Hot Chocolate Fudge Cakes

Always read the reviews first! I did, and my cakes turned out great in 7 oz ramekins for about 18 minutes. I used instant coffee in mine, and it turned out great! I loved this and so did my guest! Will make again and share with others! (I have one double cake to bake still (ran out of ramekins) so I'll have to experiment with the time!)  

Super easy and so good. Next time will only bake for 18 min instead of 20. Great when microwaved dor 20 secs after they have cooled ( great the next day). Just fabulous

I made these for a family Valentine's dinner, and they were soooo good. Everybody loved them. For the sake of economy, I used chopped 60% cacao Ghirardelli chips and instant coffee powder (both of which I already had on hand) instead of espresso powder and 71% chocolate, and the end result was still inexpressibly decadent. 17 minutes was the perfect baking time for my oven, and I baked them in 6 oz. Fiestaware teacups since I don't have 4 oz. ramekins. (Supercute when served on a saucer, too!)

Absolutely loved this which I prepared for Christmas desert. We had eaten out on Christmas Eve and the restaurant's much touted chocolate lava cake was a hot choice. So I was interested to see how this measured up and am happy to report that it was pronounced far superior! Love the fact that it's easy to put together and can be prepared ahead of time. Refrigerated leftovers reheated well. Follow comments from other reviewers, less cooking time (20 min) and seven ramekins filled. Highly recommend.

Best Cooking Light recipe ever! Divine!

This was the best chocolate recipie I have ever made. I love baking but my family is super healthy so i went searching for a good recipe and I found this! I baked it the week after super bowl to celebrate my family absolutly loved it!

This dessert is to die for. Like others when I made this it only filled 7 ramekins which was fine. I made exactly as the recipe stated except cut the cooking time down as recommended. I cooked mine at different times and experimented with the cooking times. I didn't think any of them turned out ideal. Most were too runny and more like a hot fudge sundae than cake. One time I cooked one minute longer and it was fully cooked but that one sat out of the fridge longer. They all tasted yummy though I would like to get the timing perfected. I might also not fill the ramekins quite so full to allow room for more ice cream. I will definitely make this again.

As other reviewers reported, this recipe only filled 7 4-oz ramekins (which was fine, because I was only serving 7 people.) I followed the recipe exactly. The cakes were only a little gooey in the center, which suited me fine, since I think it is a fine line between "lava cake" and "undercooked" ( generally not a big fan of uncooked centers). I don't care for coffee but I did use the espresso powder and I think it complimented the chocolate well. Served topped with confectioner's sugar and raspberries, it was a nice dessert for Christmas dinner.

This is my go to Christmas dessert recipe. Very rich & decadent if you leave it a little gooey (about 17 min), but still good cooked a little more. I usually get 6 servings out of this & keep them unbaked in the fridge & cook as wanted. I have kept them refrigerated up to 4 days without noticing any difference in the taste or texture once they're cooked.

Loved these. My ramekins were larger than called for so I only got 6 from the recipe. I baked them for less than was called for in the recipe - definitely keep watch on them after 15 minutes or so. It was nice to be able to put them together in the morning and then bake them as we cleaned up after dinner. Topped them with white chocolate peppermint bark ice cream which only made them better. I have requests from my family to make this again.

Excellent little decadent gooey delights! I made these mini cakes for a holiday New Year's party and they were a hit! I preped the desserts the morning of and let them sit covered in the fridge till I was ready to heat in the oven after dinner. I cooked them slightly longer than the recipe stated as my crust didn't seem "crunchy" and the centers were still pretty liquidy. I thought they were perfect at 25 minute cook time; once the powdered sugar was on top, it looked exactly like the photo. I also used only 6 ramekins in lieu of the 10 like the recipe calls for, but the size was devine for the cakes - just enough to feel satisfied. You can rewarm in the microwave for ~30 seconds up to 3 days after cooking them off in the oven and they taste just as great the second time around! Using quality chocolate is my only real recommendation other than to try them soon - you won't regret it; Super easy to make - you can't ask for more - Enjoy!

I also cooked mine for less time, 15 minutes, and it was pretty gooey but I liked it that way. I only made 6 instead of 10- I have never seen such tiny ramekins as they recommend! Definitely good with ice cream. Also, when I cooked the first two, I didn't see that it was supposed to sit first in the fridge. I wound up cooking it right away because i couldn't wait, and I didn't notice any difference.

