Tessa's Recipe Rundown
Taste: Ultra-chocolaty without being too intense. Every bite is pure heaven!
Texture: The brownie itself is chewy, while the chocolate lava just oozes out into a rich, gooey, and luscious surprise.
Ease: Very simple to make!
Why You’ll Love This Recipe: Romantic, easy, and utterly delicious.
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There aren’t enough words in the English language to describe how perfect these lava brownies are.
Beautiful, delectable, delicious, heavenly, indulgent, mouthwatering, scrumptious, wonderful … still not quite sure all those words do it justice.
One of my favorite things in life is lava… molten chocolate lava, that is. As a total chocoholic and lover of all things rich, gooey, and ooey, chocolate lava cakes are my jam.
These are so rich, chewy, and delightful, and are one of the best things I’ve ever made.
These Lava Brownies are the perfect Valentine’s Day dessert idea, great for a dinner party, or really anytime you’re craving something chocolatey and wonderful.
I hope you, my fellow chocoholics, love them as much as I do!
Sprinkle of Science
How to Make Lava Brownies
How to Get Perfectly Flowing Lava
Be sure to freeze your lava filling until it’s hard, as directed in the recipe. If your filling is not completely frozen, it may melt too fast and absorb into the brownie mixture as the Lava Brownies bake, and your brownies may not have a liquidy, flowing center.
The Chocolate
I prefer a combination of semi-sweet + unsweetened chocolate for this recipe, for the perfect balance of sweetness. I like to use Ghirardelli semi-sweet chocolate chips and unsweetened baking chocolate bars. Feel free to experiment with different types of chocolate to your preference, but just note that this will impact the sweetness levels.
Tips for Perfect Brownies
- Avoid adding too much flour. Too much flour will make for dry, crumbly, or cakey brownies. I highly recommend using a digital scale to measure, but if you don’t have one, learn how to measure for accuracy here.
- Do not reduce the sugar. Sugar does so much more than simply sweetening in baking – learn more about what sugar really does in baking here.
- Avoid overbaking. Pull your lava brownies from the oven once the brownie is cooked through but the lava is still molten. This provides the perfect lava, without causing your brownies to be hard or dry.
What Type of Pan for Lava Brownies?
This recipe was written to use a jumbo muffin pan, like this one. If your pan is very dark in color, it may bake a little faster, so be cautious of overbaking and try shaving a couple minutes off the bake time to start.
You can alternatively use similarly-sized ramekins. I have not tried this recipe using a regular or mini-sized muffin pan.
How to Avoid Lava Brownies Sticking to the Pan
If you don’t grease your pan well, your lava brownies may stick to the pan. I typically use Baker’s Joy spray, as I find that it works well to avoid sticking. You can also try using melted butter or melted shortening, brushing it on with a silicone brush, and then coat the insides with granulated sugar or cocoa powder, tapping out the excess.
How to Serve Lava Brownies
I love to serve my Lava Brownies with fresh raspberries, but you could also serve with:
- Strawberries
- Fresh mint
- Whipped cream
- Vanilla ice cream
- Melted peanut butter
- Salted Caramel Sauce
- Whatever your heart desires!
Can Lava Brownies be Made Ahead?
Yes! Once portioned out into the muffin tin, cover and refrigerate for up to 24 hours. Bring to room temperature before inserting the frozen lava filling and baking.
How to Store Lava Brownies
Lava Brownies are best served just after baking, but they can be stored in an airtight container and reheated in the microwave before serving.
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Ingredients
For the chocolate lava:
- 1 cup (170 grams) semisweet chocolate chips
- 1/3 cup heavy cream
- 1 tablespoon unsalted butter
For the brownies:
- 1 cup (170 grams) semisweet chocolate chips
- 1 1/2 sticks (170 grams) unsalted butter, cut into pieces
- 4 ounces (113 grams) unsweetened chocolate, chopped
- 1 1/2 cups (300 grams) granulated sugar
- 3 large eggs plus 1 egg yolk
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 3/4 cup (94 grams) all-purpose flour
- 1/4 teaspoon fine sea salt
- Fresh raspberries, for serving
Instructions
For the chocolate lava:
- In a small saucepan, combine the lava ingredients. Stir over low heat until melted. Transfer to a small bowl and let cool for 15 minutes. Cover and freeze for 1 hour, or until fudge-like consistency. Divide into 6 equal portions and roll into balls. Place in the freezer until solid.
