These vegan molten chocolate lava cakes have a soft, fudgy cake and a warm, gooey chocolate center. Made with simple pantry ingredients and no eggs, butter, or refined sugar, they're an easy chocolate dessert for two.
Vegan Molten Chocolate Lava Cakes At A Glance
- ✅ Recipe Name: Vegan Molten Chocolate Lava Cakes (Refined Sugar-Free)
- 🕒 Ready In: ~40 minutes
- 👪 Serves: 2 cakes (or 4 mini cakes in a muffin tin)
- 🍽 Calories: ~446 per cake
- 🥣 Main Ingredients: Cocoa powder, all-purpose flour, coconut sugar, coconut oil, oat milk, vinegar, baking powder, dairy-free chocolate chips
- 📖 Dietary Info: Vegan, dairy-free, egg-free, refined sugar-free, gluten-free option, nut-free with oat milk
- ⭐ Why You'll Love It: A warm chocolate dessert for two with a gooey center that actually pours out, thanks to a frozen ganache ball baked right inside.
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What Is a Vegan Lava Cake?
A vegan lava cake, also called a molten chocolate cake, is a small chocolate cake with a warm, gooey center that pours out when you cut in.
It's made without eggs, butter, or dairy, so it's completely plant-based but just as rich as the classic.
Why These Vegan Lava Cakes Work Without Eggs
Regular lava cakes rely on eggs. You pull them out of the oven early, and the middle stays gooey. With a vegan cake, that doesn't work. Pull it early, and you just get a raw, gummy middle. So I bake these all the way through and tuck a frozen ball of chocolate ganache in the center. It melts while the cake bakes, and you get that molten chocolate center!
Trust me, freezing the ganache matters. In my first few batches, it wasn't frozen enough and just baked right into the cake. I'd cut one in half and… nothing. No chocolate pouring out like a real lava cake. Once I started freezing it until it was hard and scoopable, I got that gooey center every single time.
My other secret trick is vegan buttermilk. I just mix oat milk with a little vinegar, and it helps the cakes rise and stay super soft. And don't skip greasing your ramekins and dusting them with cocoa powder. It's the only way they flip out cleanly onto the plate!
If you're a chocolate lover, my fudgy chickpea brownies and gooey flourless brownie skillet are both secretly vegan too.
Jump to:
- Vegan Molten Chocolate Lava Cakes At A Glance
- What Is a Vegan Lava Cake?
- Why These Vegan Lava Cakes Work Without Eggs
- Ingredients You'll Need
- How to Make Vegan Chocolate Lava Cakes (Step-by-Step)
- Tips for the Gooiest Vegan Lava Cakes
- Why Didn't My Lava Cake Have a Molten Center?
- Substitutions and Variations
- Make-Ahead, Storage, and Reheating
- Vegan Lava Cake FAQs
- More Vegan Desserts You'll Love
- 📖 Recipe
- 💬 Comments
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
1000/10 no notes. This was INCREDIBLE. Hard to believe it's made with all better-for-you ingredients!
- Jenna
Ingredients You'll Need
I've made these more times than I can count, and they only take a few pantry staples. No eggs, no butter, and no refined sugar! Here's what you need:
- All-purpose flour: Stick with all-purpose here. I've tried coconut, almond, and oat flour, and they just don't give you that soft cake texture.
- Cocoa powder: This is where you want a good one. Hershey's and Trader Joe's always taste a little chalky to me, so I grab a rich, dark cocoa instead. It makes a huge difference!
- Coconut sugar: My go-to for refined sugar-free baking. I use it in my gluten-free chocolate cupcakes too! It adds the slightest caramel flavor that I love with chocolate. Light brown sugar works if that's what you have.
- Baking powder: Gives the cakes their lift.
- Salt: Just a little to make the chocolate taste even more chocolatey.
- Coconut oil: Keeps the cakes moist, and I promise they don't taste like coconut. Vegan butter works too.
