The Absolute Best Way to Make Lava Cake

In Absolute Best Tests, columnist Ella Quittner destroys the sanctity of her home kitchen in the name of the truth. She's boiled dozens of eggs, mashed a concerning number of potatoes, and seared more Porterhouse steaks than she cares to recall. Today, she tackles the stalwart dessert we can't stop ordering at restaurants: The lava cake.

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While there is much to like about lava cake—a single-serve portion of oozing chocolate, made ubiquitous to the point of punchline-status in America in the 90s—there is a single, tedious feature of the dessert that is critical to nail: its molten core. Bake a lava cake a minute too long, and you’ll end up with a soft pillowy core—less lava, more volcanic tuff.

Two main executions exist broadly. The chocolate coulant, put out by French chef Michel Bras, ensures chocolate liquidity by stuffing cake batter with frozen cores of ganache (more or less), which melt as the batter firms up in the oven. The famed Jean-Georges Vongerichten method, recorded by many as a fated accidental discovery, calls for simply underbaking a small portion of cake batter such that its center remains runny.

In this installment of Absolute Best Tests, I pitted the variations against one another, along with a customarily neurotic amount of tweaks, and advice from stellar pastry chef and lava cake fanatic Kaitlyn Wong, who turns out immaculate confections at Le Crocodile. Read on for the findings from the most satisfying several days of my life.

The Original “Vongerichten” Method & Variations

1. The “Vongerichten” Method

• 1 stick (4 ounces) unsalted butter, plus more for greasing the ramekins
  
• 6 ounces bittersweet chocolate
  
• 2 eggs, plus 2 yolks
  
• ¼ cup granulated sugar
  
• ¼ teaspoon kosher salt
  
• 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour, plus more for dusting the ramekins
  
  Heat oven to 450°F. Butter and lightly flour four 6-ounce ramekins. Tap out excess flour. Set the ramekins on a baking sheet.
  
  In a saucepan or in a double boiler, or in quick microwave bursts of 20 seconds or less, carefully melt butter with chocolate. (Watch it like a hawk!) In the bowl of a stand mixer, or with a hand mixer in a large bowl, beat together eggs with egg yolks, sugar, and salt until thickened and pale. Whisk melted chocolate until smooth. Fold it into egg mixture. Add the flour, and whisk to combine.
  
  Spoon batter into prepared ramekins and bake for 12 minutes, or until sides of cakes are firm but centers are soft. Cover each ramekin with an inverted dessert plate. Carefully turn each over, let stand for 10 seconds, and then unmold. Serve immediately.

2. Adding Espresso Powder

• 1 stick (4 ounces) unsalted butter, plus more for greasing the ramekins
  
• 6 ounces bittersweet chocolate
  
• 2 eggs, plus 2 yolks
  
• ¼ cup granulated sugar
  
• 1 ½ teaspoons espresso powder
  
• ¼ teaspoon kosher salt
  
• 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour, plus more for dusting the ramekins
  
  Follow the Original “Vongerichten” Method as directed, adding espresso powder to the melted chocolate.

3. Adding Frozen chocolate chips

• 1 stick (4 ounces) unsalted butter, plus more for greasing the ramekins
  
• 6 ounces bittersweet chocolate
  
• 2 eggs, plus 2 yolks
  
• ¼ cup granulated sugar
  
• ¼ teaspoon kosher salt
  
• 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour, plus more for dusting the ramekins
  
• Handful of chocolate chips, frozen
  
  Follow the Original “Vongerichten” Method as directed, until filling the ramekins.
  
  Spoon half the batter into prepared ramekins. In the center of each, layer about 10 chocolate chocolate chips (leave at least 1 inch between chips and sides of ramekins). Finish covering with remaining batter. Bake for 12 minutes, or until sides of cakes are firm but centers are soft.

4. Extremely high quality chocolate

• 1 stick (4 ounces) unsalted butter, plus more for greasing the ramekins
  
• 6 ounces bittersweet chocolate, fancy, like Valrohna
  
• 2 eggs, plus 2 yolks
  
• ¼ cup granulated sugar
  
• ¼ teaspoon kosher salt
  
• 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour, plus more for dusting the ramekins
  
  Follow the Original “Vongerichten” Method as directed.

5. Extremely low quality chocolate

• 1 stick (4 ounces) unsalted butter, plus more for greasing the ramekins
  
• 6 ounces bittersweet chocolate, low quality
  
• 2 eggs, plus 2 yolks
  
• ¼ cup granulated sugar
  
• ¼ teaspoon kosher salt
  
• 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour, plus more for dusting the ramekins
  
  Follow the Original “Vongerichten” Method as directed.

