Mexican Mocha Lava Cakes

ramekin of spoon in gooey mexican mocha lava cake

These Mexican Mocha Lava Cakes are the perfect sweet and spicy treat for yourself or a loved one on this Valentine’s Day! These are decadent, loaded with gooey chocolate and so delicious! 

I can’t even believe that Valentine’s Day is creeping up on us already! In just a few days it will be here and hi I am currently writing this post in advance so our baby BOY could be here as well. 

Wouldn’t that be a fun Valentine’s Day gift? Best day ever! We shall see when he comes…in the meantime…

Benjamin, if you’re reading this, you can just get me some flowers. And bake me a batch of these lava cakes. Thanks a lot 😉 Hehe.

Why You’ll Love This Dessert:

Y’all, these Mexican Mocha Lava Cakes are absolutely DELIGHTFUL. You know my love for anything sweet and spicy – something about cayenne pepper, cinnamon and chocolate goes SO well together. 

The blend of the richness of the cocoa with the sharpness of the spice and the sweetness of the chocolate…it works so well together and in my opinion, such an underrated combination. 

I love these because it’s perfect for a date night home for 2. For the past several years, Benjamin and I have opted out of the classic date night on the town and instead stayed home and cooked in. 

We always make steak, my stovetop mac and cheese, roasted garlic mashed potatoes and have a bottle of wine. Of course this year, wine is off the table for me but I love this tradition we have! 

This dessert is perfect if you’re staying in because it makes 2 delicious serving sizes of this lava cake that will seriously satiate your sweet tooth after dinner. 

And they are SO simple to whip up. Growing up and seeing lava cakes at a restaurant I feel like I was always intimidated and thought they would require so much work to be able to make…but it’s really not true!

2 baked mexican mocha cakes in ramekins with cayenne and powdered sugar

Just a few common pantry ingredients, a couple of ramekins and a short bake time stand between you and these ultra delicious ooooooey gooey lava cakes. 

And I do mean ooey gooey, y’all. The melty chocolate liquid in the middle flows and you want to eat nothing but that for the rest of your life. Yup. Seriously. 

These are best topped with a scoop of cold ice cream – I love vanilla or coffee for this recipe but you can also do powdered sugar if you’re not a fan of ice cream. 

So let’s get into how you make these! 

Ingredients You Need: 

  • High quality dark chocolate (don’t use chocolate chips here! I would recommend buying an actual dark chocolate bar – 51% cacao or higher OR getting one of those semi-sweet Baker’s Bars you find in the baking section.)
  • Salted butter 
  • Cinnamon 
  • Cayenne pepper
  • Powdered sugar
  • All purpose flour
  • Espresso Powder (adds depth of flavor, but can be omitted!) 
  • Vanilla extract
  • 1 egg, 2 egg yolks
  • Unsweetened Cocoa powder

Best Lava Cake Baking Tips: 

Begin as always by preheating your oven! You’re going to want to heat it up to 425 – higher than my usual baking recipes. 

While it’s preheating, let’s get everything prepared. Grab 2 ramekins of your choice (mine were 3.5 oz) and grease them generously with either butter or baking spray – your choice! 

Take the chocolate and chop it into pieces and add it to a medium size bowl with some butter. Add it to the microwave and warm it up for about 1 minute and then remove it and stir it together until the butter and chocolate melds together perfectly with no lumps!

For this recipe you need 1 egg and 2 egg yolks – add those to the bowl with the melted chocolate as well as a splash of vanilla extract. Whisk together! 

Lastly, add in the flour, espresso powder, powdered sugar and the cayenne powder and cinnamon! Mix together until it’s fully combined. 

whisking lava cake batter in glass bowl

Divide the batter into the two ramekins and smooth them out on top. 

Bake them up – about 10 minutes or so and then outside of the cake will be done but the middle will still be gooey – it should look something like this: 

side by side photos of pre-baked vs. post baked lava cakes

You can eat them straight from the ramekin or gently remove them to a plate and add on your favorite garnishes! Tip: You want to eat these warm and right away!

Whether it be whipped cream, ice cream, powdered sugar…the world is your oyster! I also love adding some extra cinnamon and cayenne on top. 

gooey lava cake oozing out onto a plate

Time for a gooey and delicious chocolate lava cake! Enjoy every single decadent bite, my friends!

Did you enjoy this recipe? Here are a few others you might like: 

Baked Mexican Mocha Donuts 

Spicy Mexican Hot Chocolate 

Mexican Hot Chocolate Cookies 

Thank you so much for following along here, friends! Want to see more? Be sure to follow ourbalancedbowl on Instagram and tag me with your photo if you end up making a recipe! You can also post a photo of your recipe to the Our Balanced Bowl Facebook page! Like a recipe that you saw? Follow me on Pinterest here! I always love to see your re-creations! If you do make a recipe, it would make my whole day if you were to rate and comment so I can get your feedback! Lots of love! – Haylie

Mexican Mocha Lava Cakes

These Mexican Mocha Lava Cakes are the perfect sweet and spicy treat for yourself or a loved one on this Valentine’s Day! These are decadent, loaded with gooey chocolate and so delicious! 

Course Dessert
Cuisine American
Keyword lava cakes, mexican mocha lava cakes, molten lava cakes
Prep Time 10 minutes
Cook Time 10 minutes
Total Time 20 minutes
Servings 2 people
Author Haylie

Ingredients

  • 1/2 stick salted butter
  • 4 oz. high quality dark chocolate, chopped
  • 1 tsp vanilla extract
  • 1 egg
  • 2 egg yolks
  • 1/4 cup powdered sugar
  • 1/4 cup all purpose flour
  • 1/4 tsp ground cayenne powder
  • 1 tsp espresso powder (adds depth of flavor, but can be omitted!)
  • 1/2 tsp cinnamon
  • baking spray / cocoa powder for dusting the ramekins
  • powdered sugar, ice cream or whipped cream for topping!

Instructions

  1. Preheat the oven to 425. Grease the two 3.5 oz ramekins with non-stick cooking spray or butter. 

  2. Using a small sifter, generously dust cocoa on each of the ramekins. This will ensure the lava cakes won't stick. 

  3. Take the high quality dark chocolate (I recommend a Baker's Bar) and roughly chop it into pieces.

  4. Add it in to a medium sized microwave safe bowl with the salted butter. Place in the microwave for 1 minute to 1 minute and 15 seconds. Take it out and then stir until the chocolate is smooth and melded together with no lumps. 

  5. In a small bowl, mix the egg and 2 egg yolks together. Add those to the bowl of chocolate as well as the vanilla extract. Next, add in the cinnamon, cayenne, powdered sugar, espresso powder and flour. Mix gently until combined and no lumps are in the batter. 

  6. Divide the batter in half into into the ramekins and smooth out the tops.

  7. Bake for 8-10 minutes until the outside ring of the cakes look done. The inside will still be gooey - which is what you want! You can eat these straight from the ramekin or gently remove them onto a plate.

  8. Eat immediately - enjoy warm with more powdered sugar sifted on top and an extra pinch of cayenne. Top with fresh fruit, ice cream or whipped cream. Enjoy!

2 comments / Add your comment below

Leave a Reply

Recipe Rating




This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.