- Oat milk + vinegar: My secret trick! Mix them together and you've got vegan buttermilk, which keeps the cakes super soft. Any unsweetened dairy-free milk works.
- Dairy-free chocolate chips + cold oat milk: This is your molten center. Melt them, stir, freeze, and that's the gooey chocolate that pours out when you cut in.
See recipe card for quantities.
How to Make Vegan Chocolate Lava Cakes (Step-by-Step)
To make vegan chocolate lava cakes, bake a frozen ball of chocolate ganache inside a cocoa cake at 400°F for 15 to 18 minutes, until the edges are set and the center is still a little jiggly. Full measurements are in the recipe card below.
- Step 1: Make the ganache. Preheat your oven to 400°F. Melt the chocolate chips in the microwave in 30-second bursts, then stir in the cold oat milk until it's thick and pudding-like. Pop it in the freezer for 10 to 15 minutes, until it's firm and scoopable.
- Step 2: Make the buttermilk and dry mix. While the ganache freezes, stir the oat milk and vinegar together and let it sit. That's your vegan buttermilk. Then whisk the flour, cocoa powder, coconut sugar, baking powder, and salt together in a large bowl.
- Step 3: Make the batter. Add the melted coconut oil and vegan buttermilk to the dry ingredients and whisk. It'll be thick and mousse-like. Don't worry, that's exactly how it should look!
- Step 4: Add the ganache. Grease two 4 or 5 oz ramekins with coconut oil and dust them with cocoa powder. Fill each one halfway with batter. Roll 1 tablespoon of the frozen ganache into a ball and set it right in the center.
- Step 5: Cover and bake. Spoon the rest of the batter over the ganache so it's completely covered. Bake at 400°F for 15 to 18 minutes, until the edges are set, but the center still has a little jiggle.
- Step 6: Flip and serve. Let the cakes cool for a few minutes, then place a plate on top and flip. Dust with powdered sugar, add fresh berries, and dig in while they're warm!
Tips for the Gooiest Vegan Lava Cakes
For the gooiest lava cakes, pull them out while the centers still jiggle and eat them warm. Here's what I always do:
- Look for the jiggle. Start checking at 15 minutes. The edges should look set, and the middle should wiggle a little when you gently shake the ramekin.
- Cover the ganache all the way. Make sure the batter completely hides the ganache ball, so all that chocolate stays in the middle.
- Flip after a few minutes. Let them cool just long enough to hold together, then flip. If you wait too long, the center starts to set.
- Eat them warm! The lava is best right out of the oven, so have your ice cream and berries ready before they come out.
Why Didn't My Lava Cake Have a Molten Center?
If your lava cake didn't have a molten center, the ganache probably wasn't frozen enough or the cakes baked too long. Here's how to fix it:
- The ganache was too soft. This happened to me in my first batches! If it's not frozen firm, it melts right into the batter. Freeze it until it's hard and scoopable.
- They baked too long. Once the center stops jiggling, the lava is cooking through. Next time, start checking at 15 minutes.
- They sat too long. The center firms up as the cakes cool, so flip them after a few minutes and eat them warm.
- The ramekins were too big. Bigger ramekins need more time in the oven, which can cook the center through. Stick with 4 or 5 oz ramekins.
Substitutions and Variations
You can make these vegan lava cakes gluten-free with a 1:1 gluten-free baking flour, or bake them in a muffin tin if you don't have ramekins. A few of my favorite ways to switch them up:
- Make them gluten-free. Swap the all-purpose flour for a 1:1 gluten-free baking flour.
- No ramekins? Use a muffin tin. You'll get 4 smaller lava cakes. Use ½ tablespoon of ganache in each one and bake for 10 to 14 minutes.
- Switch up the chocolate. Chopped dark chocolate works great for the ganache instead of chips. Just make sure it's dairy-free.
- Add a peanut butter center. Add a spoonful of peanut butter with the ganache for a chocolate peanut butter twist!
- Top them with nuts. Toasted pecans or walnuts on top add a nice crunch.
