Friends, hello!
I very much need you to know that cake is available to you, right now, from your very pantry, warm from the oven, melty on the inside, in all ways perfect.
This single serving molten chocolate cake comes from my first cookbook where it lives on forever in print as Single Girl’s Chocolate Cake – as though single girls have anything at all to wallow in cake about. I get it now. They don’t – this cake is a celebration in itself.
I recently made this cake on Instagram at you and shared a link to the recipe in one of my Sunday posts, but I’m also going to leave this cake here for you as a reminder and an invitation, maybe a little bit of a bossy request to make and enjoy this cake exactly right now.
It’s a cake for our current times: simple and versatile where ingredients might be sparse and high-impact rewarding because… melty chocolate, duh.
Can I show you how?
Here’s what you’ll need and here’s what you might have on hand:
โข A few teaspoons of flour though a gluten-free flour blend would work, too. If you want to swap the flour for whole wheat, reduce the amount by 1/2 teaspoon.
โข A few pats of butter but feel free to use coconut or canola oil for the cake and for greasing the ramekin.
โข Dutch processed or regular cocoa powder to dust the ramekin, though flour (gluten-free or otherwise) works for greasing the dish as well. Cocoa enriches the flavor and doesn’t leave any dusty white marks on the outside of the cake, that’s all – choose your own adventure.
โข Any kind of milk, semi-sweet or bittersweet chocolate you have is good chocolate to melt into this cake.
โข An egg is key to the rise and texture of this cake. If you don’t have an egg, a flax egg will do. Be sure to add a good pinch of baking soda to the flax egg to help with extra lift.
โข Peanut butter is delicious in this cake but so is tahini or almond butter.
โข Bourbon, skip it or enjoy it. Rum? Also delicious!
โข Salt. Just a pinch – do it.
We’ll bake this cake in a 3/4 cup ramekin. If you only have a 1-cup ramekin that’s fine too – the cake may bake for 1-2 minutes less.
If you don’t have a ramekin, any oven-friendly glass dish will do. Just make sure that there’s about 3/4-inch of room left at the top for the cake to rise.
Melt together chocolate and butter. The mixture will be thick but glossy.
In a smaller bowl whisk together egg, sugar, and peanut butter. Add a glug of bourbon or rum if you’d like.
Combine the egg mixture to the melted chocolate – whisk to smooth. Stir in the flour and salt and scrape every bit of batter into a greased ramekin.
Bake the cake for 7 to 10 minutes for a molten melty center. You’ll know it’s done because the edges of the cake will be firm but bouncy and cooked through. The center will still be wet and look dense.
For a less melty cake center, just bake the cake a bit longer – 10 to 12 minutes will do ya!
Allow the cake to cool for just 3 or so minutes, run a butterknife around the edges of the cake to loosen it and, using a pot holder or towel, invert the little cake onto a plate. You know what you can also do? Eat the cake straight from the hot dish – totally acceptable. Top with whatever goodness like whipped cream or ice cream you have and enjoy warm.
This recipe also doubles well if you need two cakes for sharing. So, if you have a pal – they might enjoy their very own cake too.
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A Single Molten Chocolate Cake
- Prep Time: 0 hours
- Cook Time: 0 hours
- Total Time: 0 hours
Ingredients
- 1/2 teaspoon unsalted butter for buttering the baking ramekin plus 1 tbsp. unsalted butter for the batter
- about 1 tsp. unsweetened cocoa to dust the baking ramekin (or use flour or granulated sugar)
- heaping 1/4 cup semisweet or bittersweet chocolate chips
- 1 large egg, at room temperature is best
- 1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon granulated sugar
- 1 tablespoon natural peanut butter, optional
- splash of bourbon, optional
- pinch of salt
- 2 teaspoons all-purpose flour
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 375ยฐ and set a baking sheet on rack in center of oven. Grease a 3/4-cup ramekin with 1/2 tsp. butter, then dust with unsweetened cocoa. Set aside.
- Put 1 tbsp. butter and the chocolate chips in a small heatproof bowl set over a small pan of simmering water. Heat, stirring, until chocolate melts; let cool a few minutes. You can also melt the chocolate and butter slowly in the microwave. Whatever is easiest for you.
- Whisk egg, sugar, and peanut butter (if using) in a small bowl to blend. Add a small glug of booze if you’d like. Whisk in chocolate mixture until well incorporated, then stir in salt and flour just until combined. Pour batter into ramekin. Set on baking sheet and bake until as done as you like, 7 to 10 minutes for a molten center (a 3/4-in. ring around the edge will look dull) or 10 to 12 minutes for a soft center (cake edge will puff slightly).
