I worked at Chili’s throughout college—I know a good molten lava cake when I see one. While the molten cakes came to the restaurant frozen, a quick zap in the microwave made that chocolate completely ooze out with the first bite. Molten cakes are obviously a crowd favorite, but believe me when I say this: they’re 78,439x better made fresh at home with pure chocolate and lots of butter.

You only need 7 basic ingredients for today’s peanut butter chocolate lava cakes. I adapted this recipe from Food and Wine. Let’s review:

They may look fancy and complicated, but peanut butter chocolate lava cakes are incredibly simple to make. Let’s review the quick and easy steps:

I highly recommend using ramekins for these lava cakes. Here are the 6-ounce ramekins I use and suggest you pick up as well. They’re the perfect size for these lava cakes. Grease each ramekin with a little non-stick spray and a dusting of cocoa powder before filling with batter. This preparation helps the baked lava cake release seamlessly from the ramekin onto the plate for serving.

Conveniently, you can use the same ramekins for other recipes we have published like chocolate fudge cakes, chocolate soufflé, chocolate lava cakes, lemon pudding cakes, and upside down key lime pies.

Grease 6 muffin pan cups and dust with cocoa powder to prevent the lava cakes from sticking. Your lava cakes will be slightly smaller—you’ll get 6 lava cakes instead of 4. Bake at 425°F (218°C) for 8-10 minutes. Use a spoon to release the cakes from the pan and place each upside down on plates.

I included this recipe over on my Valentine’s Day dessert recipes page, but they’re just as rich and tasty without a holiday on the calendar. 🙂

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