Molten Instant Pot Chocolate Lava Cake has a gooey chocolate center and a hint of coffee. With a short list of ingredients and short preparation time, this dessert is super quick and easy to make. There’s no need to turn on your oven to get a delicious and decadent dessert when you have an Instant Pot!
[Update: I’ve found that the time needed to cook this Instant Pot dessert can vary based on the model of Instant Pot! I’ve updated the recipe to include a range of times. Use the lower range if it’s your first time, and if they seem too undercooked, pressure cook for another 1 to 2 minutes.]
Dessert in your Instant Pot
? The answer is a resounding “yesss!” These molten Instant Pot chocolate lava cakes are such a wonderfully decadent treat! We were in the mood for dessert and of course, now that everything in my kitchen revolves around the Instant Pot, I just HAD to come up with an Instant Pot dessert.
The list of ingredients is short and so is the time required for prep, so I would consider this an easy recipe! And one more thing – you’ve got to eat these chocolate lava cakes warm!
Tips and Substitutions
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 they work okay but not perfectly.
So I ordered a second Instant Pot silicone sealing ring
from amazon that I use for desserts, oatmeal, etc. You might want to consider getting an extra one for yourself if you plan on making desserts or anything that’s mild.
You’ll also need some oven-proof dessert cups. I use small 3 1/2 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 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.
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.
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. The pressure cook time for this recipe may also vary based on model of Instant Pot.
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, please read the Instant Pot DUO Beginner’s Quick Start Guide or the Instant Pot ULTRA Beginner’s Quick Start Guide first and then come back here to learn how to make Instant Pot chocolate lava cake.
Instant Pot Chocolate Lava Cake Ingredients
Instant Pot Chocolate Lava Cake Step-by-Step Instructions
- 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.
- Whisk in eggs, yolks, coffee and vanilla.
- Stir in flour and salt.
- 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 trivet in water.
- Place 3 ramekins on the trivet and stack a fourth ramekin on top.
- Close the Instant Pot.
- Make sure the steam release handle is in the ‘Sealing’ position.
- Press ‘Manual’ (or ‘Pressure Cook’) and ‘+’ or ‘-‘ until display reads ‘9’ (9 minutes). *
* 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.
- Instant Pot display will change to ‘On’.
- Once the Instant Pot is pressurized, the float valve will go up.
- The display will count down from 9 to 0; it will switch to ‘Keep Warm’ mode and display ‘L0:00’.
- Do a Quick Release: move the steam release handle to ‘Venting’. I like to place a folded towel over the steam release handle and move it to the venting position. Remove the towel after turning the knob.
- When your Instant Pot is depressurized, the float valve will be in the down position.
- Press ‘Cancel’ and open the Instant Pot.
- Remove the ramekins carefully. I just lift the trivet to remove them.
- Place the lava cakes on a cooling rack to cool for a few minutes before serving.
- 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, place a plate over top and holding both steadily, turn the dish upside down. The cake should come apart from the dish and sit on the plate. Sprinkle with powdered sugar.
Instant Pot Chocolate Lava Cake
Ingredients
- 1 Tbsp granulated sugar
- 1/2 cup (1 stick) butter cut into pieces
- 4 oz. semisweet chocolate chopped
- 1 cup confectioners' sugar
- 2 eggs
- 2 egg yolks
- 1 tsp instant coffee granules
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 6 Tbsp all purpose flour
- 1/4 tsp 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 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 Instant Pot. Make sure the steam release handle is in the ‘Sealing’ position.
- Cook on 'Manual' (or 'Pressure Cook') for 7 to 9 minutes. *
- Do a Quick Release of steam and open the Instant Pot.
- Use the trivet to 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
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.
If you loved this recipe, please give it a 5 Star rating in the comment section below and/or share on social media using the social media share buttons at the top and bottom of this post. Thank you!
You might also like to try:
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| Instant Pot Brownie Sundae | Instant Pot Oreo Cheesecake | Instant Pot Cardamom Cupcakes |
Barbara
followed directions to a T but no lava……hubs still liked the taste as they were fudge like brownies…..
Paint the Kitchen Red
Hi Barbara. Hmmm. This is a recipe that confounds me. It works for me every time and there are many people who make it and get that molten lava center. Then there are some people for whom this recipe produces more of a fudgy cake like you say. I suspect it’s altitude or slight variations with different Instant Pots or pressure cookers. I’m glad the taste was good still! If you ever choose to make it again, can you try with 7 minutes and report back? Thanks for commenting!
Brian
Followed recipe fairly closely, but not crazy OCD. 9 minutes. Perfectly molten in the middle. Outside was a little more spongy than I am used to for lava cake, but bang for the buck – it’s a no-brainer. Thanks!
Paint the Kitchen Red
Hi Brian, You’re welcome! Thanks for commenting, and I’m so glad it worked out for you.
Mark
I cooked these today, following the recipe, they didnt turn out very good to tell the truth. Kind of gelatiny, rubbery, no molten center, no cake texture. I wonder what happened?