6. Confectioners’ Sugar Swap

• 1 stick (4 ounces) unsalted butter, plus more for greasing the ramekins
  
• 6 ounces bittersweet chocolate
  
• 2 eggs, plus 2 yolks
  
• Heaping ⅓ cup confectioners’ sugar
  
• ¼ teaspoon kosher salt
  
• 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour, plus more for dusting the ramekins
  
  Follow the Original “Vongerichten” Method as directed, swapping granulated sugar for confectioners' sugar.

7. Cocoa Powder Addition

• 1 stick (4 ounces) unsalted butter, plus more for greasing the ramekins
  
• 6 ounces bittersweet chocolate
  
• 2 eggs, plus 2 yolks
  
• ¼ cup granulated sugar
  
• ¼ teaspoon kosher salt
  
• 1 tablespoon all-purpose flour, plus more for dusting the ramekins
  
• 1 tablespoon cocoa powder
  
  Follow the Original “Vongerichten” Method as directed, sifting in cocoa powder with the flour.

Coatings

8. Sugar Coating

• 1 stick (4 ounces) unsalted butter, plus more for greasing the ramekins
  
• ¼ cup granulated sugar, plus more to coat ramekins
  
• 6 ounces bittersweet chocolate
  
• 2 eggs, plus 2 yolks
  
• ¼ teaspoon kosher salt
  
• 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
  
  Follow the Original “Vongerichten” Method as directed, coating the ramekins in sugar (instead of flour).

9. Cocoa Powder Coating

• 1 stick (4 ounces) unsalted butter, plus more for greasing the ramekins
  
• Cocoa powder, for dusting the ramekins
  
• 6 ounces bittersweet chocolate
  
• 2 eggs, plus 2 yolks
  
• ¼ cup granulated sugar
  
• ¼ teaspoon kosher salt
  
• 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
  
  Follow the Original “Vongerichten” Method as directed, coating the ramekins in cocoa powder (instead of flour).

”Bombs” or Inserts

10. Chocolate “Bomb”

• 1 stick (4 ounces) unsalted butter, plus more for greasing the ramekins
  
• 6 ounces bittersweet chocolate
  
• 2 eggs, plus 2 yolks
  
• ¼ cup granulated sugar
  
• ¼ teaspoon kosher salt
  
• 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour, plus more for dusting the ramekins
  
• 4 chocolate truffles, frozen
  
  Heat oven to 450°F. Butter and lightly flour four 6-ounce ramekins. Tap out excess flour. Set the ramekins on a baking sheet.
  
  In a saucepan or in a double boiler, or in quick microwave bursts of 20 seconds or less, carefully melt butter with chocolate. (Watch it like a hawk!)
  
  In the bowl of a stand mixer, or with a hand mixer in a large bowl, beat together eggs with egg yolks, sugar, and salt until thickened and pale.
  
  Whisk melted chocolate until smooth. Fold it into egg mixture. Add the flour, and whisk to combine. Spoon half the batter into prepared ramekins. In the center of each, place a chocolate truffle. Finish covering with remaining batter. Bake for 12 minutes, or until sides of cakes are firm but centers are soft.
  
  Cover each ramekin with an inverted dessert plate. Carefully turn each over, let stand for 10 seconds, and then unmold. Serve immediately.

11. Peanut Butter & Chocolate “Bomb”

• 4 chocolate truffles
  
• 2 tablespoons peanut butter
  
• 1 stick (4 ounces) unsalted butter, plus more for greasing the ramekins
  
• 6 ounces bittersweet chocolate
  
• 2 eggs, plus 2 yolks
  
• ¼ cup granulated sugar
  
• ¼ teaspoon kosher salt
  
• 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour, plus more for dusting the ramekins
  
  

At least an hour before you’re ready to bake, coat the chocolate truffles in peanut butter, and place them on a plate in the freezer to harden.

Heat oven to 450°F. Butter and lightly flour four 6-ounce ramekins. Tap out excess flour. Set the ramekins on a baking sheet.

In a saucepan or in a double boiler, or in quick microwave bursts of 20 seconds or less, melt butter with chocolate. (Watch it like a hawk!)

In the bowl of a stand mixer, or with a hand mixer in a large bowl, beat together eggs with egg yolks, sugar, and salt until thickened and pale.

Whisk melted chocolate until smooth. Fold it into egg mixture. Add the flour, and whisk to combine. Spoon half the batter into prepared ramekins. In the center of each, place a peanut butter-covered chocolate truffle. Finish covering with remaining batter. Bake for 12 minutes, or until sides of cakes are firm but centers are soft.

Cover each ramekin with an inverted dessert plate. Carefully turn each over, let stand for 10 seconds, and then unmold. Serve immediately.

