Molten Instant Pot Chocolate Lava Cake has a gooey chocolate center and a hint of coffee. With minimal ingredients and short preparation time, this Instant Pot dessert is super quick and easy to make. You don’t need to turn on your oven to satisfy your sweet tooth!
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Table of Contents
Introduction
When I was looking for a dessert recipe to adapt to the Instant Pot, this lava cake recipe jumped out as the perfect candidate. The original oven recipe uses a bain-marie (water bath), and that made it ideal to adapt as an Instant Pot dessert.
One other reason I adapted this lava cake recipe from the oven to the Instant Pot is to avoid using the oven in the summertime when the air conditioning is on.
These lava cakes are such a wonderfully decadent treat. Everyone in my family loves chocolate and we love this recipe! The centers of these molten Instant Pot chocolate lava cakes are soft and gooey (hence the name ‘lava cake’!)
These lava cakes taste best when served warm. They don’t taste as good warmed up the next day.
Here are some other Instant Pot dessert recipes you’re going to love!
– Instant Pot Oreo Cheesecake
– Instant Pot Cardamom Cupcakes
– Instant Pot Peach Crisp
– Instant Pot Brownie Sundaes
Tips and Substitutions
Sealing Ring Odors
I make a lot of curries and highly spiced dishes in the Instant Pot and one thing I’ve found is that the Instant Pot sealing ring retains the smell of whatever I cook. I’ve tried all kinds of tricks and although the smell can be reduced, they aren’t eliminated.
To solve this problem, you can purchase a second silicone sealing ring that you can use just for desserts. You can find multi-packs of sealing rings with different colors to keep track of them easily.
Equipment
You’ll also need some oven-proof dessert cups. I use small 3 ½ inch ramekins but you could also use glass Pyrex custard cups. They’re a bit of a tighter fit, but you might already have them in your kitchen cabinet.
I use 6 oz. ramekins in a 6 quart Instant Pot Duo or Instant Pot Ultra for this lava cake recipe; if you’re using different size or type of containers or pressure cooker, your cooking time may need to change.
This recipe uses the Pot-in-pot method to cook the lava cakes, so you’ll need to use the trivet that was shipped with your Instant Pot.
[Read more about the Instant Pot Trivet types and how to use them.]
Coffee Flavor
This lava cake recipe uses instant coffee granules and I think it adds a nice counter-balance to the chocolate. But I’m a coffee drinker and love to get my coffee fix!
My kids, on the other hand, are not coffee drinkers and they like these chocolate lava cakes without the coffee. If you don’t care for coffee either, you can easily leave it out.
Chocolate
It’s important that you microwave the chocolate correctly: at medium (50%) power, in small bursts, stirring well every 15 seconds, and stopping when there are still a few pieces of chocolate still left, allowing the remaining chocolate to melt in the residual heat, stirring until smooth.
Overheating the chocolate can make this recipe not turn out right.
Cooking Time
This Instant Pot lava cake recipe can be tricky for some readers. The reason could be altitude-related or slight variations in the measuring of ingredients. Or it could vary based on the model of Instant Pot.
I’m sorry I can’t give any more guidance, so you might need to experiment a bit. The Instant Pot company changes the design frequently and each iteration can cause recipes to turn out differently.
If you’re making this Instant Pot lava cake recipe for the first time, you might want to try 7 minutes and if the lava cakes are undercooked, pressure cook them for another 1 to 2 minutes.
If you’re new to the Instant Pot and aren’t familiar with how to use it, you might find it helpful to first read one of the following guides and then come back here to learn how to make this recipe.
- General Instant Pot Instructions for Beginners
- Instant Pot ULTRA Beginner’s Manual
- Instant Pot DUO EVO PLUS Beginner’s Manual
- Instant Pot DUO NOVA Beginner’s Manual
- Instant Pot DUO GOURMET Beginner’s Manual
- Instant Pot DUO CRISP Beginner’s Manual
- Instant Pot PRO Beginner’s Manual
- Instant Pot PRO CRISP Beginner’s Manual
Instant Pot Lava Cake Ingredients
- Semi-sweet chocolate
- All-purpose flour
- Salt
- Powdered sugar
- Instant Coffee
- Granulated sugar
- Eggs
- Egg yolks
- Vanilla
- Butter
How to Make Chocolate Lava Cakes in the Instant Pot (Step by Step Instructions)
- Melt Chocolate
- Add eggs and flour
- Fill containers and set on a trivet
- Pressure cook
- Quick-release pressure
- Cool on a rack
- Sprinkle powdered sugar
Melt Chocolate
- In a medium-sized microwave-safe bowl, microwave butter and chocolate on medium (50%) heat for about 1 minute. Stir and repeat heating at 15-second intervals, until the chocolate is melted and smooth but a few small pieces of chocolate still remain. Keep stirring to allow the chocolate to completely melt in the residual heat. *
- Stir in confectioner’s sugar.
