Chocolate-Espresso Lava Cakes

By Addie

These individual soft-centered cakes are baked and served in ovenproof mugs. (As an alternative, eight-ounce ramekins or soufflé dishes can be used.)

Ingredients

• 1 cup all purpose flour
• 3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
• 6 teaspoons instant espresso powder or instant coffee powder
• 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1 cup (2 sticks) salted butter, melted
• 1 cup sugar
• 1 cup (packed) golden brown sugar
• 4 large eggs
• 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 1/4 teaspoon almond extract
• 12 tablespoons semisweet chocolate chips (about 4 1/2 ounces)
• .........................................
• 1 cup chilled whipping cream
• 3 tablespoons powdered sugar

Preparation

Step 1

Sift flour, cocoa powder, 5 teaspoons espresso powder, and baking powder into medium bowl. Place butter in large bowl; add both sugars and whisk until well blended. Whisk in eggs 1 at a time, then vanilla and almond extracts. Whisk in dry ingredients. Divide batter among six 1-cup ovenproof coffee mugs (about 2/3 cup in each). Top each with 2 tablespoons chocolate chips. Gently press chips into batter. Cover and refrigerate mugs at least 1 hour and up to 1 day.

Combine cream, powdered sugar and remaining 1 teaspoon espresso powder in medium bowl; whisk until peaks form. Chill up to 1 hour.

Position rack in center of oven and preheat to 350°F. Let mugs with batter stand at room temperature 5 minutes. Bake uncovered until cakes are puffed and crusty and tester inserted into center comes out with thick batter attached, about 30 minutes. Cool cakes 5 minutes. Top hot cakes with espresso whipped cream and serve.
....................

REVIEWS: (127)

I hate to bake, but when a friend passed this delicious recipe on to me, I had to make an exception. If you love rich, chocolate-y desserts, you'll absolutely love these. The recipe makes 6 servings, but I think each single serving is plenty for two people. The espresso whipped cream is especially delicious.

YUM! I made this recipe for a family Cupcake Wars and won for overall taste and overall cupcake!!! The whipped cream stole the show with it's subtle flavor and immense creaminess. I only have a few comments which is why I'm giving it a 3. It isn't a lava cake, there was nothing gooey and moist on the inside but I cooked it at the exact temperature for the exact time, I even took it out a little early. I think the time should be closer to 20 minutes because the cake tasted a little dry. And helpful hint, make small peaks with the whipped cream before you add the powdered sugar and espresso powder. Overall great recipe!

This super easy dessert is a hit every time I make it! Because it is so rich, I halve the portion size (I make 12 servings from the amount of batter the recipe makes), and use about 1 heaping tsp of chocolate chips in each ramekin.

This is a good base recipe but definitely not the best tasting or easiest to make...for those of you who are experienced with ramekins, mugs are a whole different story - I found it really difficult to gauge temperature and doneness. I like the mug look but this one takes a bit of experimenting.

I've made this dessert for dinner parties twice in the last week, exceptional for its ease and tastiness. Preferred it without the chocolate chips ... they seem a little prosaic and they don't melt. Baked them in individual pots. Overbaked the first time, because I just couldn't believe I should take them out when they were still so runny inside. But yes, agree with other reviewers, check frequently after 20 minutes -- there must be a lot of variation in ramekins. Also halves well; doubles well.

LOVE LOVE LOVE this recipe!!! I've made it several times and everyone loves it! So perfect for when you need that Chocolate fix! YUM

Like the previous reviewer, I've made this many times and it is a family favorite. I like it because it has a high percentage of chocolate (always a plus) and because it can be made ahead of time and popped into the oven when dinner starts. I consider the espresso powder to be optional. I don't miss it and some of the non-coffee drinkers would rather do without the caffeine. It also makes a great bundt cake. |My bundt pan is large, so I make 1-1/2 recipes and lay out the chocolate pieces in a ring in the center. If it comes out dry, it was over-baked. The cake is supposed to collapse a bit. A knife should come out clean if you avoid the chocolate "lava".

I've made this countless times - definitely a rockstar dessert! VERY rich, so be sure to warn your guests that they don't have to eat the whole thing! Super easy to make ahead - then either make the whipped cream just prior to serving or cheat and use cool whip. Enjoy!

I thought this was a little dry and not soft enough in the center. Also didn't see the point of the chocolate chips on the top.

I loved it and so did everyone that tried it. Soooooo yummy. this is a keeper for good, just became one of my most favorite recipe. For chocolate lovers for sure.

I made these for a Christmas party. Everyone loved them! I doubled the recipe and divided it up between 12 mugs. I bought some cheap mugs at Walmart that were only microwave safe and they worked just fine. They look runny when they're cooking, but they do set up a little more after you take them out of the oven. Whip cream topping is great. I reduced the amount of sugar it suggested. Vanilla ice cream is great too. Will definitely make these again and again!

I've made these twice now, and both times the flavor was heavenly but lava inside was minimal, and then vanished very quickly into fully-cooked cake! definitely check at 20 minutes, and you don't really need that 5-minute cool down (or just let it cool down for a minute in front of eager guest with spoon in hand). I did use mugs that taper toward the bottom, and we hypothesized that that may have been the issue with overcooking. I should have read the reviews beforehand--far better to use smaller portions in ramekins and adjust baking time accordingly. Decaf's a great idea, too! but I do plan on trying out this recipe until I reach the holy grail of lava center.

This is fabulous. Thought I lost recipe and was so sad. We think this recipe is better than Chocolate Melting Cakes from Carnival Cruise Lines. My nephew found it in frig. before it was cooked and ate it raw and thought it was great! Best recipe ever! It's so easy to make and so delicious! My favorite chocolate dessert!

Too sweet! Whipped cream didn't stand up to heat; ice cream would have been better. Too much like uncooked batter than a "cake". Won't make again.

I didn't use the espresso powder or almond extract. It is still an amazing dessert. Start checking for doneness around 20 minutes not 30!

No melting of chocolate required! And this was one of the best cake batters I've ever tasted - it was difficult not to eat it before cooking it!

Wow!!! I'm a pastry student and this recipe was just amazing! I top the cake with vanilla ice cream and put in the oven only 25 minutes, but I use 15 ramekins. I didn't feel the coffee flavor but still amazing! next time I will low the quantity of cocoa and put a little bit more of coffee. YOU HAVE TO TRY IT!!!

This is a VERY easy, VERY chocolatey YUMMY dessert. I cut the recipe in half for our family, and made four coffee mugs. I whipped it together while making dinner, (used instant coffee powder, not espresso) left it in the fridge while we ate, then baked it while we cleaned up. Everyone was waiting expectantly for the presentation! The responses were that the almond flavouring was a little too strong, otherwise DELICIOUS!!! I watched the cooking time, less that 30 minutes, and served with fresh raspberries as well. A keeper!!