Make-Ahead, Storage, and Reheating
Vegan lava cakes are best fresh out of the oven, but you can make the ganache ahead, freeze the unbaked cakes for up to 1 month, and keep leftovers in the fridge for up to 4 days.
- Make ahead: Keep the ganache balls in the freezer so they're ready when you are.
- Freeze: Cover the unbaked cakes in their ramekins and freeze. Bake from frozen, adding a few extra minutes.
- Reheat: Microwave leftovers for 15 to 20 seconds. They won't be quite as gooey, but still so good!
Vegan Lava Cake FAQs
Yes! This vegan lava cake uses a frozen ball of chocolate ganache instead of eggs to create the molten center. The cake bakes all the way through, and the ganache melts into gooey lava inside.
Yes, the cake in this recipe is made with cocoa powder only. You just need 2 tablespoons of dairy-free chocolate chips for the gooey center.
Yes, these are completely dairy-free. They use coconut oil instead of butter, oat milk instead of regular milk, and dairy-free chocolate chips.
Yes, use a muffin tin. You'll get 4 smaller lava cakes. Use ½ tablespoon of ganache in each one and bake for 10 to 14 minutes.
Yes, freeze the unbaked cakes in their ramekins for up to 1 month. Bake them straight from frozen, adding a few extra minutes.
Yes, just double everything and use four ramekins. The bake time stays the same since each cake is the same size.
More Vegan Desserts You'll Love
If you loved these vegan chocolate lava cakes, try these dessert recipes next:
Did you make this recipe?
If you make this recipe, be sure to comment and rate it down below. Also, don't forget to tag me @healthfulblondie on Instagram and use the hashtag #healthfulblondie so I can see your delicious creation and share it with my followers!
📖 Recipe
Vegan Molten Chocolate Lava Cakes
Ingredients
The Cake:
- ½ cup all-purpose flour, spooned & leveled (you can use gluten-free 1:1 baking flour if needed)
- 6 Tablespoons high-quality cocoa powder, spooned & leveled
- 6 Tablespoons coconut sugar
- ½ teaspoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 2 Tablespoons melted coconut oil
- ⅔ cup oat milk or almond milk
- 2 ½ teaspoons apple cider vinegar or white vinegar
The Molten Filling:
- 2 Tablespoons dairy-free chocolate chips
- 1 Tablespoon cold oat milk or almond milk
Instructions
- Preheat the oven. Preheat the oven to 400°F.
- Make the vegan buttermilk. Mix the oat milk and vinegar together and set aside.
- Make the ganache. Melt the chocolate chips in the microwave in 30-second bursts. Stir in the cold oat milk until thick and pudding-like. Freeze for 10 to 15 minutes, until firm and scoopable.
- Prep the ramekins. Grease two 4 or 5-ounce ramekins with coconut oil and dust them with cocoa powder.
- Make the batter. Whisk the flour, cocoa powder, coconut sugar, baking powder, and salt together in a large bowl. Add the melted coconut oil and vegan buttermilk and whisk until combined. The batter will be thick and mousse-like.
- Assemble. Fill each ramekin halfway with batter. Roll 1 tablespoon of frozen ganache into a ball and place it in the center. Cover completely with the remaining batter.
- Bake. Bake at 400°F for 15 to 18 minutes, until the edges are set but the center still has a little jiggle.
- Flip and serve. Let the cakes cool in the ramekins for a few minutes. Place a small plate on top, carefully flip, and remove the ramekin. Dust with powdered sugar, top with fresh berries, and serve warm.
Notes
Nutrition
Recipe tested and developed by Tati Chermayeff, creator of Healthful Blondie. A former Division I rower, Ironman triathlete, and recipe developer based in Austin, TX, Tati creates high-protein, air fryer, and healthy recipes that actually taste like the real thing.
Jenna says
1000/10 no notes. This was INCREDIBLE. Hard to believe it's made with all better-for-you ingredients!
Tati Chermayeff says
SO happy to hear that, Jenna 🙂 Made my day! I love these lava cakes so much.