* Make sure you don’t over-melt the chocolate. See this article about melting chocolate in the microwave.
Add eggs and flour
- Whisk in eggs, yolks, coffee and vanilla.
- Stir in flour and salt.
Fill containers and set on trivet
- Grease the bottom and sides of four 6 oz. ramekins. Coat each with sugar.
- Divide batter among the ramekins.
- Pour 2 cups water into the Instant Pot’s main compartment (inner pot) and place the trivet in water.
- Place 3 ramekins on the trivet and stack the fourth ramekin on top.
Instant Pot Duo Pressure Cook 9 minutes
- Close the lid and make sure the steam release handle is in Sealing position.
- Press Manual (or Pressure Cook) and + or – until the display reads 9 (9 minutes).
Instant Pot Ultra Pressure Cook 9 minutes
- Close the lid.
- Select Pressure Cook mode and adjust the time to 9 minutes (00:09).
- Press Start.
Pressure Cooking Process (Duo and Ultra)
- Instant Pot display will change to On.
- Once the Instant Pot is pressurized, the float valve will go up.
- The display will count down to 0; it will then switch to Keep Warm mode and display L0:00 or 00 00 and begin to count up the number of minutes since pressure cooking completed.
Pro Tip
The pressure cook time for this recipe can vary based on model of Instant Pot. If you’re doing this for the first time, you might want to try 7 minutes and if the lava cakes are undercooked, pressure cook them for another 1 to 2 minutes.
How to Quick Release Pressure (QR) on the DUO
- Move the steam release handle to Venting. Steam will come out of the steam release handle.
- When your Instant Pot is depressurized, the float valve will be in the down position.
- Press Cancel and open the Instant Pot.
How to Quick Release Pressure (QR) on the ULTRA
- Press down on the Steam Release Button until it locks into place, and steam begins to come out of the Steam Release Valve.
- When your Instant Pot is depressurized, the float valve will be in the down position.
- Press Cancel and open the Instant Pot.
[Find out more about the pressure release methods and how and when to use them. ]
Cool on a rack
- Lift the trivet by the handles and carefully remove the ramekins from the Instant Pot. Use heat and steam-resistant gloves.
- Place the lava cakes on a cooling rack to cool for a few minutes.
Sprinkle powdered sugar
- Dust the Instant Pot chocolate lava cakes with powdered sugar.
- Serve warm!
- If you want to turn the cake out onto a plate, run a knife around the edge of the baking dish to loosen the cake, place a small plate on top of the dish and holding both steadily, turn the dish upside down. The cake should come apart from the dish and rest on the plate. Sprinkle with powdered sugar.
Instant Pot Chocolate Lava Cake
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon granulated sugar
- ½ cup butter (1 stick), cut into pieces
- 4 oz. semisweet chocolate chopped
- 1 cup confectioners sugar
- 2 eggs
- 2 egg yolks
- 1 teaspoon instant coffee granules
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 6 tablespoon all purpose flour
- ¼ teaspoon salt
Instructions
- Grease the bottom and sides of four 6 oz ramekins. Coat each with sugar.
- Melt the chocolate and butter: In a medium-sized microwave-safe bowl, microwave butter and chocolate on medium heat for about 1 minute. Stir and scrape sides of the bowl with a silicone spatula and repeat heating at 15-second intervals, until the chocolate is melted and smooth but a few small pieces of chocolate still remain. Keep stirring to allow the chocolate to completely melt in the residual heat.
- Stir in confectioner’s sugar.
- Whisk in eggs, yolks, coffee and vanilla.
- Stir in flour and salt.
- Divide batter among the ramekins.
