One of my favorite desserts to make at home is a Chocolate Lava Cake. They’re the kind of thing that you usually only find in restaurants because they look as though they are difficult to make. When you make them at home, they are a dessert that appears to be as impressive as it is decadent. They’re not that difficult to make from scratch, but up until recently a from-scratch recipe was your only option if you wanted to reproduce these at home. Betty Crocker released a Chocolate Molten Lava Cake Mix as part of the new Decadent Supreme cake mix line and I tried a box to see how it stood up to the “real” thing.
The first thing worth noting about this mix is that the ingredient list is short and that it uses real ingredients: butter, eggs, chocolate, flour and cocoa. The mix whips up quickly and is in the oven in less than 5 minutes – which I will admit is much faster than my recipe. If you grease and flour your pans, or use a silicone mold, your cakes should pop out easily in spite of their soft centers and be ready to eat in minutes.
The cakes look just as good as the picture on the front of the box and taste great, too. The chocolate center is oozing and rich, and tastes like nothing but melted chocolate. The cake part has a good flavor and is firm enough to hold everything in. Take care not to overbake these, as they’ll loose some of that ooziness, but you’ll still have a good tasting chocolate cake even if you overbake by a minute or two. I was impressed with how well these turned out and – although I will still say that I like my somewhat more complex, from-scratch cakes better – these are far better than those I’ve tasted in many restaurants and well worth a try if you want to serve these at home.
Catherine
February 3, 2011I’m so glad that the baking mix companies are starting to go back to short, dicipherable ingredient lists!
Ella
February 4, 2011I just finish reading Betty.C book new edition too.I like her way of sharing her tips and bakings..
So far I hv not fail..but I wil try to find this Box of her product..
Thank for sharing with Us…;-)
Julie
February 4, 2011You seem to review a lot of products – could you please disclose if you get paid to review them?
Nicole
February 4, 2011Julie – I do not. That question is addressed in my FAQ.
Jessika
February 6, 2011I have an easy (well rather simple) recipe for this type of cake although they call it chocolate fondants. If interested I’ll translate the recipe.
Christie
March 3, 2011Hey, wondering what I did wrong? I followed the recipe and got burnt cupcakes with no gooey middle? I put them in for thirteen mins with 1/4 cup in every one. Any suggestions?
kyrias
March 5, 2012King Arthur Flour actually also makes a chocolate lava cake mix that I think is pretty amazing. I’ve made it once before and it was rich, decadent, and can be whipped up in a matter of minutes for a last-minute chocolate craving. It’s now a must-have in my pantry. (not a KA employee, btw, I just love most of their products.)
tiffany
July 5, 2012I did the same as christie and mine were not oozing either. Is it less cooking time?
Sarah
August 27, 2013I have the mix but lost the box with the directions… is there any way you could send that info to me? I live in SE Asia so it’s not like I can stop off at the safeway to check out a box for a quick read 😛
Eric
August 7, 2016Why on earth did Betty Crocker ever discontinue this product?