- Let cake cool 2-3 minutes. Protecting hands with a towel or pot holders, invert onto a plate. Eat right away – enjoy warm
56 Responses
This recipe is my go to. Iโm too lazy to wait for the oven to preheat so I tossed it in the air fryer and it worked great. Took a bit of tweaking to find the right time but honestly amazing
This was excellent! Came together so quickly. I doubled the recipe, used peanut butter, and tested it in my cast iron butter warmer (from Lodge). It worked better than I could have expected. I cooked it for 19 minutes to account for the higher volume. It was perfect and popped right out of the pan with almost no cajoling. There was a quarter inch of cake all around and lots of molten middle. Served it with some maple-sweetened whipped cream.
Thank you for sharing this delicious recipe! I love how simple and versatile it is, with so many fun ingredient swaps. Canโt wait to try it and enjoy some warm, melty chocolate!
I made this tonight for my birthday. I came back to review replies because I had the same problem two others did. Though it’s a single cake, and I meant to make it last week when my husband was out of town, I didn’t. Thought I could double it but it did not set. I also wondered if it was supposed to be 2 Tb instead of 2 tsp of flour. The flavor, however, was spectacular! Suggestions for doubling, which ingredients to tweak. I only used one very large egg, skipped the peanut butter but did put a splash of Kahlua. Wanted molten center so baked 7 min, left it in for another minute and got the grey outer band. Let them cool 3 min, inverted onto plate and it was very molten; more like a puddle. We put vanilla ice cream on it and loved every bite. GREAT flavor. But what to do to get it to set next time?
I baked mine for 11 min and it was perfect!! Try this
The best sweet treat for one.
Iโm making a cake every month to celebrate my 40th and this was my Feb cake. Simple and perfect. It came together so easy and quick. I ended up baking around 11.5 min but may do a smidge less next time. Perfect gooey, runny center. Not too sweet and deliciously chocolate. Saving this one for future chocolate cravings. Bravo!
Is this supposed to be 2 teaspoons or 2 tablespoons of flour? I made it and put it in for 10 minutes and it was still very runny.
This recipe did not work for me in denver. It was too heavy and I was Hoping it would rise a little. Iโm in high Altitude denver so Iโm guessing maybe itโs cause there is no baking soda or baking powder in the actual recipe but in not sure. I may try it again in Minnesota some day but add baking powder next time or baking soda in denver. I made Home made whipped cream and still ate it.
I had a craving for chocolate cake but didn’t want a big cake around to tempt me. Wow…hit the spot. Could taste the peanut butter and the bourbon even though they were such small quantities!
I made this recipe using monkfruit sweetener and lilys semi sweet baking chips to cut the sugar and it was great! We loved it and have already made it twice! Thank you!
If you like lining your ramekins in foil so you have less clean up like I do, these take about 16 to 18 minutes to bake and still have a nice lava center. Instead of the booze, I added 1.5tsp of instant espresso powder. Might cut it back to 1tsp for company but for me it’s the perfect flavor. This is a great recipe. Easy to follow and I’m always thankful when someone has done the work of creating something as a single serving so I’m not craving something I can’t make. Great recipe all around!
Could you quadruple your recipe and make it for four people and does replacing flour in this recipe affect the cake rising? Can u also bake all four at the same time at the same temp. or one at a time only? THX
Molten chocolate cakes tend to do better in singular amounts, if I’m being honest. But if you’re looking for a super fudgy rich but larger chocolate cake, might I suggest Joy’s Everybody’s Birthday Cake or Deb’s Flaky Chocolate Cake? Happy baking!
I just made this recipe for my husband he gave me 9/10. Just know he is the most critical person I know. So that much rating means it was excellent. ?
I’m going to take this high compliment straight to the bank! Thanks, Sara!
During the height of Covid, I made a-lot of your recipes; like a lot. Iโve scaled back. I made this and itโs so good. Like sooooo good.
This recipient is dangerously good. I would one hundred percent recommend, as it is perfect for one person! It took me less than fifteen minutes for me to prepare,which is a rare feat with me. Delicious!
Unfortunately this recipe doesnโt calculate correctly when you choose 3 servings instead of 1. For instance, instead of it saying 3 T of butter for the batter it leaves it at 1, but adjusts for the butter needed for the ramekin. Thereโs another ingredient that doesnโt get calculated correctly either. Thankfully I caught this before my son, who was making the recipe, finished it (after he kept saying that something didnโt seem right). Looking forward to trying it when itโs out or the oven!
Perfect amount for one. Moist and delicious. Iโm saving this one.
Very nice recipe
I love dessert :) I really love this recipe. Thanks for sharing such a great recipe.
Love this dessert! Great for tough days.