- Pour 2 cups water into the Instant Pot’s main compartment (inner pot) and place trivet in water.
- Place 3 ramekins on the trivet and place 1 more on top of them, in the middle (staggered).
- Close the lid and pressure cook on High Pressure for 9 minutes. *
- Do a quick release of pressure (QR) and open the lid. [Read More: The Different Pressure Release Methods].
- Use the trivet handles to lift the trivet out of the inner pot and carefully remove the ramekins. Gently dab off any condensation from the surface of the cake.
- Dust the Insant Pot chocolate lava cakes with powdered sugar.
- Serve warm and enjoy!
Notes
- If you have a larger Instant Pot, you might be able to fit all 4 ramekins in one layer.
- I use 6 oz ceramic ramekins and a 6 quart Instant Pot Duo and Ultra for this recipe as written; if you’re using different size or type of containers or pressure cooker, your cooking time may need to change.
- * The pressure cook time for this recipe can vary based on model of Instant Pot. If you’re doing this for the first time, you might want to try 7 minutes and if the lava cakes are undercooked, pressure cook them for another 1 to 2 minutes.
- See blog post for more details and tips.
Nutrition
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I am not a certified nutritionist. I provide my best estimate of nutritional information merely as a courtesy to my readers. If you depend on nutritional information for dietary or health reasons, I suggest using your favorite online nutrition calculator to confirm the nutritional value of this recipe based on the actual ingredients that you use.
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Alain Rostain says
Neena, I was intending to make these lava cakes, but then read the comments and saw that quite a few people failed, some inexplicably. Since the last comments were in 2019, I wondered if you’ve had any insights since.
Paint the Kitchen Red says
Hi Alain, yes this recipe has given some people trouble. I haven’t tried it in a newer model of Instant Pot so I’m not sure what the issue is. I believe other lava cake recipes have similar issues – i.e. some people have trouble with it upon pressure cooking.
Mary says
The link from your site to the Ramekins on amazon is for a 4 oz size. You say you use a 6 oz Ramekin in the recipe. What am I missing? I have an 8 quart Instant pot and I want to be sure that 4 will fit.
thanks.
Paint the Kitchen Red says
Mary, sorry for the confusion. I have different types of ramekins. One kind that I use for this recipe are 3.5 inches outside edge to outside edge and 1.5 inches high. They accommodate 6 fluid ounces to the top lip (completely full) and 4 ounces to the inside lip. So the capacity is somewhere in the middle. They do fit in one row in an 8 quart. I’ve made sure the links to amazon are accurate.
Jackie says
This came out perfectly for me. The only difference was that I had to cook them for 13 min. I guess there
really is a big difference in instant pots
Paint the Kitchen Red says
Jackie – I’d love to know what model of Instant Pot you have. Thanks for sharing. Glad it worked for you.
Cliff says
I did a test run today (having company this evening!) Mine were not molten, and were a bit rubbery. Now I’m wondering – The recipe calls for 4oz of chocolate. At first I assumed that would be a 1/2-cup dry measure and that’s what I used. But I also have a scale, and for the next batch I’m planning to weigh it instead. Could that be the difference? Should the chocolate be weighed rather than measured in a measuring cup? Thx! Cliff
Paint the Kitchen Red says
Cliff, I’m sorry to hear they didn’t turn out for you. I can’t say what could be the exact issue because there are so many variables. It could very well be the quantity of chocolate, but could also be the model of the Instant Pot – some come to a higher pressure level, the amount of time you microwave the chocolate. Since the lava cakes are so small, little variations can make a difference. If you try it again and still have issues, you might need to pressure cook for a bit less time. Thanks for your comment.
Cindy says
This didn’t turn out right AT ALL! It was more like a fudge cake….I was SO disappointed!! Followed directions to the “T”. It said for first time check at 7 min….I did and didn’t look right. Did it for another 2 min as directions said, too then out let them cool and was a small fudge cake. What did I do wrong?
Paint the Kitchen Red says
Cindy, it could be a number of things. Since Instant Pots can vary from model to model and version to version, it could be a variation in the Instant Pot. Make sure you don’t overheat the chocolate because microwaving them for a tad too long can cause problems. I’m sorry to hear you had trouble.
Breanna says
I thought lava cake was supposed to be fudge like in the middle.