brownie bread, a chocolate brownie cake, chocolate cobbler, French silk pie brownies, a chocolate turtle cake or a homemade German chocolate cake.
Frequently Asked Questions
How do you get a molten center in a lava cake?
Put a chocolate ball in the middle of each cake: batter a third of the way up, the ball, then more batter. It melts as the cake bakes.
How do you get lava cakes out of the pan?
Grease the muffin tin well and dust it with cocoa, let the baked cakes stand just 2 minutes, then flip the tin onto a larger tray.
How do you store and reheat lava cakes?
Refrigerate leftovers in an airtight container for up to 2 days and reheat in the microwave. The center may not be molten again.
Do lava cakes reach the USDA temperature for eggs?
USDA lists eggs at 160°F. This recipe is judged by touch and time, and no source gives a temperature for the cakes, so we don’t claim they reach it.
Final Notes
Have the ice cream scooped and ready before the cakes come out, because they’re best in the first few minutes. If you try a different Lindt flavor, tell me in the comments which one you used.
Chili's Molten Lava Cake (Copycat)
Want This Recipe Later?
We'll send this recipe straight to your inbox.
Ingredients
- 7 Lindt chocolate balls unwrapped; any Lindt flavor works; milk chocolate is a good choice
- 5 ounces semi-sweet chocolate good quality bar; chopped coarsely to about the size of chocolate chips
- 8 tablespoons unsalted butter divided: 7 tablespoons melted with the chocolate, 1 tablespoon to grease the muffin tin
- 2 large eggs at room temperature
- 2 large egg yolks
- 1/2 cup light brown sugar soft and fresh, gently packed
- 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
- cocoa powder a light sprinkle to dust the greased muffin tin
- vanilla ice cream a scoop on each cake, for serving
- chocolate shell topping for serving; or chocolate sauce
Instructions
- Heat the oven to 400°F. Chop the 5 ounces of semi-sweet chocolate coarsely, about the size of chocolate chips.
- Cut the butter into 8 tablespoons and set 1 tablespoon aside for the pan. Put the other 7 tablespoons in a large microwave-safe bowl with the chopped chocolate. Microwave for 45 seconds, then stir for about 1 minute until smooth. Set the bowl aside to cool.
- Put the eggs and egg yolks in a large bowl and let them stand until they come to room temperature. Add the brown sugar and whisk hard for about 1 minute, until smooth and slightly thickened. Whisk in the salt, vanilla and the cooled chocolate mixture until smooth. Add the flour and whisk for about 30 seconds, just until combined. Do not overmix.
- Rub the reserved 1 tablespoon of butter over 7 cavities of the muffin tin, covering the base of each one well (a hand inside a plastic sandwich bag makes this easy). Sprinkle lightly with cocoa powder and shake the tin to coat it. Tap the tin upside down over the sink to knock out the extra cocoa.
- Spoon the batter into the 7 cavities until each is about 1/3 full. Set one unwrapped Lindt ball in the center of each. Top with the rest of the batter, dividing it evenly, and smooth the tops with the back of a spoon or a finger.
- Bake for 16 to 17 minutes, until the tops spring back when lightly pressed.
- Let the muffin tin stand for only 2 minutes. Set a tray larger than the muffin tin on top and flip it over. Let it stand for about 30 seconds, then carefully lift the muffin tin off. Use a metal spatula to move one cake at a time to a plate.
- Right away, top each cake with a scoop of vanilla ice cream and some chocolate shell. Serve while they are hot and gooey.
