Go Back
Three small white ramekins filled with chocolate lava cake are dusted with powdered sugar and placed on a white surface. A bowl of vanilla ice cream is on the side, along with an extra scoop of ice cream, a gold spoon, and a few scattered chocolate chips.

Carnival Chocolate Melting Cake

If you have been on a Carnival Cruise, you’ve probably had this warm chocolate melting cake and you know how amazingly good it is!
Print Recipe Pin Recipe
Prep Time 15 minutes
Cook Time 14 minutes
Total Time 29 minutes
Servings: 4
Course: Dessert
Cuisine: American
Ingredients Equipment Method Notes

Ingredients
  

  • ¾ cup dark chocolate chips
  • ¾ cup butter
  • 4 eggs, room temperature
  • ¾ cup sugar
  • ⅛ teaspoon vanilla extract
  • ¼ cup flour
  • powdered sugar, for dusting
  • ice cream, for serving
  • whipping cream, for serving

Equipment

  • Whisk
  • 7  ounce Ramekins
  • Sauce pan

Method
 

  1. Step 1: Heat oven to 375 degrees F. Melt chocolate chips and butter in a small saucepan. Set aside to cool for 10 minutes.
    A metal saucepan with two sticks of butter and a pile of chocolate chips inside sits on a marble countertop. A wooden spoon lies nearby, and a white and striped cloth is partially visible in the upper left corner.
  2. Step 2: In a separate bowl, whisk eggs and sugar together.
    A clear glass bowl containing a yellow batter is being whisked by a hand using a metal whisk. The bowl is placed on a white countertop, and part of a white dishtowel with light stripes and a few chocolate chips are visible in the background.
  3. Step 3: Add vanilla and flour. Whisk until flour is well mixed in.
    A glass mixing bowl filled with a yellow batter and a metal whisk. The bowl is placed on a white marble countertop, with a striped cloth partially visible in the background, along with a few chocolate chips scattered nearby.
  4. Step 4: Once the chocolate has cooled, combine it with the egg mixture.
    A glass mixing bowl filled with smooth, dark chocolate batter sits on a marble counter. Beside the bowl is a metal whisk coated with chocolate. On the left, a beige cloth with a few chocolate chips scattered on it is visible.
  5. Step 5: Fill 4 (7-ounce) ramekins about three-fourths full with chocolate batter. Bake for 14 minutes.
    Four white ramekins filled with rich, dark chocolate batter are placed in a circular arrangement on a light gray marble countertop. A few chocolate chips and a corner of a white cloth are visible in the top left corner, and a glass bowl with batter is partially visible on the right.
  6. Step 6: Check to make sure the edges of the ramekin are cooked and the top of the cakes appear to be cooked as well.
    A round baking tray with four chocolate soufflés in white ramekins. The tray is placed on a gray marble countertop. Nearby are a white cloth with brown stripes, a few chocolate chips, and a white sifter.
  7. Step 7: Once cooled, sprinkle the cakes lightly with powdered sugar.
    A round metal tray holds four white ramekins filled with chocolate lava cakes, dusted with powdered sugar. The tray is placed on a gray marble surface, with a beige cloth and a few chocolate chips scattered on the side.
  8. Step 8: Serve with ice cream or whipped cream.
    Three small white ramekins filled with chocolate lava cake are dusted with powdered sugar and placed on a white surface. A bowl of vanilla ice cream is on the side, along with an extra scoop of ice cream, a gold spoon, and a few scattered chocolate chips.

Notes

  • You’ll need 4 (7-ounce) ramekins to make these, not a regular cake pan. 
  • Watch these babies closely. Do not overbake! The cake is supposed to be spongy and cakey on top but gooey and melty in the middle, the consistency of pudding, not too runny. If you put the toothpick all the way down to the bottom and the bottom half of the toothpick doesn’t come out clean, you did it right.