This is a great dessert! I loved that you prepare it ahead of time and then pop it in the oven. Like one other reviewer, I only cooked it for 18 minutes at 350 degrees to get the gooey center.

If you want to make an impression on your guests, serve this dessert! I used Green & Black's organic dark chocolate, 4 eggs instead of egg substitute, and substituted an equivalent amount of Starbuck's VIA Ready Brew Italian Roast Extra Bold for the expresso powder because that's what I had on hand. Baked in 7 oz ramekins. So rich and wonderful! My guests (like those of other reviewers) were licking their spoons clean.

Wonderful...and you don't have to feel guilty!

My guests were licking their spoons (literally) to get the last little bit off. Love the fact you can make them ahead, store them in the refrigerator and bake while you're eating the main course. Didn't have the darker chocolate so used 3 ozs. of Ghirardelli bittersweet. So yummy!

These cakes are simply amazing. I did not add the espresso powder and used Ideal brown sugar and they were still fabulous. I served them with a little bit of vanilla ice cream and they were a huge hit.

We love these cakes, I have made them many times now. I don't have small ramekins, so we use 4 6oz dishes. They are also very rich, so we only tend to make one or two at a time. I have frozen the others and pull them out as I heat up the oven...bake them around 18 minutes or so and they are great. Definitely something you can serve to guests and really easy to make.

I was looking for a light dessert to serve on Mother's Day since I just lost 20 lbs., I wanted something delicious but did not want to bust my waistline! I found this recipe and was skeptical - but I have to say, this was one of the easiest and most delicious desserts I have had in a very long time! I am glad I read all the reviews and followed their suggestions - I cooked them only for 13 minutes and I did chop the chocolate in big chunks. I also added one dark Dove chocolate to each before cooking! They were so gooey and so rich! I made these the night before - which made it so much easier. My guests loved them! We did add Turkey Hill Vanilla Bean ice cream to each, which is a MUST! You must make these if you are a chocolate fan (and even if you are not, these will convert you!).

Fantastic! Tweaked the timing and temp- set the temp for 425 degrees and cooked the cakes (I only got 5 8oz ramekins) for 13-14 minutes. The trick is to watch them starting around 10 minutes and take them out when the tops still jiggle a lot! Then let them sit for a minute before eating. I was not able to take them out of the ramekins due to the liquid chocolate, but I had the joy of eating cakes with lots of gooey filling. I would double the recipe for company and definitely serve with a scoop of vanilla ice cream!

This is one of the best desserts I've ever made. I kept the chocolate chunks at a pretty decent size as other reviewers suggested and it worked great. They melted perfectly. These cakes don't take very long to bake, so just keep checking until the top is a little puffy and crusty. You must serve with vanilla ice cream. MUST. It complements it perfectly. Tastes just like the desserts you get at Applebees and Chiles. step by step photos on my blog: http://me-myself-and-pie.blogspot.com/2009/12/hot-chocolate-fudge-cakes.html

I served this as our Valentine's Day dessert at a dinner for six, and it was WONDERFUL. I read the reviews and cooked them for only 15 minutes, and it was very very gooey. We loved it. I also only have 6 oz ramekins, instead of 4 oz. Definitely needed vanilla ice cream on the side to cut the richness of the chocolate. I would completely make this again. Very simple, very impressive, very very yummy.

After reading the other reviews, I was very miticulous in weighing the flour to help eliminate the "dry" comments I had read. The only substituion was Splenda for the granulated sugar. I was only able to get 6 ramikins (also measured quanity to fill each one) and baked for 18 minutes in conventional oven and they were still a little dry. I would make again and cook for no more than 15 minutes. Very good flavor.

Excellent!!! Definitely use the Expresso powder (I had a hard time finding it - finally found it at Vons). I used bigger chunks for the chocolate and used 4 eggs instead of substitutes. You definitely need to cut the cooking time. I cooked 15 minutes and the cakes were still a little over cooked in the middle, HOWEVER, the cakes are so delicious, it didn't make a difference. Highly recommend. I"m making again for Christmas Eve.

I gave this recipe 4 stars because the instructions for baking time were way off. It's still very good especially since it can be made in advance and baked during dinner. The baking time is too long even for 6 oz ramekins which is what I have on hand - 12 minutes maximum for a convection oven. Otherwise there is no gooey center. Absolutely use the espresso powder. I now add this to most of my chocolate baking recipes. Miraculously it heightens the chocolate flavor without tasting like coffee. A drizzle of melted high quality vanilla ice cream is an easy way to top it off. This is a simple and impressive dessert.