For the brownies:
- Preheat the oven to 350°F. Generously grease a 6-cup jumbo muffin tin.
- In a large microwave-safe bowl, combine the chocolate chips, butter, and unsweetened chocolate. Heat in the microwave for 1 minute, then stir. Continue heating in 30-second bursts, stirring between each burst, until the mixture is melted and smooth, being careful not to scorch the mixture. Allow to cool slightly.
- In a large bowl, use an electric mixer to beat the eggs and sugar on medium-high speed until light and thick, about 3 minutes. Beat in the vanilla extract. Stir in the cooled chocolate mixture with a rubber spatula. Add the flour and salt, folding gently until combined.
- Divide the batter among the prepared cups.
- Make Ahead: At this point, the unbaked lava brownies can be covered and refrigerated for up to 24 hours. Bring to room temperature before inserting the lava filling balls and baking.
- Place a ball of lava filling into the center of each cup, pressing down slightly to cover with batter. Bake for about 25 minutes, or until the brownie is cooked through but the lava is still molten. Let cool for 3 to 5 minutes before turning out onto a tray and serving on individual plates. Serve immediately with fresh raspberries.
- Brownies can be reheated in the microwave to serve later, but are best served just after baking.
This post was originally published in 2015 and has been updated with recipe weight measurements and additional recipe tips. Photos by Ashley McLaughlin.
Amazing recipe!!
However,do not put in refrigerator it takes up to 2 hours to get back too where you need to bake. Just FYI
Pure perfection! And SO easy to make. Thank you for the recipe. I haven’t been disappointed in one of your recipes yet, and I highly doubt I will be.
So happy to hear that, Elizabeth! Thanks for sharing!
This recipe is fail proof! I made some changes due to what I had in the pantry and it turned out perfect still! I made the ganache with milk chocolate and the brownie with dark chocolate (cut back a bit on the sugar to compensate). I also only made a quarter of the recipe and baked it in two 4 inch spring form pans. After cooling, I enjoyed them at the pool. Thanks for the great recipe!!
So wonderful to hear, Elisabeth!! So happy you love these lava brownies! 🙂
Tried these lava brownies after falling in love with your french silk pie recipe… So disappointed that when I let them cool, they caved in and were filled with air instead of lava… Tried to keep them in one piece flipping them out of the pan, but they also were stuck to the bottom 🙁
So sorry you experienced issues, Samantha! It’s definitely frustrating for a recipe to not turn out right the first time, especially when it’s something new! To confirm I’m understanding you properly, when you cut into the brownies, was there any chocolate lava that oozed out, or did it just look like a baked brownie inside? Also, what did you grease your ramekins with?
Honestly I don’t remember what I used to grease the ramekins anymore, but not there was no lava and it was almost hollow in the middle!
How long did you let your chocolate lava balls freeze for? It sounds like they may not have been frozen enough and absorbed into your brownies while baking. There will be a bit of hollowness with this recipe, it’s expected, but there should be lava too! I hope you give this recipe another try, please let us know how it goes if you do!
Cok guzel
Made it twice. The recipe makes way too much ganache and there is no way the brownie holds together if you divide it into 6. Tried with less ganache and no dice either – it falls through the top and bottom.
Can you use box brownie mix instead?
I haven’t tried.
Can these be frozen to be served later? And if so, how long can they stay frozen?
Please see the make ahead instructions at the bottom of the recipe card 🙂
ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooh, dis looks good! XD
yum
The brownies are a hit. But how do I keep them from sticking . What is best method of greasing pan/