Paint the Kitchen Red
Hi Mark, I’m so sorry it didn’t work out for you. So because of your comment, I made the lava cakes this morning – just to make sure I hadn’t made a mistake with the recipe. I made it in white ceramic ramekins and glass pyrex custard cups for 9 minutes. Both worked out about the same, with the ramekins being slightly more ‘done’. They all had the molten center. I was able to turn them onto a plate intact. The cake surrounding the molten part is not a ‘fluffy’ type of cake – it’s a bit dense because of pressure cooking. The filling is gooey and molten when the cake is hot. Once it cools down it does have a thick pudding consistency. It’s possibly matter of taste, but it could also be slight variations in quantity or specific brand of ingredients. I’m sorry I have no answer for you. Thanks for trying it out.
Paul Hickman
I am giving my feedback after trying out this recipe. It’s just wonderful and I loved it. The chocolate cake is as yummy as it looks. I am glad I found this recipe. Thank you!
Paint the Kitchen Red
Paul, I’m really glad you liked the recipe. Give the Instant Pot brownies a try too – minty and chocolatey!
Vic
I made this recipe and mine turned out more gelatinous than cakelike. It still tasted good, bit there was no molten component. Any ideas what happened? Overstirred, too much liquid stirred in, didn’t cook long enough?
Paint the Kitchen Red
Hi Vic, it’s possible you needed to cook it for longer and it was undercooked. That would be my first guess. If you are up for trying it again, increase the cooking time to 9 minutes and see how that works for you. Good luck!
Sharan
Hi love his one! Am still getting used to my instant pot but have you made a vanilla sponge cake in yours? What’s the timing if you have made them? Would love to know your recipe for that one as well.
Paint the Kitchen Red
Hi Sharan – thanks for the question. I will put that on my list of recipes to publish. Hope you’ll check back soon.
Emily
This is the second recipe I have tried and it was fantastic. Thanks.
Paint the Kitchen Red
Emily – you’re welcome – so glad you liked it!
Margaret
I will be making this but wanted you to know I love your detailed photos, not for me so much but for those who are new to the Instant Pot. Great job!
Paint the Kitchen Red
Thanks, Margaret. It’s always a fine balance, giving too much information vs too little! I try to do both by making the recipe card less detailed.
Cricket
These sound delicious but I have a Cuisinart electric pressure cooker. How do I set it up to make them? Thank you.
Paint the Kitchen Red
You would just use the High Pressure setting. Since your Cuisinart PC might cook faster, try a shorter amount of time than in the recipe and if it’s under-cooked, do it for another few minutes. I hope that answers your question.
Danielle
I love the idea of making these lava cakes in the instant pot! I haven’t purchased one yet, but each time I read another instant pot recipe, I get closer to taking the plunge. This looks so easy and man do those lava cakes look delicious!
Paint the Kitchen Red
Hi Danielle, you’ll love the Instant Pot. Just start off slow and get familiar with it by making rice or eggs. Enjoy!
Chris
I made these tonight and found that even after increasing the cook time to 11 minutes, the majority of the cake was still liquid rather than just the center. Next time I’ll try 13 minutes. It was still very good though.
Paint the Kitchen Red
I’m not sure what happened Chris. Mine are solid on the outside at 7 minutes even. There can be variations due to measurement differences especially since these are such small cakes. Next time if that happens, you can just close it up again and cook for another couple of minutes. Glad it tasted good anyway – lava puddings, maybe 🙂
Earl Rapp
I just purchased an Instant Pot DUO80 and am looking forward to learning how to use it.
Paint the Kitchen Red
Hi Earl, Congratulations – I think you’re going to love it. If you haven’t already, please visit this post to get started: https://www.paintthekitchenred.com/instant-pot-how-to-quick-start-guide/ Enjoy!
Young Meagher
I had this bookmarked for more than a week. Tried it last night and it turned out really awesome.
Thank you.
Paint the Kitchen Red
So glad! I think it’s time for me to post another Instant Pot dessert! Thinking of either bread pudding or cheesecake…
Ash
I made this tonight, and it came out very differently than expected. Instructions were followed to a tee, but there was no liquidy, lava center, and the texture was much more baked-egg firmness than a cake-y sponge.
Any suggestions as to how it went wrong?
Paint the Kitchen Red
My best advice would be to try it again, and cook for a shorter amount of time – I think you can reduce the time by 2 minutes to start. It’s hard to say what went wrong – could be the consistency of the batter, maybe a bit more flour than I used… Good luck and thanks for sharing.
Rebeka Small
Have you ever tried stacking the ramekins and cooking all 4 at once? Do you think the time would change? Regardless, can’t wait to try!!
Paint the Kitchen Red
I really haven’t tried stacking but I think it would work. And same amount of time. Let me know if you try it. I think I’ll try it the next time I make it…
Lisa
I haven’t stacked these yet (I will be making this weekend for the Father’s Day crowd), but I have stacked for crème brulee and it works perfectly. With those I cover with aluminum foil so that the moisture doesn’t drip from the one on top, so I may try that with these too.
Susan
I tried cooking all 4 at one time. They were delicious, but no lava! I find this surprising. You would think cooking more at once would require extra time. I guess we will just have to try it again with less time, Thank you for the delicious recipe!