I had been craving a molten lava choco cake ever since I'd treied one on a cruise the week before. I looked all over the internet for a 'lightened up' version of the cake, and nothing was to be found. Then, one evening, browsing thru my CL magazine collection, I saw last January's cover and walla! I had to make this. I read all of the other reviews carefully and gave it a go. I halved the recipe since I was making them for just myself and my BF. I replaced the sugar with Splenda, omitted the espresso powder, and used a bar of Hershey Special Dark chocolate (that's all I had in the cupboard). I was a little surprised that there was NOT enough batter to fill 5 ramekins..I barely filled 3, but nonetheless, I continued. I baked for 18 minutes (until set) and dug in a spoon...and to my delight, melted dark chocolate oozed out! MY BF and I gobbled all three little cakes up with a scoop of Breyer's vanilla ice cream. Will DEFINITELY be making these again, but will prolly do the full recipe and use smaller ramekins. Thumbs up to this recipe!

How can the test kitchen give this recipe their highest rating? I'm very disappointed. I didn't read the reviews before baking because it was highly rated. Big mistake. Like many other reviewers, I followed the directions and ended up with tiny baked cakes..no gooey fudge, fair taste. Based on the numerous comments from reviewers about the size of the chocolate pieces, size of the ramekins and baking time, I think the test kitchen goofed big time.

Easy to do and I get rave reviews every time I make it for guests because it looks harder than it is. I omit the espresso because I don't like coffee flavors and just use more cocoa instead. I also put chocolate pieces in the center of each ramekin to make sure it's more gooey in the middle because, as another reviewer said, the timing has to be tweaked and I'm never sure how baked or gooey it will end up. Either way it still always turns out great and no one know how it is 'supposed' to be.

This recipe was simple, chocolatey and a great make-ahead dessert. My guests raved about it and I will definately make this one again. I left out the espresso and it was just as delicious!

I am pretty confident in my ability to bake, cook and follow a recipe. I made these twice and will say, if you use a convection oven, the time needs to be tweaked considerably. The first time I shortened the time a few minutes. Completely baked. The second time I made them this weekend and baked for 15 minutes. This resulted in less baked cake, but still baked too long. The other recipes I've seen for molten cakes only call for about a 10-12 minute bake time. Because they are pretty tasty and my guests did not know any different, they were devoured. I'm going to try this one more time and set the timer for 10 minutes.

My favorite thing about Cooking Light recipes is that not only are the recipes tasty and easy to prepare but my results always look like the picture in the magazine. I thought this recipe was out of this world and it looked just like it did on the cover. Thank you for not using "fake" food in your pictures.

Great flavor but I didn't have the same results as the others...no molten chocolate. I'm going to try again with less time and much chunkier choclate. I must have chopped mine too fine. So, do try the recipe but keep the chocolate coarse and do a trial timing with one of the cups.

Delicious! I actually switched out the chocolate and used Vanilla Chai Latte Powder in place of the cocos and white chocolate chips in place of the chocolate. It was the perfect morning treat on a cold winter day!

This is a delicious, easy recipe. I made it for dessert on New Year's Day and there was not a crumb left!

Wow, so easy,so good. I made it for Christmas Eve, not a crumb left. A keeper.

I made this dessert for Christmas Eve. It was outstanding! I cooked it for 19 minutes instead of the 21 it states to cook. It was perfect. I made it a day ahead and it was so easy. I will definitely make this again and again.

This is an awesome recipe! I love the fact that it can be made ahead and then baked when needed. We had these for Christmas dinner. I popped them in the oven when I started clearing the table from the main course. Served with a scoop of peppermint ice cream on the side. I live in Alaska and couldn't find all the ingredients. No espresso powder and had to use Ghiradelli 60% chocolate but they were still wonderful. A keeper!

I can't imagine how much easier a recipe could be to make such an elegant desert. I've made this recipe 4 times already. Chocolate lovers unite! The first time I made it, I used instant coffee instead of espresso powder - I recommend the espresso powder. I also prepared these in different size cups, demitasse cups, smaller mugs, various size ramekins, adjusting the baking time accordingly and all with excellents results.