12. Jam & Chocolate “Bomb”

• 4 chocolate truffles
  
• 2 tablespoons jam of your choice
  
• 1 stick (4 ounces) unsalted butter, plus more for greasing the ramekins
  
• 6 ounces bittersweet chocolate
  
• 2 eggs, plus 2 yolks
  
• ¼ cup granulated sugar
  
• ¼ teaspoon kosher salt
  
• 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour, plus more for dusting the ramekins
  
  

At least an hour before you’re ready to bake, coat the chocolate truffles in jam, and place them on a plate in the freezer to harden.

Heat oven to 450°F. Butter and lightly flour four 6-ounce ramekins. Tap out excess flour. Set the ramekins on a baking sheet.

In a saucepan or in a double boiler, or in quick microwave bursts of 20 seconds or less, melt butter with chocolate. (Watch it like a hawk!)

In the bowl of a stand mixer, or with a hand mixer in a large bowl, beat together eggs with egg yolks, sugar, and salt until thickened and pale.

Whisk melted chocolate until smooth. Fold it into egg mixture. Add the flour, and whisk to combine. Spoon half the batter into prepared ramekins. In the center of each, place a jam-covered chocolate truffle. Finish covering with remaining batter. Bake for 12 minutes, or until sides of cakes are firm but centers are soft.

Cover each ramekin with an inverted dessert plate. Carefully turn each over, let stand for 10 seconds, and then unmold. Serve immediately.

Gooey Center Report:

• The absolute gooiest lava cake came from the Bras method of using frozen ganache in the center of the batter, which I formed by just covering finely chopped chocolate with boiling heavy cream, then whisking the melted result, which I chilled until firm then scooped into a ball with about a 1-inch diameter.

• Using frozen chocolate chips in the center of the batter—a simpler workaround to creating ganache—also provided some oozy-lava insurance, but less precisely so, since the smaller pieces moved around a bit in the batter, producing small disparate pockets of molten chocolate rather than one central core.

• The Vongerichten method of simply underbaking the cakes did consistently work when executed properly, though it obviously suffered more quickly and extensively from a minute of overbaking than any of the extra-frozen-chocolate methods. I would recommend the Bras method for beginners or those who, like me, are apt to get distracted by the Vanderpump Rules finale and miss the sound of a timer going off.

• Freezing a teaspoon of peanut butter and/or jam with the chocolate ganache proved both undeniably delicious and a foolproof insurance strategy for extra melty center texture. There is no one on God’s green earth who can stop me from attempting this with pistachio butter next time I have one glass of wine and wander into my kitchen for a midnight snack.

• Kaitlyn’s suggestion to use confectioners’ sugar with the Vongerichten method created an incredibly smooth, glossy, central lava flow, which was meaningfully less grainy than the batches conducted with granulated sugar. The texture of the cake crumb was also a touch softer and had a little less bite.

Chocolate Quality:

• Despite almost everything I’ve read on the subject—higher quality chocolate has more cacao solids and therefore a higher melting point, meaning it should in theory melt later in the baking process and thus be gooier when the cakes are inverted—low and high quality chocolate performed fairly identically in my trials.

Flavor:

• Adding espresso powder deepened the chocolate flavor, which was no surprise but elicited joy nonetheless.

• Swapping in a tablespoon of flour for cocoa powder made the cakes taste even more like brownie batter than the original versions.

• About a heaping teaspoon of vanilla bean paste added to the batter caused me to make a guttural noise that I am thrilled no one was there to overhear; a very worthwhile addition to any of the above variations.

Lining the Ramekins:

• The best method to line the tins for easy inversion of the lava cakes turned out to be butter and granulated sugar, which added a bit of crunch.

• The chocolatiest ramekin lining came from butter and cocoa powder (another brilliant Kaitlyn suggestion), which also added welcome bitterness.

TL;DR:

• If you’ve got the prep time to freeze a bit of chocolate melted by simmering cream so you can roll it into a little truffle to drop into the center of your batter, doing so is excellent insurance for a molten center.

• You will not regret adding a teaspoon or so of frozen peanut butter, jam, or any sweetened or sweet-adjacent spread (like tahini) to the frozen “truffle” core.

• The underbaking method works reliably well, you’ll just have to keep a close eye on the oven timer, and use your finger to prod the center of the baking cake to ensure it’s super soft as soon as the outsides have set, since it will continue to cook in the pan.

• Grease your muffin tins or ramekins with butter and a sprinkle of cocoa powder for the chocolatiest lava cakes; butter and granulated sugar is a heavy-hitting combination for a crunchier exterior as well.

• There are endless ways to play with and enhance flavor; swap a bit of flour out for black cocoa powder or Dutch process cocoa powder. Add vanilla bean paste to the batter. And, as always, a teaspoon of espresso powder will lift chocolate flavors.

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Are you team Vongerichten Method or team Bras Method? Let us know in the comments!