Paint the Kitchen Red
Hi Susan – did you increase cook time or leave it the same? Generally increasing quantity doesn’t require more time unless the size of the food is larger (e.g. larger piece of meat or container). One thing you might watch out for is over-melting the chocolate. Also using a different size of ramekin or custard cup can alter the results. I’m glad you like the recipe, though and thanks for your comment!
Jamie | A Sassy Spoon
WOW. This looks GREAT! Thank you for sharing the step-by-step photos!
Paint the Kitchen Red
Thanks Jamie! I didn’t think an Instant Pot dessert could come out so well! And so easy!
Joyce
Wow I had no idea you could use the instapot like this! Multi-purpose I love this! Little chocolate pots of yum! Thanks for this Neena!
Erica
Excellent advice about getting an extra sealing ring for desserts and such. I wouldn’t have thought of that!
Paint the Kitchen Red
Thanks Erica! Some people have luck with lemon juice and denture cleaners to clean to Instant Pot sealing ring, but I was not satisfied with those solutions!
Mikaela | wyldflour
I LOVE that you included baking instructions, too, because this chocolate lava cake looks luscious, delicious, rich, fudgey and everything that dessert should be! This is the PERFECT Valentine’s Day dessert!! I can just imagine it topped with a scoop of vanilla ice cream…
Paint the Kitchen Red
Thanks Mikaela – It would make a great Valentine’s Day dessert. Oh, and IT IS good with ice cream or even whipped cream….. !
Alyssa @ A Bite of Inspiration
This looks delicious! I love lava cake and the addition of the coffee makes for a much richer, tastier chocolate flavor! Saving this recipe for when I get an Instant Pot!
Paint the Kitchen Red
I agree – coffee adds a nice touch! Try it in the oven if you don’t have an Instapot!
Christi
No lava cake on Alyssa’sblog, even when searching “lava”. 😢
Alison @ The Sunday Glutton
These look super easy and I love the gooey center. I have a pressure cooker, so I was glad to see your comment about just reducing the cooking time a little. These would be a great Valentine’s Day dessert 🙂
Paint the Kitchen Red
Yes, Alison – stovetop pressure cookers reach pressure and temperature faster than the electric. The times do vary from pressure cooker to pressure cooker so you might have to adjust the timings.
Marie @ Yay! For Food
What can’t you make with the Instant Pot?! Love this! The chocolate lava cakes look so delicious. I love the addition of coffee granules to enhance the chocolate flavour too.
Paint the Kitchen Red
Thanks Marie! I have a sweet tooth and was very excited to make Instant Pot desserts! I will need to try out my other favorite in the Instant Pot – creme brulee!
Riva
These are so pretty! These would be perfect for a special Valentine’s Day dinner at home. You really can make anything in the Instant Pot, can’t you?
Paint the Kitchen Red
Thanks Riva! They would be perfect for Valentine’s Day. Add a heart shaped strawberry on top – perfect!
romain | glebekitchen
If you keep posting great ideas like this I am going to have to get an Instant Pot. I love lava cake. Do you think this recipe would work in a bain marie? Any idea how long it might take if it would work?
Paint the Kitchen Red
The recipe I use for the oven doesn’t require a bain marie. Just bake at 400 degrees F for about 12 minutes. You can also make it in a stovetop pressure cooker, but reduce cooking time by 2 minutes.
Lindsay
This was such a helpful posting. Thank you! I am a loyal fan of Paint the Kitchen Red. I especially dialed in to what you said about the coffee granules enhancing the flavor of chocolate, as Ina Garner, the Barefoot Contessa, recommends that bakers do so to enhance and deepen the chocolate. Like you, I am not coffee drinker, and since my mother is a loyal follower of Ina, as I am of you, she uses coffee granules in all her chocolate cakes and brownies.Though I seldom bake, I would argue as a non-coffee drinker that one can taste the coffee influence, and I don’t like it. Maybe that’s a good thing, as I can taste the coffee every time. In light of my sensitive taste buds, I am delighted by your comment that it can be left out. You really do cover all the bases! Thank you for offering alternatives. My taste buds are especially grateful.
Paint the Kitchen Red
Thank you for following the blog and for your thoughtful comment. I’m a fan of Ina Garten too! I thought it was just my kids who notice the taste of coffee, but interesting that you are sensitive to the taste too! You’ve taught me something.
Clint
Not sure what I did wrong but no molten center and turned out more like a fudge brownie than a cake. Disappointed to say the least. Can you help me figure out what needs to be different. Only think I can think is I used semi sweet chocolate chips instead.
Paint the Kitchen Red
Clint, I’m sorry you had this issue. This recipe can be tricky for some. One reason is over-microwaving the chocolate. It’s got to be melted just right and doing it too much can cause the cake to be like a brownie. Some models of the Instant Pot can cook differently too. You can try and cook for a minute less next time too. All the best.
Kerri
You may also use an almond or hazelnut extract if you prefer them to the coffee.
Paint the Kitchen Red
What a great idea, didn’t think of that! I love the taste of almond. Thanks for sharing.