This was great! I followed the suggestions of other raters and chopped the choc. in bigger chunks. I did use 72% dark choc. and thought it was a little too dark, but still great. I will try 60% next time. I couldn't find expresso powder so I used instant coffee and just extra (about 6.5 tsp). I had larger ramekins so I did cook for the full 21 min. and still had great "gooey-ness" on the inside. A scoop of vanilla ice cream was perfect with this extreme choc. dessert. YUM!

I made this for a wine dinner for New Year's Eve and got rave reviews! Yummy!

This was so delicious. I cut the recipe in half, and made 4 with 6 ounce ramekins. Super yummy. I baked at 350 for 18 minutes. I had coarsely chopped the chocolate in food processor and the insides of the cakes were perfect!

Made these as directed but instead of ramekins used a 12-cup cupcake pan. Baked for 18 minutes and they were delicious. Not sure which we like best, these or Chocolate Decadence (CL 12/03) but will do a side-by-side test next time I make this which will definitely happen.

Followed advice from reviewers: chopped chocolate coarsely, filled 8 ramekins and baked 18 minutes. The end result was beyond any chocolate dessert we've had. It took 20 minutes to prep the day before--so easy and delicious that we made it 3 times during the holidays. Great recipe for any occasion!

Do follow the recipe and use the expresso powder and Vairhona chocolate. Don't finely chop the chocolate bar -- break it into 1/4 inch or larger chunks before adding to the batter. We used all egg white egg substitute.... The receipe calls for 10 4ounce ramekins. We tend to think this is a misprint because our ramekins are very small and are 8 oz. We filled 10 8 oz. ramekins 3/4 full. Baked them 15 minutes. They turned out perfectly!!!! It is fabulous to just pull them out of the refrigerator a day later and pop them in the oven.

I used a Scharffen Berger 70% Cacao Bittersweet chocolate bar and cooked them just 18 minutes in my Kenmore electric oven and they were perfect - absolutely rich with an intense chocolate flavor. I will definitely be making them again!!

These were the perfect dessert. They were easy to make ahead and pop in the oven when everyone was ready.

This recipe tasted delicious, but I cooked it for 21 minutes the first time and 20 the second and both times it came out fully cooked in the middle...no "molten interior".

I served these for my family's Christmas dinner, and they were a big hit! I mixed the batter up the day before, and baked two of them for my husband and I as a test. We found that 20 minutes worked best with our oven. I didn't have egg substitute, so I used 4 large eggs. My ramekins hold 6 ounces, so I only made 8, and they didn't fill the whole ramekin. That left room for a scoop of peppermint ice cream on top. (Thanks for the tip, Elena!)

Excellent! I followed the recipe exactly and it turned out perfectly. Everyone raved about the flavor. I was a little worried about adding so much espresso, but it balanced out the chocolate and was delicious.

These fudge cakes were extraordinarily delicious. They were so nice and gooey in the center! I did make a few small changes. (1) I used Ghirardelli Bittersweet chocolate (which has 60% chocolate, I believe) instead of the 71% chocolate. (2) I skipped the espresso powder. (3) I did not have egg substitute, so I used egg whites. I also used premium cocoa, which I think makes a huge difference. I will make these as often as my waistline allows it.

I will make it again, but will try to cook at about 19mins and will also cut the chocolate pieces to be chunky instead of "finely chopped". I also think that if your in a pinch you could use chocolate chips. It made enough for about 8 ramekins...so not sure how many calories it is at that point. It was good but I would try those adjustments in order to make it a 5 star.

These are incredibly delicious! I followed the recipe exactly, and only had enough for 7 ramekins. I think next time I'll also cut down just a little bit on the baking time - maybe just one minute less. This is a recipe I'll make again and again. As a chocoholic, I am in heaven after eating them!!

excellent. Easy! I used Hershey's special dark cocoa and it was fabulous!

I made these for Thanksgiving and my whole family loved them. I only was able to fill 7 - 4 oz. ramekins. I baked them for 21 minutes, next time I would do 18 or 19 minutes because they weren't runny enough in the center! I used a 72% Ghiradelli chocolate which worked out great! They are very rich - we ate them with Light Peppermint Ice cream which was yummy!

Amazing! I would definitely make this again. It would be an unexpected finish for a holiday or special meal or even just a Tuesday night at home. It's an easy recipe and convenient because you can make a batch of ramekins and then take them out of the refrigerator to bake at different times over a couple of days. My fiance and I can't stop talking about this dessert!